I love learning about different quirky, little music venues in the Los Angeles area. There are quite a few of them, which is part of what makes this the best music scene in the country. I find that a good deal of the magic happens at these sorts of places. Last night I went to a spot called Dinosaur Farm Speakeasy in South Pasadena. It’s the back area of an independent toy store, and it has a somewhat unusual setup. The audience is split into two sections, one group basically level with the band (give or take a few inches) off to the stage-left side, and one group a few feet lower off the stage-right side. Last night’s show was part of the venue’s “Wine & Song” music series. And, yes, for those wondering, there was wine. It was a serve-yourself kind of thing, which suited me just fine. It added to the wonderful vibe and loose atmosphere of the place. This is the kind of spot where you get to know the folks around you, the kind of place that draws a friendly crowd.

Last night three artists performed. First up was David Plenn, who hosted the night (and runs the toy store). He was on guitar, and was joined by a bass player and by his son Taylor on saxophone. Before he started, he mentioned that the lineup of the Hawks and Claire Holly was basically his dream lineup. He did two songs to kick off the night – “Love’s Funny That Way” (which featured a nice lead on guitar followed by a good lead on sax) and “Lover’s Lullaby.” “What I need now is a tall glass of something,” he sang at the beginning of “Lover’s Lullaby.” Oh yes. His short set ended at 7:13 p.m., and three minutes later Claire Holley was ready to go. She performed a solo acoustic set, opening with a pretty song titled “Beauty School,” and following it with “Brother.” She also performed a William Butler Yeats poem set to music, and concluded with a gorgeous song called “Curious Child.”

The evening moved along quickly, and three minutes after Claire Holley was done, the Hawks were on stage. “Before the Hawks, we were the Dinosaurs,” Paul Marshall joked, playing on the name of the venue. “And we will be again,” Rob Waller added. They then went right into the music, opening with “Live And Never Learn.” The moment they started it, the world brightened. You know? And everyone could feel it, everyone sensed it. It was obvious because of the delighted cheer from the audience that met the song as it started. The song featured a really nice lead by Dan Wistrom on electric guitar (he didn’t have his pedal steel for this show). Afterward, Rob joked about the trains in the store. I didn’t get a chance to check out the store, but will make it a point to look around the next time I’m there. The band followed “Live And Never Learn” with “On Our Way,” both of those songs being title tracks to Hawks albums. “Growing old and you’re waiting for wisdom.” Yup. Isn’t it interesting how different lines stand out to us on different nights?

Paul introduced Victoria Jacobs and asked the audience for applause for her “little bitty cymbal,” which of course was then given. The band went into “Slash From Guns N’ Roses,” Dan going all hard rock on that guitar, drawing enthusiastic cheers from the crowd. Paul delivered some cool work on bass, which also received applause. That song is always fun, and last night it was particularly enjoyable. After it, Rob mentioned how someone played that song for Slash, and Slash said it was the best song he’d ever heard about himself. Victoria then sang lead on “Skipping Stones,” a totally delightful number with a rhythm that draws smiles all around. I also love the song because I love skipping stones on the water. Seriously, I can spend hours doing it, provided I can find enough flat rocks. It was something my brother and I would do in Gloucester when we were growing up, and now as adults whenever we find ourselves there we still do it. Anyway, it’s an excellent song, and it wrapped up the first set.

There was a break, and then something interesting happened. A second round of the show began. I’ve seen many singer-songwriters perform in the round, and usually they all remain on stage throughout the performance, but I can’t recall seeing a full band playing in the round. David Plenn’s son did not join him on this second round. “Taylor left, it’s a school night,” David joked. He played a really sweet number titled “Things We Leave Behind,” a song that begins with these lines: “My father played trombone/But I can let that slide.” A dad joke in two ways, right? Other lines that stood out are these: “Did I make you feel loved/Did I teach you to be kind/I hope that tops the list of things I’ll leave behind.” In fact, Claire Holley mentioned those lines when she took the stage. But before that, David Plenn played “What Used To Be,” delivering a very cool blues guitar lead. For the first two songs of Claire’s second set, she was joined by both David Plenn and Dan Wistrom on electric guitar. The first of those songs was a fun, catchy number about whale-watching, one that had the audience singing along. “I paid my money, now I’m waiting for the whales to come.” The second was “Wedding Day,” which she said “is not autobiographical.” Her set also included a beautiful number called “Bluebird.” “The love I once knew is gone.” She ended her set with “Float,” from Powdercoat, her duo with Kristin Mooney.

Things were moving even more quickly this round, and one minute after Claire finished playing, the Hawks were ready to go. “Hey, Paul Marshall,” Rob said. “Hey, Rob Waller,” Paul responded. “Want to sing one?” Rob asked. Paul chose “Truth Is You Lied,” mentioning Jill Sobule’s performance of it in his introduction. The band delivered an absolutely beautiful rendition, everything sounding perfect. That was followed by “Ohio,” a song that is always fun. Part of the fun comes Victoria’s backing vocals. Her “Sweet home” makes me smile every time. It was clear the band was having a good time with this song, and so was the audience. Dan’s guitar lead received applause. And how can you not love a line like “I was hooked on my vanity project, but now I’m clean“? 

This band’s work often features gorgeous harmonies, and last night “Jug Of Misery” especially stood out in that regard. This was perhaps the best rendition of this song I’ve heard the band do yet. Toward the end, Rob began to belt out the song’s main line while Dan delivered some really good work on guitar. They wrapped up the set with “White Cross,” which also featured some great harmonies. “Good times didn’t suit me/I had to taste the pain.” Dan got a chance to stretch out a bit on this one. The show ended at 9:32 p.m. The audience wanted an encore, but David said he had to think of his neighbors. The crowd was a bit reluctant to leave, but the Hawks have another show coming up soon, February 22nd at Tuning Fork in Studio City.

I See Hawks In L.A. Set List

Set I|

1. Live And Never Learn
2. On Our Way
3. Slash From Guns N’ Roses
4. Skipping Stones

Set II

1. Truth Is You Lied
2. Ohio
3. Jug Of Misery
4. White Cross

(Soundcheck included bits of “On Our Way” and “Skipping Stones.”)

Here are a few more photos from the night: 

Dinosaur Farm is located at 1510 Mission St. in South Pasadena, California. By the way, there is a parking lot in the back, which I was not aware of when I arrived. I had no trouble finding a spot on the street right in front (spots are free after 6 p.m.). Tickets were $23 if you ordered them ahead of time, $25 at the door.

POSTED BY MICHAEL DOHERTY AT 1:39 PM 

I See Hawks In L.A. returned to McCabe’s last night, delivering an excellent set and delighting an appreciative crowd at the sold-out show. This was the first time the Hawks had played that venue since the special celebration of Paul Lacques’ life back in April of 2024. That show was at a time when the band’s future was uncertain. Now the band is going strong again, with Dan Wistrom on guitar and pedal steel (though last night he played Weissenborn guitar instead of pedal steel). Interestingly, and fittingly, this show was also in honor of Paul Lacques, held to celebrate his birthday, which was the 20th. 

Mike Stinson opened the show, joined by Jesse Harris on electric guitar and backing vocals. He opened the set with “Something Right About You And Me,” which contains the line “You’re my kind of crazy.” That’s a line, or at least a sentiment, that most guys are in touch with. A perfectly sane partner is not to be found (and perhaps not to be desired, even if she did exist), so the trick is to find someone who is your kind of crazy. His set also included “Late For My Funeral,” “The City I Love,” “Out Of The Rain,” “Draw The Line” (which he introduced by saying it “started as me lamenting the death of customer service in America”), “Forever Is Too Long” and “Box I Take To Work” (which was a crowd favorite). He wrapped up his set with a cover of Eliza Gilkyson’s “Beauty Way.”

Less than fifteen minutes later, Victoria Jacobs and Dan Wistrom took the stage and began the set with one of Victoria’s new songs, “Dancing Like A Feather.” “This has been a really weird year,” Victoria said. She mentioned how a lot of stuff had been happening, then added, “Too much stuff.” Indeed. “Dancing Like A Feather” is a beautiful song, and its line “There’s no place I can go to where you are” is heartbreaking. Rob Waller and Paul Marshall then joined Victoria and Dan on stage, along with Richie Lawrence on accordion, and the entire band played another of Victoria’s new songs, “Forever Shine.” She has a solo album in the works, and it might be out around the end of the year, so keep an eye out for that, friends.

“Okay, going back to my job now,” Victoria then said, putting down her acoustic guitar and moving to her spot behind the drum kit. “She can do it all, folks,” Rob told the crowd. And the Hawks went into “Hitchhiker,” such a good song, and one I hadn’t heard them do in a while. It was included on the Grapevinealbum. Richie Lawrence remained on accordion for the rest of the set, adding a special flavor to the songs. That was followed by “On Our Way,” the title track from the band’s 2021 album, and then another song the band hadn’t done in quite some time, “Slash From Guns N’ Roses” from the California Country album. The audience recognized it immediately, and responded with appreciation and joy. One of my favorite elements of this song is that cool bass part. “It was Slash. That’s a true story,” Rob said after the song. “But you guys knew that already.” Yeah, I got the feeling that probably everyone in the room had seen the band numerous times. It was that kind of crowd, and the band was able to feed off that energy. Rob then told the tale of the shirt he was wearing, how he’d lost it after a gig at McCabe’s six or seven years ago and then found it again for sale online. The very same shirt, his shirt. I wonder just how winding was the path that shirt took in getting back to Rob.

The band delivered a really sweet rendition of “I See Hawks In L.A.,” featuring some great vocal work. Dan played Weissenborn guitar on this one. Rob gave him a pat on the back at the end of the song, and the audience responded too. I can’t imagine it would be all that easy to step into the role that Paul Lacques played in this band, and Dan is doing a fantastic job, fully embraced by the group’s fans. Richie introduced “The Wonderful Waltz,” a song that he wrote with Paul Lacques. For this one, Richie was on both vocals and accordion. It was so good to hear this excellent song performed live again. “I love you, Paul,” Richie said as they ended the song. Everyone in the room felt the same way. “The Wonderful Waltz” was followed by “Carbon Dated Love,” which, by the way, the band listed as “Fern” on the set list. The band delivered a particularly good rendition last night, featuring some cool guitar work by Dan.

In addition to Victoria Jacobs’ upcoming solo album, there is a new I See Hawks In L.A. album to look forward to. When Victoria introduced “Skipping Stones,” a song she wrote with Paul Lacques, she said it’s going to be on that new album. It’s a fun song, with something of a Bo Diddley beat, and it featured some great stuff on accordion. Afterward, the band mentioned that Paul’s band Bonedaddys had toured with Bo Diddley. Crazy. “Skipping Stones” was followed by “California Country,” always a crowd-pleaser. I’ve said this before, but one way you can be sure a band is going to be good is if you notice there are musicians in the audience. There are always respected and talented musicians in the audience at Hawks shows, and last night after “California County,” Rob Waller gave a shout-out to members of The Firkins, mentioning how they do a great version of that song. And speaking of talented musicians, Gwendolyn Sanford joined the band on vocals and guitar for “Songbird.” In introducing the song, she told the crowd how she saw a hawk on her porch. The song’s first line is “I saw a hawk in L.A. outside my window.”

“This is the one song I need a chart for,” Dan said before playing “I Fell In Love With The Grateful Dead.” Rob added that it’s the one Hawks song that uses all the chords available to them. There was an incredible energy to the song last night. Paul Marshall then sang lead on “Salvation,” a song that has become a highlight of the band’s sets. That was followed by another crowd favorite, “Good And Foolish Times,” which sounded even better than usual because of the presence of accordion. And the band included that little jam at the end. They wrapped up the set with “Hope Against Hope,” which seemed perfect, a beautiful ending to a great set of music. The encore was a rousing rendition of “Ride My Soul,” with the audience singing along. The show ended at 10:28 p.m.

Set List

1. Dancing Like A Feather
2. Forever Shine
3. Hitchhiker
4. On Our Way
5. Slash From Guns N’ Roses
6. I See Hawks In L.A.
7. The Wonderful Waltz
8. Carbon Dated Love
9. Skipping Stones
10. California Country
11. Songbird
12. I Fell In Love With The Grateful Dead
13. Salvation
14. Good And Foolish Times
15. Hope Against Hope

Encore

1. Ride My Soul

McCabe’s is located at 3101 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica, California.

Link to article

“Raised By Hippies”… “I Fell in Love With the Grateful Dead”… “Humboldt”… You’ve probably heard these songs from this Southern California band on our airwaves; they’ve become ‘NCW classics. Their latest album is another great collection of Cosmic Americana stories, once again invoking classic Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, and it’s a rare opportunity to see the Hawks in Carolina! They’ll be at the Albino Skunk Festival on Friday, an outdoor house concert in Charlotte on Saturday, and another outdoor show in Black Mountain on Sunday (details on their website https://www.iseehawks.com/.) We’re pleased to welcome them back on Monday morning before they take flight back home.

Hawks + polka virtuoso accordionist Alex Meiner

I’ve decided to do my best to avoid giving even another dollar to the greedy music-devouring demon known as Ticketmaster/Live Nation. My focus will be on smaller venues, more intimate music experiences. And what stronger antidote to Live Nation is there than a house concert? And when the band is I See Hawks In L.A., well, things just couldn’t be much better all round. Last night the Hawks gathered in Sierra Madre to deliver two wonderful sets in a back yard that became one of the coolest venues I’ve been to recently. There was a great, inviting and relaxed vibe about the place, sort of how I always imagined my back yard would be if I could ever afford to own a home.

To start the evening, Victoria Jacobs did a short set of mostly new songs. Apparently, she’s not only been writing new material, but recording as well. So I am hopeful there will be a CD release in the near future. If the songs she played last night are an indication of her direction, then it is going to be a powerful and moving and personal album. “Trying to live my life without you/It’s not easy to do,” she sang in her first song of the set. Her set was approximately twenty minutes, ending at 7:20 p.m.

Ten minutes later, the whole band was on stage. There was a short delay as Paul Marshall rearranged a couple of things. While he was doing so, Rob Waller told the story of a show a long while back in Pasadena where the entire band nearly got electrocuted and their amps were fried. He then explained that just now Paul had gotten a little shock from his vocal microphone and so was creating a grounding system. It was the briefest of delays, and within a minute, perhaps two, they were ready to give it a go. Paul joked, “Tell me if my lips light up.” They began the show with “Hope Against Hope,” a perfect choice to open the set, to put things in motion. I was digging Paul’s bass line, and Dan Wistrom delivered a really nice lead on pedal steel. Dan then switched to electric guitar for “White Cross.” It’s interesting to me how sometimes different lines from a song will stand out to you, or hit you in some way. From songs you’ve heard many times, I mean. For example last night from “White Cross,” it was these: “Well, the good times didn’t suit me/I had to taste the pain.” And for a moment I thought of how certain people can’t seem to accept when things are good, when things are actually going their way.

The band then delivered an especially fun rendition of “Poour Me,” Paul Marshall counting the others in. “Coming in on the one,” he reminded them. Dan was back on pedal steel for that one. “Pour me more wine.” And indeed, Paul Marshall had a little more wine after that song. They followed that with “If I Move,” with Rob Waller first saying, “You know, if you live in Los Angeles, and you’ve lived here a while, you can’t really afford to move anymore.” At the end of that song, Dan Wistrom was adjusting his microphone stand, and Rob joked, “We gave Dan the ‘new guy’ stand.” There was then some joking about Paul Marshall’s secret family in Burbank, and the band went into “Highway Down.” Dan had switched to electric guitar for this song. This is still one of my personal favorites, and I saw I wasn’t the only one singing along. Then during “Live And Never Learn,” the song suddenly became funky in the middle there, thanks to Paul’s bass work. It was a delightful surprise. I know I’ve said before that one indication that a concert is something special is if there are several musicians in the audience, and such was the case last night. Rob even mentioned that half of Old Californio was there.

Paul sang lead on his “Truth Is You Lied,” a song that he included on his Weed And Water album, and one that was another highlight of the set. Victoria Jacobs then sang lead on “Kensington Market,” a totally enjoyable song. For some reason, the line about the mods hanging around delighted me. Again, different lines from the songs were striking me last night, and I just felt completely immersed in the music and mood of the evening. It was a beautiful spot, among good folks, and with one of the best bands playing. Dan switched to pedal steel for “Still Want You,” delivering a lead that received applause from the audience. I love hearing this song, in part because of its humor, in part because of its sweet vibe. “Please love me if you can.” The first set then concluded with the always-appreciated “Good And Foolish Times.” The set ended at 8:30 p.m.

Just after 9 p.m., they kicked off the second set with “Raised By Hippies,” with Dan on pedal steel. The lines that stood out to me last night were those about Reagan being president, and not knowing what to do. We are in some kind of twisted fantasy land these days with regards to the Republican Party, but one of the things that has alarmed me is that the few so-called “normal” Republicans look back to Reagan as being what their party should be striving toward again, forgetting just what a complete and total bastard that guy was, and all the harm he caused. So, yeah, I’m sure adults in the early 1980s looked around, and said, what they hell should we do? But all that played in my head for only a moment, as I was thoroughly enjoying the energy of the song. And they followed that with what was possibly the answer for many folks dealing with those Reagan years, “I Fell In Love With The Grateful Dead.” I myself fell in love with the Dead during the early 1980s. Paul Marshall dedicated the song to a guy named Art who was wearing a Grateful Dead shirt. This was Dan Wistrom’s first time playing the song, at least the first time in concert, and Rob joked about how this one has more chords than all their other songs put together. Well, it was wonderful hearing this song again, and Dan did a great job with it. “He did it!” Rob exclaimed at the end.

They followed that with “Carbon Dated Love” and “California Country.” Dan delivered some really nice work on guitar on “California Country.” And then we were treated to “Ohio,” which is always fun. Whenever I hear it, I think about where home is for me, whether it’s here now in Los Angeles or back in Massachusetts. But the music seems to tell me it doesn’t matter, that it’s all home. Still, that conversation continues for many of us, doesn’t it? Are we going to eventually go back to wherever it is we came from? The set then took a beautiful turn with “Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulet” and “Salvation,” the latter with Paul Marshall on lead vocals, and one I don’t think I’d seen these guys play since April. Glad to have back in the set list. It was then time for Victoria Jacobs to sing another one, and you could feel the excitement among the crowd, for almost everyone there knew which song was next, and folks were eager to hear it. It’s one of my girlfriend’s favorites too, and that is “My Parka Saved Me.” The band delivered an especially delightful rendition last night, with what seemed like an added backing vocal bit. There is so much about this song to love, and I hope all music fans get a chance to see the band perform this one at some point.

Rob mentioned seeing John Cougar Mellencamp, Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson at the Hollywood Bowl recently, and from the reactions of some people in the audience, I’m guessing a good portion of last night’s crowd was at that show too. The band then played Willie Nelson’s “Me And Paul,” a song that has been a part of the Hawks shows lately, done in tribute to Paul Lacques. Last night’s rendition featured lots of great pedal steel work. Rob then told the crowd the band had “one more song for you, then we’ll send you off into the Sierra Madre night.” That song was the high-energy number “Humboldt,” which rocked in all the right ways. But it was not the last song of the show. They ended it at 9:59 p.m., thinking that 10 p.m. was a strict cut-off time. But everyone was having too much fun to adhere to that, and so the band did one more, “Hippie On The Road,” fitting as the band will be hitting the road this week. The show ended at 10:04 p.m.

Set List

Set I

1. Hope Against Hope
2. White Cross
3. Poour Me
4. If I Move
5. Highway Down
6. Live And Never Learn
7. Truth Is You Lied
8. Kensington Market
9. Still Want You
10. Good And Foolish Times

Set II

1. Raised By Hippies
2. I Fell In Love With The Grateful Dead
3. Carbon Dated Love
4. California Country
5. Ohio
6. Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulet
7. Salvation
8. My Parka Saved Me
9. Me And Paul
10. Humboldt

Encore

1. Hippie On The Road

Tickets were $20 (or, rather, that was the encouraged donation amount).

We will never replace Paul Lacques because he’s irreplaceable. But as we have very slowly and gently begun playing the songs together again we’ve found healing for us while also summoning Paul’s spirit. We want to share that now with our fans and friends and family so beginning in August we will start playing shows again as the Hawks. 

So far several dear friends have been joining us in different combinations. Brother Richie Lawrence on accordion. Dave Zirbel on pedal steel. Rick Shea and Tony Gilkyson on guitars. We’ve been having a wonderful time playing for the first time with the amazing Dan Wistrom who has been adding gorgeous pedal steel, guitar, and his natural harmonies. We feel lucky to get to play these songs with these players for all of our friends, family, and fans. 

There will be more.

Love, 
Victoria, Rob, and Paul

Friends and family gathered at McCabe’s last night to celebrate the music of Paul Lacques. It was a beautiful, touching and joyous night featuring some of southern California’s best musicians, people that Paul Lacques had played with throughout the years in bands like The Underthings, Rotondi, Earthworm Ensemble, Double Naught Spy Car, and I See Hawks In L.A. And the money raised from the tickets to this sold-out show went to help Victoria Jacobs pay remaining medical bills (same is true of all money made at the merchandise table). This night provided a much-needed opportunity for people to come together to show their love and appreciation for the music, for Paul, and for each other.

Even before the doors were opened, folks were meeting in line outside, greeting each other with hugs,  checking in with one another and sharing fond memories. It was the kind of night where you knew everyone else there, or at least their faces were familiar to you, and so you were comfortable when the tears came. The music began at 8, Victoria Jacobs opening the night with “Clever,” a song she wrote when she and Paul Lacques got engaged. She stopped when there was feedback, a moment that actually lightened the mood for everyone. For this song, she was joined by Paul Marshall on bass and Dave Zirbel on pedal steel. It’s a beautiful song, and its last line, “There’s no end to our love,” was especially moving last night.

Rob Waller said that the celebration would move largely in chronological order, giving a taste of the different music that Paul Lacques gave to the world. One thing that was striking was the wonderful diversity, the great range, of his material. I had first heard Paul in Double Naught Spy Car in the late 1990s, followed quickly by I See Hawks In L.A., two bands that themselves are quite different from each other, and was only vaguely aware of what had come before. But when Richie Lawrence and Katie Thomas took the stage, along with Simeon Pillich and Shawn Nourse, to play a couple of waltzes, it quickly became clear how wide Paul’s musical tastes spread. And those songs – “Leaving You,” from the Rotondi album Preaching + Confessing, and “The Wonderful Waltz” from the Goin’ South Band album Home In My Heart – were absolutely wonderful. Anthony Lacques, Dave Markowitz and Mike Stinson then joined them for the delightfully playful “Corn.” A fun number from Earthworm Ensemble’s self-titled album that had folks smiling and laughing.

It’s interesting to me how Paul Lacques worked with certain musicians on multiple projects. Richie Lawrence and Simeon Pillich remained on stage as The Underthings, led by Stefanie Naifeh, continued the celebration with a fantastic rendition of “Home In My Heart.” I know my girlfriend will say the last thing I need to do is buy more records and compact discs, but how could I not want to add all this music to my personal collection? They followed “Home In My Heart,” with “Voulez Vous Danser,” a song written in French. Stefanie said that the lyrics translate, in part, to “There is no reason to dance/I will dance.” Wonderful! That seems to be the philosophy of the music right there. Peter Lacques then joined them on harmonica for “Brand New Mind.” By the way, Marcus Watkins of Double Naught Spy Car played guitar on these songs. Then Double Naught Spy Car followed, with Danny McGough on keyboard. They played “Danger High!” (and, yes, the crowd shouted out the song’s title at the end), “Kay Sara Sarah” and “jan-michael vincent rehab.com,” Marcus Watkins on lap steel for those last two. McCabe’s doesn’t really have enough room for dancing, but those around me were bouncing in their seats.

Paul Lacques was part of a musical family, and four of his brothers came together last night to perform the I See Hawks In L.A. song “California Country.” They were then joined by the fifth brother, Gabe Lacques, for an energetic rendition of “Hecker Pass,” also an I See Hawks In L.A. song. Anthony Lacques switched from bass to drums for “Teresa,” with Bubba Hernandez (of Brave Combo) joining them on bass and vocals, and Richie Lawrence was on accordion. What a fun song! It raised my spirits tremendously. Bubba Hernandez encouraged people to dance if they wished, and through there wasn’t much room, some people did. This song was on Rotondi’s Play On album, which I need to pick up at some point. Tony Gilkyson and Rick Shea then took the stage to deliver a couple more Hawks numbers. Tony sang lead on a beautiful, slow, touching rendition of “Hope Against Hope,” a song from Grapevine.  Rick sang lead on a pretty rendition of that album’s title track, the audience singing along at the end.

I See Hawks In L.A. is one of my favorite bands, and last night Rob Waller, Paul Marshall and Victoria Jacobs were joined by Rick Shea, Tony Gilkyson, Richie Lawrence and Dave Zirbel. They started with one of the band’s more recent songs, “Salvation,” with Paul Marshall on lead vocals. In the introduction, Paul said it was the last song he and Paul Lacques wrote together. It’s an excellent song, and after the show a guy looking at the CDs for sale asked which one had that song on it. Unfortunately, it has not been included on any album, though I know a new album had been planned. They followed that with an energetic rendition of “Humboldt,” with Mike Stinson joining them on vocals. A seriously great jam. They kept the spirits high with “Good And Foolish Times,” with Rick, Tony, Dave and Richie all taking turns at leads. “We certainly had some good and foolish times,” Rob said before they started that song. Indeed. You could feel everyone in the room reflecting on some of those times, remembering and even rejoicing at those memories, and thankful to have experienced them. Then, in introducing “The River Knows,” Rob mentioned writing that song with Paul Lacques one morning while they were staying in Ireland. It was a beautiful and moving rendition. A certain number of songs had been planned, but the Hawks decided to add two more – “Carbon Dated Love,” which Victoria mentioned had not been rehearsed by the folks playing with them, and “I See Hawks In L.A.” The moment Dave Zirbel began that one on pedal steel, everyone in the room recognized it.

The Lacques Brothers, along with their sisters and the other musicians, joined the Hawks for the final song of the night, “Ride My Soul,” a song that was included on the Rotondi album Preaching + Confessing. Everyone in the audience was singing along too. It was a wonderful conclusion to the night. When the music was over, no one was in any particular hurry to leave. Eventually, an announcement was made asking folks to move to the front room so that the chairs could be put away. It was in that room that the merchandise table was set up, with all the money from sales going to help Victoria Jacobs covers the medical bills. I added two Rotondi records to my collection – Preaching + Confessing and Polka Changed My Life Today – as well as a cassette copy of the self-titled release from The Underthings. Obviously, there is a lot more music that I wish to explore, and that makes me happy, knowing that there are other Paul Lacques recordings that I have yet to hear. It’s not the same thing as getting to see him perform, but it is a way to keep that spirit going. His music is going to live on in these recordings, and in all those who continue to listen to the magic.

Set List

1. Clever
2. Leaving You
3. The Wonderful Waltz
4. Corn
5. Home In My Heart
6. Voulez Vous Danser
7. Brand New Mind
8. Danger High!
9. Kay Sara Sarah
10. jan-michael vincent rehab.com
11. California Country
12. Hecker Pass
13. Teresa
14. Hope Against Hope
15. Grapevine
16. Salvation
17. Humboldt
18. Good And Foolish Times
19. The River Knows
20. Carbon Dated Love
21. I See Hawks In L.A.
22. Ride My Soul

Never shy about sharing his opinions with anyone, he was averse to sharing his personal pain and problems.  Few knew of his battles over the last several years with the cancer that finally took his life.  That was the way he wanted it.  

He leaves behind an astonishing body of work, not just with ISHILA, but with Double Naught Spy Car, Earthworm Ensemble, the historic polka rebels, Rotondi, The Bonedaddys, The Underthings, numerous other bands, and the many, many artists for whom he contributed sometimes blazing, sometimes sensitive, always appropriate guitar, lap steel, jews harp, drums, production, songwriting, and more.

His ear for detail combined with a tireless mission for work provided the impetus for the Hawks’ 10 albums and steady touring and gigs.

Forever curious, often challenging, occasionally contentious, at his heart of hearts he was a gentle, sweet man, whose default was caring for others, not just his family and friends, but frequently complete strangers.

To say we will miss him is a monumental understatement.  But we hope and pray, and believe that his spirit will soar, like the hawks he loved to watch, free from pain, while his body rests in peace. He is survived by his beloved wife and Hawks drummer Victoria Jacobs, eight brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews, and all who loved him and his music. 

I was recently married, and cosmically coincidentally, my various music incomes abruptly dried up. We were broke. I abandoned my new and exciting project, an experimental country band called I See Hawks In L.A., for exile to Japan and performing a really horrible mishmash of American songs on really horrible instruments for Japanese tourists at the brand new Universal theme park in Osaka. An artistic nadir heralded by a national nadir we may never recover from.

Japan turned into a delightful two months respite from the military madness and ocean of red white and blue engulfing Los Angeles, and we didn’t want to come back. At LAX the change in atmosphere from enlightened and polite society to surly nihilism was palpable. Welcome home. What are these, sir?

I needed a job. My brother Anthony nepotized me into the lowly tape logging position at a History Channel production company, and I graduated to researcher, interviewing climate scientists, fusion scientists, anthropologists, candy makers, bomb makers, for the Modern Marvels series.

Seven years flew by and the company became a second family, full of stimulating conversations among the producers and writers, Quiznos and yogurt shops fulfilling your every Ventura Boulevard culinary need. I felt strange enjoying a day job as much as I did, even as my music projects also blossomed. Brother Anthony and I had been saving strange National Archives historical clips over the years just for fun, and envisioned a series of between-show non sequiturs showing up between History Channel shows. At a production meeting I finally proposed just that, and the execs said, yeah, let’s do it. And you’ll be the host. Logger Paul.

Putting coherent modulated sentences together was never my strong suit, and I begged off from the host job. But the powers that be insisted. I gathered raw footage of Mussolini’s son and Our Gang communing in Hollywood, dangerous early flying machines, twisted beauty pageants, bombs, Hitler puppetry, and a POW choir singing about their torture in elegant harmony at a White House dinner. This should do it. We shot 15 episodes, which were to appear once an hour between commercials around the clock on the History Channel. Yes. I was to be a nationally known talking head.

One episode aired, a long clip of the radically dense U.S. bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, with minimally moralizing commentary. But the long haired mush mouthed hippie and volatile content was too much for the East Coast exec. Logger Paul was pulled after one airing, to zero surprise from me. But the clips have survived, and in retrospect I think they fulfill our goal: to be immersed in a tiny facet of human activity that illuminates the bigger times from which it was plucked. There’s some crazy things going on out there. Always were, always will be.