Andy Hawk’s Here It Is is Homegrown Enjoyment

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June 23, 5:07 PM

by Andy Belt, Baltimore Music Examiner

 

 

Photo courtesy of www.andyhawk.com

    With the proliferation of home recording computer programs, recorded artistic expression is no longer limited to musicians who can afford pricey studio time.  Singer-song writer, Andy Hawk is an artist whose home recordings have enabled him to document his fourth CD of homegrown musical creativity.   Hawk, a former writer, turned teacher, turned part time musician, now perfects his musical craft in Hamilton, Virginia after squatting in towns like Frederick, Federal Hill, Columbus, Ohio and originally Kittanning, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh).

     Hawk’s latest CD, Here It Is features Hawk with a variety of musical guests.  Hawk’s vocal style is raw and expressive and reflects hints of the Replacements with the heavy presence of the Beatles.   His song writing mixes simple melody with well-crafted lyrical expression.   His lyrics are simplistic in that no dictionary or classical literary training is required to enjoy them, but the message is multi-layered and worth the effort in peeling down the layers. 

     Here It Is presents stripped down instrumentation with acoustic guitar being the primary instrument.  On a few tracks Hawk is joined by a full accompaniment of musicians that compliments his vocals well.  Tracks such as “Tomorrow Is Today”, “Sorrow Floats”, and “Water Song” illustrate Hawk’s ability to mesh with a full band and reveals an avenue he might want to explore further.  The blues track “Visit From Love” is a toe-tapping hoot that has a “Dylanesque”- Highway 61 feel that rocks like nothing else on the CD.

     Here It Is is a creative musical pleasure that we don’t have to wait to be discovered by a big label for us to enjoy.  If Andy Hawk’s Hamilton, Virginia studio keeps cranking out the music, I’ll keep listening.  Andy Hawk can be seen live in and around the Maryland/Virginia area.  Here It Is along with Hawk’s previously released CDs moth crazy, something farther away, and chasing the sun can be found on iTunes, and cdbaby.com.

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