| Chris Hawkes | |
| Birth Name: | Christopher Thomas Hawkes |
| Instrument: | Vocals guitar |
| Genre: | Rock Americana Indie folk |
| Occupation: | Singer-songwriter guitarist record producer recording engineer |
| Years Active: | 1998–present |
| Label: | Self-released, Republic Records |
| Associated Acts: | Dawn and Hawkes |
Chris Hawkes is a songwriter, singer, guitarist, recording engineer and producer. Hawkes performs with Miranda Dawn as the duo Dawn and Hawkes.
As a musician Chris Hawkes was first recorded and released on a 1998 compilation Garage Nights at Laser Trax released on Cannon Riggle Records.[1]
Hawkes formed a band called Redtag while attending the University of North Texas.[2]
Hawkes switched roles of frontman/songwriter to produce and play lead guitar for Five Times August, a previously solo project of singer-songwriter Brad Skistimas. The single "Better With You" was featured on MTV series in its inaugural season.
A full length 2005 follow up album Fry Street, with performance and production by Hawkes,[3] received more play on cable and broadcast television. In 2007 tracks from Something Clever and Fry Street were compiled and released as The Independent.[4]
In 2005 Hawkes and other members, also known as Redtag, departed Five Times August and renamed as The Color Gray releasing 2005's self-titled EP and 2006 Control LP.[5] The release of The Color Gray's full-length album Control was preceded with the single "Nothing to Lose" released to commercial rock radio KTBZ-FM, KLAQ, KNCN, KEYJ and playlist rotation on KDGE The Edge Dallas.
In 2007 Chris Hawkes released his first solo acoustic album Guitar and Voice[6] MTV featured "Falling Into Doubt" on episodes of the television series The Hills third and fourth season [7] and on Animal Planet show Jockey's in 2008.[8]
Hawkes released a second independent album Because I Feel That Way Tooin 2009. Tracks from the album were pre-loaded in AT&T smart phones, featured on MTV's Teen Mom 2 and radio stations in the U.S.[9]
While touring in 2010, Hawkes co-wrote and recorded "Mystery" with Annemarie Jensen releasing the song on her debut album, Melodies[10] and his third album, Broken Record. Shortly after its release, "Mystery" was added to rotation on Danish radio station DR P4.[11] Texas Music magazine featured another track from Broken Record, "From Love (Momma Song)", in their winter 2012 issue,[12] while the title track "Broken Record" was included on MTV series Teen Mom 2 and "Watch It Fall" and "Little Too Long" were featured in 90210.
In 2011, Miranda Dawn and Hawkes collaborated for the recording of Dawn's debut album, Reason to Feel Alive.[13]
Dawn was recognized as a finalist in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk songwriting competition for her songs "Forever Happily" and "Made to Roam"[14] and performed with Hawkes at the festival in May 2012. Dawn and Hawkes continued co-writing and touring together and released a collaborative effort, Golden Heart, in June 2012.
In 2013, the duo auditioned for season 6 of the American reality talent show The Voice. Their audition was broadcast on NBC on February 24, 2014. Adam Levine and Shakira pressed the "I Want You" button, turning their chairs.
Their iTunes single for "I've Just Seen A Face" charted No. 1 in iTunes Rock sales and No. 22 across all genres, selling 24,000 copies in the first week as a Billboard charts "Hot Shot Debut".[15] [16] Their previously-released "Golden Heart" EP followed.[17]
Dawn and Hawkes toured throughout 2014 including Levitt Pavilion in Arlington, Texas to capacity crowd,[17] California tour and appearances on Season 7 of The Voice supporting their friend Luke Wade's audition,[18] harmony vocals with Jimmy LaFave on,[19] summer tour with Austin, TX singer-songwriter Bob Schneider,[20] performances at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas,[21] Austin City Limits soundstage at Moody Theater,[22] Austin City Limits Music Festival,[23] [24] and performances with Chris Isaak,[25] Patty Griffin,[26] Jim Lauderdale,[27] Robert Earl Keen, Hayes Carll and former host of The Tonight Show, Jay Leno.[21]
The duo continued touring throughout 2015 with appearances at music festivals like Folk Alliance International and South by Southwest while recording their first full-length album Yours and Mine.[28]
Dawn and Hawkes announced their marriage with the release of their new music video and single, "Yours and Mine", on August 21, 2015, via Huffington Post.[29] Their full-length album, also titled Yours and Mine, went on sale October 2 and followed with a second video release "Almost Mine" from Texas Monthly,[30] and third video for "Silver Line" from Acoustic Guitar.[31]
Miranda Dawn and Chris Hawkes recorded music and vocals for Daytime Emmy Award winning 2016 StoryBots series Ask The Story Bots and StoryBots Super Songs[32]
Dawn and Hawkes appeared, individually and together, in the 2017 documentary film, Albert E. Brumley: Songwriter of the Ozarks[32]
The duo stored their possessions and lived on the road full-time while starting their second full-length album The Other Side, released July 6, 2018.[33] The first video from the album, 'Trees' premiered on Billboard.[34]
Hawkes studied audio engineering at the Dallas Sound Lab in Las Colinas,[35] interned with Grammy Award winning producer Eric Delegard[36] and became an engineer for the University of North Texas College of Music.[37]
In 2004, Hawkes established One Road Studio, for the recording and production of his own bands and other regional acts.[38] In 2006 Hawkes partnered with Disclive, a Dallas-based recording company, to record live performances of Thirty Seconds to Mars, Flyleaf, The Toadies, Sonic Youth, Cooder Graw, Spoonfed Tribe, and Edgewater.[39]
| Released | Album title | Album/ EP | Artist | Singles/Feature Track |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Something Clever | EP | Five Times August | "Better With You" |
| 2005 | Fry Street | Album | Five Times August | |
| 2005 | The Color Gray | EP | The Color Gray | |
| 2006 | Control | Album | The Color Gray | "Nothing to Lose" |
| 2007 | The Independent | Compilation album | Five Times August | |
| 2007 | Guitar and Voice | Album | Chris Hawkes | "Falling Into Doubt" |
| 2009 | Because I Feel That Way Too | Album | Chris Hawkes | "Again" "Falling Into Doubt" "Finally Free" |
| 2011 | Broken Record | Album | Chris Hawkes | "Mystery" (with Annemarie Jensen) "From Love (Momma Song)" |
| 2012 | Golden Heart | EP | Dawn and Hawkes | No. 25 Billboard Folk, No. 31 Top Heatseekers |
| 2015 | Yours and Mine | Album | Dawn and Hawkes | No. 5 Roots Music Report Folk Album Chart |
| 2018 | The Other Side | Album | Dawn and Hawkes | No. 8 Roots Music Report Folk and Contemporary Folk Album Charts |
| Released | Album title | Artist | Record Producer | Session Musician | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Something Clever | Five Times August | ||||
| Leaving Stella | Darby | |||||
| 2005 | Fry Street | Five Times August | ||||
| The Color Gray | The Color Gray | |||||
| 2006 | Time Stands Still | Crimson Soul | ||||
| Edgefest 15: Ripped | ||||||
| Acoustic Campfire with Rock 108 | ||||||
| (unreleased EP) | ||||||
| Exit 380: Live at Firewater | Exit 380 | |||||
| Cooder Graw: Live at Firewater | ||||||
| Spoonfed Tribe: Live at Firewater | Spoonfed Tribe | |||||
| 2007 | Guitar and Voice | Chris Hawkes | ||||
| Life is a Cigarette | Better Than Sex | |||||
| Rock Show | ||||||
| Dartmyth | Dartmyth | |||||
| Life.Love.Travel | Lance Sitton | |||||
| The Independent (l.p.) (album) | The Independent (l.p.) | Five Times August | ||||
| 2008 | Lisa Apple | Lisa Apple | ||||
| Killing Caroline | Killing Caroline | |||||
| Flu Sessions | Opium Symphony | |||||
| Ignite What's Inside | ||||||
| The Rankin Twins | The Rankin Twins | |||||
| In Your Head/Waiting | Dartmyth | |||||
| Home Again | Jeff Metil | |||||
| 2009 | Because I Feel That Way Too | Chris Hawkes | ||||
| Adam's Orchard | Zach Arrington | |||||
| Songland | Colin de los Santos | |||||
| 2010 | The Rising Sun | Philip Q. Morrow | ||||
| 2011 | Broken Record | Chris Hawkes | ||||
| Reason to Feel Alive | Miranda Dawn | |||||
| 2012 | Golden Heart | |||||
| 2013 | The Cabin Sessions | Ben Smith | ||||
| 2015 | Yours and Mine | |||||
| 2016 | Lost Luggage | Lost Luggage | ||||
| Unladylike | Summer Dean | |||||
| 2018 | The Other Side | |||||
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | NBC The Voice | Himself/Musician | TV series |
| 2015 | Longhorn Network Sessions from the Cactus Cafe | Himself/Musician | TV series |
| 2016 | Himself/Musician | TV series | |
| 2016 | Ask The StoryBots | Musician/Engineer | TV series |
| 2016 | StoryBots Super Songs | Musician/Engineer | TV series |
| 2017 | Albert E. Brumley: Songwriter of the Ozarks | Himself/Songwriter | Documentary Film |