String Fellow Hawks
Los Angeles, California, United States
Music
Press
Who’da thunk that that benighted ’80s Jan-Michael Vincent TV vehicle “Airwolf” would ever inspire a band name? Strange, but not a far stretch from truth — just check out the black helicopter prominently featured in one of the String Fellow Hawks’ promo videos.
Dropping an “e” from the end of the name of Vincent’s character, the band’s retro culture-vulture-ism is key to their fashion-conscious appeal.
Savvy and social, the String Fellow Hawks have been making the rounds of indie-rock clubs (Bordello, Boardner’s, Crazy Girls, Silverlake Lounge, etc.) since making the leap to LA from San Francisco, where they caused some stir as LaVendi. In that combo, wiry frontman Dex Cabellon, drummer Eric Sanchez-Pescador and bassist Steve Campos riffed out with nods to ’80s New Wave as well as grunge, and earned local kudos for their driving live shows. But almost as soon as they released their EP in 2009, they shuffled players and shifted musical gears.
Gone are the Lennon-esque leather jackets; now they seem to have ripped a page from Gram & Keef’s how-to-be-a-rock-star playbook. Denim bellbottoms? Check. Long hair? Check. Wide-brimmed hats, conch belts, open paisley shirts and cowboy boots? Check, check, check and check. All that’s missing are logo-embossed lighters for their ubiquitous cigarettes. (Hello, merch guy.)
Most importantly, with the addition of bassist Rhino, Campos has switched to guitar and keyboards, and the band’s sound has warmed and expanded. There may be a calculated looseness to the scruffy glam image they’re putting out, but their music has only benefited from the discernible influence of “Let It Bleed” and “Exile on Main Street”-era Rolling Stones and cosmic country-rocker Gram Parsons. There’s more of a fun groove rolling now between Cabellon’s and Campos’ electric guitar licks and Sanchez-Pescador’s tambo-ridden beats, and songs like “Whacha Thing Bout That” and “Texarkana to Galilee” feed right into their let’s-light-up vibe. It remains to be seen if this band incarnation will last or is another fashion trend. In the meantime, the String Fellow Hawks are one of several young bands kicking up dust and making some interesting sounds around town.
- Pasadena Weekly
Discography
Self Titled Ep scheduled to be released in November...
Photos
Bio
The band name originated from the singer's original birth name until concerned nurses persuaded his mother to change the child's name a few days after birth thinking it might be hard for a child to carry such an odd name. Alas, the name has finally found a home as rock and roll group, the String Fellow Hawks.
The String Fellow Hawks play an upbeat blend of southern rock and blues influenced tunes. They officially formed at the beginning of 2010, but have been playing together for 6 years.
January 2010 saw the start of a rigorous tour with Custard/Universal Artist Reni Lane and Wind Up Records artist Civil Twilight. The tour started in San Diego, hitting a
number of cities in California from Los Angeles, San Francisco, to Sacramento. Cities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado also saw the newly formed band.
In the month of March 2010, The String Fellow Hawks rocked the East Coast cities in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and New Jersey. In April of 2010, the band returned to perform again on the Western states of California,
Washington, Iowa, and Colorado.
With only a year and some days under their belts as the String Fellow Hawks they have already piqued local and out of state interest. They've received write ups from the Pasadena Weekly to the New York based rock magazine The Passenger. A good start for a good band that hopes to garner new experiences, see the world, have fun and most of all rock and roll.
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