The HawtThorns
This Blog is about KP & Johnny Hawthorn who make up the musical group The HawtThorns. I first heard them on YouTube channel, I think what hit me first was KP’s singing. Her voice had such a beautiful tone to it. To me it has a certain 60’s songwriter kind of vibe to it. The other thing that I really love about The HawtThorns is that they really don’t fit into any one genre. If you would put them into one I guess it would be Americana, but that is a large spectrum for them. I would say that for bands like The HawtThorns needs to have a genre is called “Heartland”. Cause I believe that their music is born out of the good American Heartland & for the people in the Heartland. Besides KP having such a beautiful voice, she has such great control of her vocals and a very unique sound. There are a few songs that Johnny sings on, their harmonies are perfect and Johnny’s guitar playing is right up there with some of the greats in the same genre. Like Leo Kottke, Jerry Douglas & Albert Lee. Now let’s talk about The HawtThorns songwriting, the songs that they write are so heartfelt songs. They have songs with such sweet melodies and beautiful lyrics, then you will get one with a more upbeat sound. No matter which song you are listening to there isn’t a bad one on the two albums they have out. The two albums they have are “Morning Sun” & “Tarot Cards And Shooting Stars”. The “Morning Sun” album some great songs, my favorites are “The 405” & “Lucky Charm”. My favorite songs from “Tarot Cards & Shooting Stars” are “Let’s Get Together” & “One Human At A Time”. The HawtThorns is a duo that I will be following for along time. Their music is timeless, it’s that kind of music that you just wanted to sit down and listen to the whole album. It will just put you in a warm safe place. So, I definitely recommend checking out The HawtThorns at the links I have below. Also, I was able to ask KP & Johnny some questions, enjoy their answers below. https://www.thehawtthorns.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@TheHawtThorns 1. How long have you been playing music? We have both been playing music since we were kids, we both became professional musicians in our early 20’s. I (KP) started songwriting and recording and was able to get songs placed in TV shows on network and cable shows pretty quickly starting in about 2006. Johnny also jumped into that arena and creates lots of music for shows on cable tv - The HawtThorns songs have also been featured on several network tv shows. 2. How many bands have you been in? Collectively the number has got to be in the 20’s! However, KP had a pretty lengthy stint as a solo artist (Kirsten Proffit) and then started a female trio called CALICO the band in 2012 that lasted 8 years. Johnny has been a side player in countless bands as he was a first call guitar player for bands like Toad The Wet Sprocket, Everclear, and many local LA bands - he also made 3 solo records as The Johnny Hawthorn Band. 3. Where were you born? KP was born in Santa Cruz, CA and Johnny is from Philadelphia, PA 4. Are you self-taught? KP learned guitar from lots of great players throughout the years and was a serious choral student - however the style and delivery of the performance of both has been something that was worked on personally. Johnny went to GIT in Los Angeles early on in his career for guitar but continues to learn and grow by studying his heroes! 5. Who are your biggest influences? We both love the music of Joni Mitchell, David Bowie, Tom Petty and other icons. Bands like the Jayhawks, Wilco, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Lucinda Williams have definitely influenced our style. We also love some great voices like Etta James, Otis Redding and Donny Hathaway. 6. What style of music do you consider yours? That is a hard one for us because we are fans of so much. The umbrella of Americana music seems to be where we fit these days, but we like to call what we do country-flavored songwriter rock. We really love the r&b country that Chris Stapleton is putting out, we also love the blues rock of Tedeschi-Trucks. We are fans of indie-Americana bands that are always pushing the envelope and we get very bored with artists who continue to make derivative music. 7. What was your first gig? How old were you? Gosh, I really don’t remember. I (KP) think I was 18 and played at a place in southern Cal called the Bull & Moose. Johnny played his first gig at a bar in Burbank when he was 19 8. What advice do you have for someone starting out in the music business? Remember that it needs to be fun, try to have something to say, don’t stop making things 9. Do you write your own songs? We are both writers and we write regularly but we also love to perform a great cover tune 10. What would people be surprised to hear that you have in your personal record collection? Our record collection has a pretty broad selection - we have some late 1970s punk rock that we love and might surprise a few folks! 11. What would you be doing if playing music was not an option? We’d become chef/dog walkers 12. Besides your own songs, what is your favorite song to perform? We have a pretty great version of Led Zeppelin’s Going to California that we love doing 13. If you were strictly a songwriter, who would you like to see sing your songs? Our favorite singers are fairly unknown here in Nashville so you wouldn’t necessarily know the people we would write for. However, if Brandie Carlisle, Chris Stapleton, Bonnie Raitt, Laura Marling, Kacey Musgraves needed some inspiration, we would be more than happy to send over a few song ideas!
2 Comments
Michael Bange
3/7/2023 03:35:49 pm
My pleasure, I really enjoy your music. Also happy to get it out to other people that may not get a chance to hear it, but love this style...
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AuthorHello, My name is Michael. I am into music, have been for over 48yrs. Big fan of all kinds of music, right now it has been the Blues for the last 10yrs. I do not play any instruments, But I very interested in the recording aspect of the industry. Have messed around with it a little and always learning new things about it. I have met many wonderful people because of Music.. Hope you enjoy my Blogs... In the last two years I have been producing House Concerts. I also in the past 2 years got to produce and engineer an album for a very good friend of mine from Sweden "Magpie". Archives
February 2024
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