Pete Hawkes (born 28 May 1965) is an Australian composer, poet,[1] musician and luthier. There are over 50 recordings by Hawkes, covering a wide range of genres. He has collaborated with Bert Jansch, Joe Cocker, Phil Emmanuel, Steeleye Span and Dave Swarbrick.[2][3][failed verification]

Pete Hawkes in 2012

Hawkes has been featured in a number of music and guitar magazines and some of his musical works have been kept for preservation at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Hawkes has chromesthesia, a form of synesthesia where he sees sound in colors.[4][failed verification]

Early life

Hawkes was born in 1965 at Lake Macquarie, Australia. He learned to play guitar on an old waterlogged guitar, nicknamed "The Paddle" because his father used it to paddle home one night when he was drunk.[5] He learned guitar by listening to old albums, citing influences as diverse as blues guitarist Robert Johnson, English guitarist Davey Graham, and Bartók.[5]

Career

In the mid-1990s he recorded his debut album, Secrets Vows and Lies, with English folk violinist Dave Swarbrick playing on a few tracks.[6] The album was released by Festival Records and was critically well received.[6]

Hawkes toured Australia and supported Steeleye Span and Bert Jansch, but the tour was largely unsuccessful. Afterwards, Hawkes moved to London. Secrets Vows and Lies was released in the UK by Select Records[7] and he started playing in small clubs and hotels throughout the UK. He briefly reconnected with Dave Swarbrick in Coventry and supported him and Martin Carthy and in Scarborough, North Yorkshire with violinist Sue Aston.[3]

After returning to Australia, Hawkes released Unspoken Riddles, Melancholy Cello (inspired by Russian music), and Double Diversity. He then concentrated on composing and arranging. In 2006 he released Witchcraft, an orchestral suite, and The Jazz Chronicles. In 2009 he released The Lost Souls Entwined, a gothic rock album[8] recorded with electric guitarist Phil Emmanuel.[9][10]

Hawkes has created over 50 recordings[5] covering folk music, jazz, jazz fusion, classical, world music, rock, ragtime, blues, ambient, and baroque.[11][12][13] He has collaborated with Bert Jansch, Joe Cocker, Phil Emmanuel, and Dave Swarbrick.[2][3] Music journalist Bruce Elder has compared his folk-blues style to Nick Drake and John Martyn.[6]

Hawkes has been featured in a number of music and guitar magazines.[13][14] Some of his works have been kept for preservation at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.[15]

He is a member of the Australian Performance Rights Association (APRA).[16][failed verification]

Hawkes has also worked as a data analyst at the University of Newcastle.[17]

Awards

In 2002, Hawkes won the ABC Newcastle Songwriter of the Year Award,[5][18] and in 2009 he won another ABC award for his instrumental works.[8] In 2012 he received a MUSICOZ Legend award.[19] In 2017, Hawkes won the Festival of Original Music Award (FOOM) from the Song Writers, Composers & Lyricists Association (SCALA).[20][failed verification] He was a finalist at the Australian Songwriters Association Awards in 2001, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016.[21][22][23][24][25]

References

  1. ^ Hawkes, Peter (23 December 2020). The Compendium Of Concise Connundrums: Poetry To Help You Survive The Modern World. Independently published. ISBN 979-8584981877.
  2. ^ a b "Dave Swarbrick, musician – obituary". The Telegraph. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "Biography for Violinist, Composer, Artist Sue Aston". Sue Aston. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Pete Hawkes: Playing With Colors". 19 January 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Kate Tarala (19 April 2012). "Still in the Music Boat". Newcastle Herald. p. 24. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Bruce Elder (3 February 1997). "Be Doubly Thankful". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 10.
  7. ^ "Pete Hawkes: Secrets, Vows & Lies". mainlynorfolk.info. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  8. ^ a b Goodwin Andrew (11 November 2009). "Peter Hawkes – Winner of the Instrumental Category". ABC. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  9. ^ "Phil Emmanuel". primalent.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  10. ^ "Phil Emmanuel". Countrymusichalloffame.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  11. ^ Graham McDonald (10 June 2009). "Musical variety is life's spice". Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  12. ^ "Pete Hawkes". Entertainoz.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Pete Hawkes: Playing With Colours". 19 January 2015. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  14. ^ "Composer Pete Hawkes: The man and his music". 4 March 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  15. ^ "Pete Hawkes search". 19 January 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  16. ^ "Finalists announced for the 2011 APRA Professional Development Awards". www.musicvictoria.com.au. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Mr Pete Hawkes / Staff Profile / The University of Newcastle, Australia". University of Newcastle. 1 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  18. ^ Michael Gadd (4 November 2002). "Musicians Take A Bow at Awards". Newcastle Herald. p. 4. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  19. ^ "2012 Musicoz Awards Winners Announcement". Musicoz. 18 May 2012. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  20. ^ FOOM 2017 Winners (19 September 2017). "SCALA winners 2017". www.scala.org.au.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "2001 Contest". www.asai.org.au. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  22. ^ "Top 25 Category Winners in the 2012 Australian Songwriting Contest" (.pdf). The Australian Songwriter (90). November 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  23. ^ "2014 Contest". www.asai.org.au. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  24. ^ "2015 Contest". www.asai.org.au. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  25. ^ "2016 Top 10 List". www.asai.org.au. Retrieved 13 October 2017.