Trash Hawks
author: mason sliva | a&c editor
The Hawks jammin’ out/Courtesy of Quentin Christopher Friesen
Dirty guys, great results
The only thing these hooligans love more than rippin’ darts and drinking cold beers is hitting the stage with their best friends. Trash Hawks is comprised of Cooper Albano (guitar), Jeff Schuett (vocals/bass), Kieran Smith (guitar), and Landon Leibel (drums). The group has taken Regina by storm, and after playing a few high-intensity sets with groups such as Hoodoo and Doubt It, they are preparing to release their first EP, Pina Colada Pinata. The EP is expected to drop in the next couple weeks, but being drunk musicians, they have a tendency to ignore calendars, and pre-planning. I had a chance to speak to one of the minds behind the masterpiece, Cooper Albano.
Can you tell me a bit about your group, Trash Hawks?
CA: It started off with just Jeff and I jamming in a room in my basement that’s a little bigger than a closet. We already knew Kieran and Landon, so we asked them to join, and now we just hang out and play loud music.
Can you tell me more about your debut EP?
CA: It’s called Pina Colada Pinata. Chris Dimas at Grind Central Studios did all the recording and computer wizardry and he killed it. It’s going to be out some time in mid-January.
What is the process behind your group’s song-writing?
CA: Usually I’ll mess around with some guitar riffs on a loop pedal and then just mumble stuff until some vague lyrics come out. Then we’ll get together and jam until there’s some kind of structure to the song.
What have been some major influences for the band?
CA: We’re all huge fans of Fidlar and Violent Soho, but we’ve all got a little different taste in music that adds to the sound.
How has it been to be “late bloomers” of sorts in the music scene? Has it been difficult playing some of your first shows ever to sizable audiences?
CA: I was pretty nervous for our first show, but people were stoked so now I think we’re all pretty confident and we can just go on and party.
Have you been surprised with your warm early reception in the local music scene?
CA: Well we’re definitely stoked. We’ve got a lot of friends in the local music scene that have helped us out a lot, so it’s great to hear that they like what we’re doing. The EP is going to be coming out on Spotify soon, so that should help bring our music to fans outside Regina, too.
What does the future hold for Trash Hawks?
CA: We’re going to be playing lots of shows in Regina in 2018, so check out our Instagram (@trashhizzles) for updates on that, but we’re also currently setting up some tour dates for this summer.
How has the local scene aided the group in developing?
CA: People from other bands have been really great with helping us get our name out. It’s great when we get to play with bands like Doubt It for example because they’ve already got a pretty big following and that lets us bring our music to more people.
How have personal experiences helped to bring meaning to the songs?
CA: The songs are pretty all over the place. Sometimes they’re about real things happening around us, and sometimes they’re just stories that we made up for the sake of writing something interesting.
You are a self-proclaimed “party band” with extra depth to your music. Do you see your group further exploring the emotional aspects of your sound and moving away from a focus on party tones?
CA: I think the party tone is here to stay, but it’s important to have some kind of meaning in the music so that it’s not just noise. I think we’d all rather play music that makes people want to thrash around rather than go home and watch The Notebook or something.
Have your past experiences as teenaged “delinquents” of sorts influenced the music that you create?
CA: I guess we just write songs we would all want to listen to, and heavy, up-beat music is pretty good for getting you in the mood to do hooligan shit.
