What do Pink Pantheress, the Velvet Underground, Wet Leg, Sonic Youth, Dirty Presley and Timeout Room have in common?
These artists are just some of the inspiration and current album obsessions for the self-described “psychedelic folk rock and roll” band Whitehawk, a three-member band made up of Columbus natives Jenny LeBlanc, Alec Hawkins and Max Hartleroad. The group formed in 2016 and over the last 10 years they have slowly, patiently, put together their first album – a collection of 10 songs, each recorded to tape using analog equipment.
“(This album) has never touched a computer,” Hartleroad said. “The music has never been on a computer. When you buy the tape, it has literally always been on tape.”
The album is being released on cassette today at their live show – and it’s the only way you’ll be able to listen to it for a few months.
“For the people who live in town, they’re going to have access to the (full) album immediately,” Hawkins said. “Whereas the rest of the world will have to wait two months.”
Though you can stream their first debut single, “December Song,” on Spotify now. The release has been a long time coming, and Whitehawk is excited to share their work.
“We’re going to have a little party and celebrate with our friends,” Hawkins said. “(We want) to give them the opportunity to buy the tape and let it become part of their lives.”
10 years in the making
Sitting on Hartleroad’s front porch on a warm afternoon, you can feel the relaxed familiarity the band has with each other. Conversation is easy and they share a lot of memories. In typical small-town fashion, they’ve all known each other for decades and Hawkins grew up around the corner from the Hartleroads.
“Before I knew Max, I would see him and his brother on the curb waiting for the school bus,” he said. “Living downtown, you see the same familiar faces.”
“Me and Alec went to the Montessori school that’s behind here,” Hartleroad added. “And my grandmother taught Jenny in preschool.”
LeBlanc and Hawkins have a history playing together that spans decades. They were originally part of a local band called Hamburger Hobos from 2005 to 2009, until the band parted ways – with LeBlanc going to college and later becoming a forester at Weyerhaeuser.
And life happened for Hawkins too.
“I ghosted everybody for 12 years,” Hawkins said. “And then she and I started playing together when I came back in 2016 … and Max wanted to record us, so we started doing demos with Max, and he started playing additional instruments on the songs Jenny had written.”
Coming full circle
Hawkins said that when they were ready to play live again, it just made sense for Hartleroad to play with them live. He also credits him with giving Whitehawk its name.
“Max was the one who said we should be called Whitehawk,” Hawkins said. “She’s LeBlanc – white. I’m Hawkins – Hawk.”
For Hartleroad, seeing LeBlanc and Hawkins perform and hearing their lyrics struck immediate inspiration.
“Jenny and Alec were always some music heroes of mine when I was younger,” Hartleroad said. “They performed at our old house and I was very moved by the performance. I wanted other people to hear the songs (they wrote.)”
And the first time Hawkins and LeBlanc saw Hartleroad perform live was equally inspiring, though it was years before, at The Princess in 2008 when Hartleroad was just 11 years old.
“We were in our 20s,” LeBlanc said. “Him and his brother were so young, they killed it up there. It was awesome.”
These days, they’ve all transformed into multi-instrumentalists, sometimes incorporating flute and mandolin in their songs.
Hartleroad is still playing drums, while Hawkins plays bass and LeBlanc is on the guitar, and all of them play keyboard and contribute to vocals. They say that the inspiration they get from each other now feels cyclical.
“It’s kind of cool where it overlaps a generation,” Hawkins said. “So Max is seeing us do stuff and says, ‘That’s cool.’ And then we’re watching Max, and his brother and cousin, really achieve greatness (with their band Hartle Road,) … Well, now we’re doing the thing together.”
And doing the thing together means a lot to all of them.
“You feed off each other artistically,” LeBlanc said. “The way (Alec and I) have played together for so long, and the way (Toby and Max) have played together for so long… and now (Whitehawk) has played together for so long. … It gets you through, we’ve been through a lot.”
Recording on analog
Though the album took 10 years to come together, the group was never worried about rushing the process. Each song was recorded with the help of Miles Jordan on a Tascam MS-16 1-inch machine – an old-school, reel-to-reel tape machine produced in the 1980s. From there, Jordan and Hartleroad mixed the songs on a Tascam 32 1/4-inch machine – a tape recorder originally produced in 1979 and known for its analog warmth.
When asked why they chose to create the album this way, the band said that physical media just meant more to them and the cassette was something they hoped could create a legacy. Plus – it’s just really cool.
“Just as far as having a physical media to sell,” said Hawkins. “Even if someone never puts the tape in the tape player, it’s going to look cool (with) whatever they’re decorating the room with.
Song-writing methodology
Their method of song-writing doesn’t overcomplicate things. Hawkins said some songs are inspired by liminal spaces, strong emotions and the nonstop transitions of life. These themes tie into the overall theme of the album.
“The hope of what’s coming,” he said. “Being focused on the good that’s coming. Healing from the grief but knowing, like, all right, the dawn is coming, and when it gets here I’m gonna have to process this stuff.”
For LeBlanc, the process looks different every time and she never rushes it.
“We have several songs it took years to write,” she said. “‘Black Coat’ is like that. I think there was 10 years between the last verse and the first and second verse.”
All agreed it’s a very collaborative process.
“Personally, I consider y’all the main song writers,” Hartleroad said. “But I think we all have musical input into it.”
“One person just writes it,” LeBlanc added. “Like if I write one on guitar, … I’ll play it and then they’ll play whatever because they’ll hear something in their mind. … It sounds even more awesome and it just builds up.”
When asked if there was a song that best represented them as a band, Hawkins was quick to answer.
“That would definitely be a Jenny song,” he said. “‘River Diddy’, hands down, is emblematic of Whitehawk.”
Looking Ahead
Though the journey was long, the band says refusing to rush the album to a finish line is what made it possible.
“I think another thing that’s defining about us is that we’re not in this big hurry,” LeBlanc said. “It’s not a job, this is just what we enjoy doing. We don’t get together for a while… It’s not a big deal. We enjoy it instead of making any kind of stress.”
And the time it took opened the door for further collaboration.
“There are several artists that are also on the album supporting it,” Hawkins said. “Toby is on the record, … Max’s fiance Neely plays trumpet and it’s incredible. It’s not like we said, ‘we’re gonna have a 10 year deadline.’ We just kind of worked on it when we could and when the spirit moved us.”
When asked what they hope to be up to a year from now, Hartleroad’s response was simple: “jamming” – and if Hawkins gets his way maybe making some live recordings.
“Hopefully we can just meet up on a Wednesday afternoon and just not worry about anything,” Hartleroad said. “and just play some Beatles covers.”
“We’ve got another 10 years for album two, right?” LeBlanc added with a smile.
Live performance tonight at Munson and Brothers
Whitehawk will play at Munson and Brothers in Columbus at 6 p.m. tonight, and they’ll have their cassettes for sale. Performing as well will be Dirty Presley and Hartle Road – another band Max Hartleroad is in with his brother, Toby Hartleroad, his cousin, Miles Jordan, and their friend Tyler Carter.
It’s their only scheduled show as of now, but for those who can’t make it tonight, Hartleroad offers a few words of encouragement: “There will be other creative happenings around the city, so just keep an eye out.” And don’t forget you can stream the album on Spotify starting in early May.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
