Son of Hawk

The past 18 months have been more or less non-stop for rock band Son of Hawk.  Formed mid-2017 in Jeffrey's Bay, they played their first show supporting The Black Cat Bones in Port Elizabeth just four days after coming together.  The band have changed their line-up slightly since then, switching to a three-piece in January of this year after parting ways with vocalist André Ludik, then reverting back to a four-piece in August with the addition of Dale McHardy on guitar.  The rest of the band comprises of Heine Van Der Walt (lead vocals, guitar), Ashley Hilton Jacobs (bass) and Nathan Combrinck (backing vocals, drums).  They've spent the last year and a half relentlessly touring, writing, and recording and released their debut self-titled album on 3 August.  I sat down with Heine and Dale at Heine's latest venture, Pretoria's JARR bar, to discuss the past year and what 2019 holds.

Hey guys!  So seeing as it's not only the name of the band, but also of your debut album and one of the tracks, where did you get the inspiration for the name Son of Hawk?

Heine Van Der Walt:  Actually, I've got a vinyl here from the original Hawk... I came prepared haha.
Dale McHardy:  Fuck yes!
HVDW:  Uh, this is the original band Hawk, from the '70s.  It was my dad's favourite band and I think he jammed with them on one song, or a show or something.  I just thought it's the coolest fucking name I'd ever heard, so we called ourselves HAWK.  It was a bad idea in retrospect 'cause it confuses a lot of the old guard and ja, there were complications with SAMRO as well, because there's already, in the same territory, a band registered under the same name.  We already had the song called Son of Hawk, coincidentally, and we just decided to call ourselves Son of Hawk from there on in.  We have no fucking... There's nothing significant about it, we don't even know what the fuck it means.
DM:  Son of Hawk was sort of like the tribute to Hawk.
HVDW:  Ja, it's a tribute, like the next generation. 

You smashed out the recording of the album in just ten days back in February.  How did you achieve this and what kept you motivated through the long hours in the studio?

DM:  Shrooms.
*laughter*
HVDW:  Shrooms, and we practiced every day for about three weeks, five days a week.  We came together in the morning and we practiced the whole setlist, played the album front to back every day, singing it, performing it as we would perform it, as if we were gonna play a live show.  So just for three weeks we played the songs every day, about three sets every day.  Then we were fucking ready to go into studio, then when we got here it was very natural and easy for us to play the songs how we wanted them to sound.  We recorded live without click track, so it's a bit harder, you know, so we had to nail the songs.  We did about two or three takes of each song and picked the best take, and then we just overdubbed vocals and guitar solos.  Pretty much how you hear it is how we played it
Wax & Needle:  And then what kept you motivated in the studio?
HVDW:  Uhh, motivated?  Ag, I was pretty chuffed with how quick everything came together so it was great to get an album out so quickly.  I was more excited and curious to see what people thought of the band, 'cause you can see the band live and stuff but until you hear them online or whatever... it gives you a better idea.  So it was just kind of that "I can't wait for people to hear this" kind of vibe.
DM:  Excitement!

How was it working with Chris Van Der Walt [The Black Cat Bones, Boargazm, Vulvodynia] on the album?

HVDW:  Cool, 'cause we're brothers, we've grown up and shared a lifetime's worth of inside jokes, or just... you could say one phrase and it describes a whole scenario 'cause you've made those connections while growing up together.  We've played together in millions of bands so our language with music is exactly the same.  If I say "oh, it must be this Vinnie Paul snare reverb" then he knows exactly what reference I'm making.  The coolest thing with Chris is the quick reference with everything, I didn't have to explain, we sort of know exactly what wanted before he even heard it.
DM:  And he's just a fucking legend as well, he just fucking knows.
HVDW:  Ahhh, he's alright.
*everyone laughs* 

What was the biggest thing you took away from working with him? 

HVDW: ... the album!  Basically.
*laughs*
DM:  Awesome haha.
HVDW:  Ja but you know, it's also cool to hang with your brother and make magic.  So ja it was like family time and studio in one.
DM:  Ah, I wish I was there.
W&N:  Well, for the next one you will be.
DM:  I hope so!
*laughter* 

Dale, you joined Son of Hawk back in August and played your first show with them at Oppikoppi. 

HVDW:  No, no that's incorrect.
DM:  When did I join?
HVDW:  Ohhh, ja, this year, yes, sorry.  So like July?
DM:  Ja, it was maybe like a month before [Oppikoppi].  I was hanging out with you guys and we were partying and then you were like "ah ja, you're in the band".
HVDW:  We were always in JBay, but Dale was in the band already.
DM:  Ja, I nearly moved to JBay brah.
HVDW:  And then we came back [to Pretoria] and it was like, cool now we're all here so let's do it.  What happened was he walked in on a rehearsal at Wolmer and I just gave him my guitar and he checked out the songs and he nailed every fucking piece of music we did - 
DM:  Ja, I knew them from before.
HVDW: - so we were like, cool, now play the higher voice.
DM:  Change it up, fuck yeah!
W&N:  How are you finding fitting into the band dynamic?
DM:  Great, jissie, I've been partying way more than I ever have... in my life.  So, that way, ja, I'm loving it.  And meeting new people is fucking great, like shit dude, I've not met so many people jamming in the metal scene, you know, it's very fucking close-knit kinda vibe, so now it's like, fucking... gooiing 'Koppi and lekker fucking shows, and people that are influential that you meet, and you're like Jesus, howzit?
HVDW: Like, "you're Dale, right?"
DM: Ja!  Everyone knows me as a shredder and it doesn't make sense because I'm not a fucking shredder.  Like where the fuck did they come from with that?

At the end of February, Ashley and Nathan were drafted by Jan Blohm as his permanent band.  Their shoes are filled by Pieter Ganswyk Nel (bass) and Leigh van Biljon (drums) for shows while Ashley and Nathan are unavailable.  How did you come across Pieter and Leigh, and what made you choose them as stand-ins?

HVDW:  Dale, you've played with Pieter back in the day?
DM:  Ja, dude, and you guys in the System [of a Down tribute] band.
HVDW:  Yes, that was 2016, the first time I played with them.  They used to play at my venue [Wolmer Bush Lounge, Pretoria] with Undertone and Killatoria, so I met Leigh at a gig at Wolmer and he said "hey man, I'm starting this System of a Down tribute band" and, long story short, we jammed together in that band for years.  I just always loved them and Undertone and the System band, just loved jamming with them.  They're cool dudes, you know.  And ja, so, when I was up here I wanted to get some other people at first but they were also busy, so I asked Pieter and Leigh and the rest is history.  They fit in really well as well.
DM:  They jam, they check out, they do their homework, they know the songs and they fucking play.
HVDW:  Ja, 'cause I've worked with them I know they're professional and they do their homework and stuff like that. 

Of all the shows you've played so far this year, which has been the biggest standout? 

HVDW:  Um... Just one?  Okay... Three come to mind but... I think my favourite one was Craft Exchange [Pretoria] recently.  It was the first time Ashley and Nathan played with us again since like, end of August or beginning of September or something.
DM:  And the full album.
HVDW:  Ja, we played the whole album in it's entirety as well, and I felt way more confident with my vocals at that time, I felt I had a good show there, and the people...  It was packed and people were loving it.  It's just good to have those shows.  It was a standard show, but it was just, you know, it ticked all the boxes.
DM:  I wish we could play those hour-long shows every fucking show, honestly.
W&N:  And you, Dale?  What was your favourite show so far?
DM:  I really did enjoy the Craft Exchange but, dude, Oppikoppi.  That first show, it was mindblowing.
HVDW:  Ja and people got wrecked.
DM:  Yes, ja, there was like lekker fuck-ups there in the middle of the crowd.  I loved it.  That was by far my highlight, definitely.  First show. 

As 2018 draws to a close, what do you have planned for the new year?

HVDW:  Way more tours, way more than we did this year.  Touring like when we just started.  Promoting the album we have but also, in the meanwhile, finishing up the writing of the new album, then hopefully around the middle or end of the year we'll have that recorded and released.  And content as well, music videos, festivals... if they'll have us.
DM:  And a photoshoot hey, maybe sometime.
HVDW:  Ja... I'm focusing on the music for now.  
W&N:  You'll just have to Photoshop Dale into the other ones.
HVDW:  People aren't going to stare at your photo for an hour, they're gonna listen to your album.
DM:  Ja, exactly, that's all that matters.

And now for the Wax & Needle question: If you were stuck on a desert island, what album would you want to have with you?

DM:  Oh my god...
HVDW:  Pantera Official Live: 101 Proof.
DM:  Ja dude.
HVDW:  It gets me pumped and motivated.  It's got so much attitude in it and that's all you need.  I wouldn't listen to something that's meaningful or like, spiritual or something, I'd need something to keep me the fuck alive.
DM:  That's brutal.  Oh, fuck...
HVDW:  Take all the time you need.  Just today at least, not the one that sums up your whole life.  If you were on an island now. 
DM:  Probably a Tool album... like, 10,000 Days.  Ja.  I think I would hate to be without that, honestly.  There's so many though... but if I had to choose one, ja, probably 10,000 Days.  I'd get sick of metal eventually.
*laughter*
HVDW:  And ja 'cause you can listen to it for ten thousand days.
DM:  Exactly, it just never gets old. 
HVDW:  It's been more than ten thousand days since Tool released an album, did you know that?
DM:  Ja, that's mal kak dude.  But, hopefully soon.

Click here to visit Son of Hawk's Facebook page 

Check out Son of Hawk on Bandcamp 

Son of Hawk L-R:  Dale McHardy and Heine Van Der Walt

Son of Hawk [post-show at Craft Exchange] L-R:  Ashley Hilton Jacobs, Nathan Combrinck, Heine Van Der Walt and Dale McHardy

Son of Hawk [post-show at Rumours Rock City] L-R:  Leigh Van Biljon, Heine Van Der Walt, Pieter Ganswyk Nel and Dale McHardy

Responses slightly edited for clarity.

After Robot

After Robot, the self-proclaimed "pioneers of groove rock", are a Johannesburg based band consisting of Clifford Bryan (vocals), Joshua Pearlson (guitar), Jacques Jacobs (bass) and Wayne Swart (drums).  Formed in 2012, the band released their first album Howzit Pal in Spring 2016 via Wright Records, and their highly anticipated second album, recorded at Cape Town's Academy of Sound Engineering this July, is due to be released later this year.  With a Facebook page stating their biggest influence as simply life, a stage presence that demands respect and a hip-shaking sound that leaves you hungry for more, the After Robot boys have been making waves in the South African music scene over the past few years.  I caught up with Joshua, Jacques and Wayne at Rhymes with Orange Sound Logistics to discuss the upcoming album, touring, and life as one of the country's hardest working bands.

Howzit going guys?  So, firstly, on a scale from one to holy-fuck-balls, how excited are you about releasing the new album?

*Unanimously*:  Holy-fuck-balls!
Joshua Pearlson:  Times a million. 

The album is set to be released at the end of November.  What is the name of the album, and how did you come up with it?

JP:  The name of the album is Serious Fairytales and Dreams.  Basically, we've been putting it together for the last sort of two years and we've been bringing our musical ideas together.  Cliff's been writing his vocal styles around what we've all been going through in our lives, as brothers together and apart, and just kind of formulated it into a fictional story.  It's kind of like a musical journey from beginning to end which makes up one story, but each song on it's own could be used as a single as well.

What was the song writing process for the album?

JP:  Um, which process?  Like how long is a piece of string?
*laughter*
JP:  Basically the process was just us throwing our ideas together and we kept throwing them at each other until they sounded good.
Wayne Swart:  We'd start with a riff or a tab or something and throw it all together.  We'd have forty or fifty minute jam sessions and sort of pull out pieces from there and start finding what we feel the direction of the song was.  That's kind of how our process works.
JP:  There's a couple of the tunes that like, for instance, I had ideas on how I wanted to approach it.  Like in the chorus of Uncle Sam, you know, usually when a band goes into a chorus, they come in really fucking ballsy and heavy, and I thought rather than coming in really ballsy and heavy, why don't you start on the high note, and then jump to the ballsy and heavy.  So if you hear, it starts an octave higher in the chorus, which also throws people off a bit, which is what we aim to do quite often.
WS:  It makes you think a little.

What inspired or influenced the album the most? 

JP:  Just, everything that was going on in our lives.  Where we were musically, where we were in our personal space... What do you think, Jacques?
Jacques Jacobs:  Ja, I think definitely... A couple of the songs, like Uncle Sam, for example, was brought from a couple of years ago when we were supposed to do the America trip, that really burnt a little hole.  So, ja, there's a lot of life experiences brought into this one.
WS:  And I think we also wanted this album to be a little bit of a story, not just an eleven or thirteen track album, but there's a little bit of storytelling in it.  Like Josh says, each part is a story being told, a little bit of our story in the album's story.

Is there a release tour in the pipeline?

JP/WS:  Yes!
WS:  We are on the road from the 14th of December with The Sinners and LA Cobra, we're spending four days in Durban then making our way over to Slaapstad, ah excuse me, I mean Cape Town *laughter*, then we've got three shows... all of the details will be on our Facebook page soon, but we are on tour over December.
JJ:  That's going to be like, can you almost say the "wet leg" of the tour, and then from next year we're going to kick full tilt.
JP:  Ja we've got a couple of booking agents who are very very excited for the release, as excited as we are for the release of the new album, and who are ready to jump on board and start helping us book the next leg of the album launch tour.  We're looking at pretty much starting it New Year's Eve.  That'll be the official giant album launch, probably, wherever we end up, whether it's Jeffrey's Bay or Johannesburg.

You guys are pretty well seasoned when it comes to touring, and you've earned the reputation of being one of SA's hardest working bands for good reason.  What was it like to play at Saarang in India at the beginning of the year?

WS:  Pretty fucking awesome hey!
*everyone laughs*
JP:  Life changing.  Down to a molecular, spiritual level it was life changing.  Beautiful, amazing...  We got a very good reception, we played to around two and a half thousand people who, at the end of the show, went very crazy.  During the show, I don't think they knew what to do or what hit them.
JJ:  This is after the fact that, it looks like it's the same everywhere in the world, our set got delayed three times.  Like, "are you ready?" "yes" "oh no, wait, wait another hour".  So, ja, that was interesting.
WS:  It was really good fun.  But I think, for me personally, music is music.  It has the same effect in Johannesburg as it does in India as it does in California.
JP:  Ja, if you have the same drive and passion, anywhere in the world, people can feel that without even having to have spoken the same language.

Which has been your favourite venue to play at so far, and which venue do you dream of playing?

JP:  Probably main stage Oppikoppi for me, but Innibos was also very cool.  Strab is my favourite festival to play.  It's a bit of a tough one because they all have their own magic about them that make them special.  You know, when you get onto a stage and there's people there, they're there to get their minds blown by some cool music.  It's about the magic you create with the space you have, so whether it's sticking to the floor at Shivas or running fifty meters across the biggest stage in the country, it's always magical and a special experience for us.
JJ:  I would love to play Download Festival [Donington, England].  That would be amazing.  Future goals.  Or like the O2 Arena [London, England].
JP:  It's coming!

Do you have any pre-show rituals or traditions?

JP:  Uh, ja, Wayne sucks my dick.
*laughter*
WS:  I do?!  Gotta find it first.
JP:  Well, it's usually found between your bum cheeks mate.
WS:  That's what she said.  I think anywhere from about an hour to forty minutes before the show, well for me personally but I can see it in the other guys as well, we start getting into the zone a little bit, sort of focusing on the show, you know, gearing up and making sure everything's working.  And then we've started a tradition where literally just before the show when we're about to go on, we do a little group huddle, little pow-wow then off we go. 

What is the one thing you have to have with you when you go on tour?

JJ:  Instruments.
*everyone laughs*
WS:  A blow-up mattress.
JP:  A pillow.  Oh, and a towel.
JJ:  A toothbrush.
WS:  A sense of humour and a high drinking tolerance.
JJ:  And patience.
JP:  Petrol!
*laughter*
WS:  Moneeeey!  Yeah, tour is a different animal.
JP:  You know what, you learn through the years what you need.  When we first went on tour we were highly unprepared, we forgot everything.  I think Cliff forgot socks, which doesn't sound big until you have to put on a pair of fresh socks.  So ja, it's kind of trial and error, but there's various things you need to have with you and it's generally the basics to survive.  Toothbrush, towel, underpants... and a gigging shirt.
JJ:  And a belt!
WS:  Hair gel!

What do you miss the most about home while touring? 

JP:  We have a home?  Haha, there's a very good saying that a friend of mine wrote on the wall and it's always stuck with me, and that is "on the road, I have no home, but at home, I have no road".  
WS:  I think it goes both ways, being on the road playing music outside of where you stay is incredible, so you kind of miss home a little bit but you don't really because you're on the road playing rock music which is pretty cool.
JP:  The hardest thing is actually getting back from tour.  There's a thing called "post tour blues" and that's a real thing.  You're on the road for sometimes up to a month and you develop your own lingo, your own language, your own way and means of doing things, that only the guys in the band will really get, and you're exposed to it for so long that you pretty much adjust your entire mindset to that.  When you get back and realise the rest of society's actually normal and you have to start acting normal to fit in again... that transition back into your daily life can be quite difficult, and can take anywhere from like a day to a month.
Wax & Needle:  Just in time to go back on tour again.
JJ:  Yes.
WS:  Depending on how hungover you are.
JP:  And broke...

If you can narrow it down to one thing, what is your favourite part of being a touring musician? 

JJ:  Being able to play music, I would say, for everyone that we can, everyone that allows us to receive them.
JP:  Ja, not allowing yourself to go stagnant, because there's so few venues left in your hometown, and this is every hometown around the entire country, that the only way to stay fresh and to understand the dream and why you're doing it is to travel from town to town and have people wanting you to come through there, not like "oh, they're playing again", you know, it's like "finally, they're coming back to our town, we've got to go and see them", and that's always an important thing for us.
WS:  The stage.  That's all I want, that's all I crave, the stage.  And like Josh says, experiencing new cultures and new venues, every town we've played in is different so it's just nice to experience that.  But if I personally had to break it down to one thing, it's getting on stage.  It's well worth the long hours travelling, the shitty places we have to sleep sometimes, just for that hour where the four of can just net sommer stump, and doing it in a different town is always fun.

Last but not least, if you were stuck on a desert island, what is the one album you would want to have with you? 

JJ:  Easy... I'll take Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath.
WS:  Uhhh, I'm going to go with Grand Funk Railroad E Pluribus Funk.
JJ:  Yeaah, nice.
JP:  Sjoe, I don't know... I'd rather just take a guitar, then I can play all my favourite songs.  And strings!  Lots of extra packs of strings.
JJ:  Well you can't take two things brah!
WS:  We'll keep his Fender and send him with Howzit Pal.
*laughter*
W&N:  Ja I think that's cheating Josh...
JP:  No I can't choose a favourite album, sjoe, that would be like asking a spinster to choose her favourite cat.
JJ:  But she might just give you an answer.
WS:  Mr Fluffy!
JJ:  The brown one... uh, fuck... 

Click here to visit After Robot's Facebook page 

 Check out Howzit Pal on Spotify

After Robot and Wax & Needle L-R:  Joshua Pearlson, Wayne Swart and Jacques Jacobs

Responses slightly edited for clarity.