Dan Hawkins | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Daniel Francis Hawkins |
Born | Chertsey, England | 12 December 1976
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
Years active | 2000–present |
Labels | |
Website | thedarknesslive |
Daniel Francis Hawkins (born 12 December 1976) is an English guitarist, [1] best known as a guitarist and backing singer of the rock band the Darkness. The band, founded and fronted by his older brother Justin Hawkins, achieved notable mainstream success between 2002 and 2006. He also formerly played lead guitar for Stone Gods.
He is influenced by hard rock and glam metal bands, including Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, AC/DC, Queen, Mötley Crüe and Thin Lizzy.[ citation needed ]
After moving to Lowestoft, Hawkins attended Kirkley High School and achieved good grades in his GCSEs before leaving his hometown behind for the bright lights and cosmopolitan lifestyle of Camden, London. From a young age, he aspired to be a musician, beginning on drums, moving on to bass and finally mastering the guitar. Back in his early days in his professional career, he worked as a session guitarist for various artists including Natalie Imbruglia. Previous bands include Vital Signs and Empire before The Darkness consisting of Justin Hawkins, Ed Graham, Frankie Poullain and later, Richie Edwards, became a mainstream success. With The Darkness he has won Brits, MTV and Kerrang awards and the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for songwriting in 2004. [2] The Darkness split in 2006. [3]
In 2006, after The Darkness disbanded, Dan regrouped with bandmates Edwards and Graham to begin the band that would, after the recruitment of bassist Toby Macfarlaine, become Stone Gods. He played lead guitar in the band and saw their debut album Silver Spoons & Broken Bones , which was well received by critics. [4] Stone Gods went on hiatus in 2011, preceding the reunion of The Darkness.[ citation needed ]
Hawkins was involved with the production process during the recording of The Darkness's albums, learning the skills alongside famed producer, Roy Thomas Baker. He co-produced B-sides for One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back . His first credited project was Stone Gods' album Silver Spoons & Broken Bones with the record producer, Nick Brine.[ citation needed ] Hawkins also built and owns a luxury, commercial residential recording studio 'Leeders Farm' in Wymondham, Norfolk where The Darkness albums were recorded, which is run by Brine and his partner Katy Dann. [5] Bands such as The Dandies, Arctic Monkeys, Seasick Steve, The Rifles, Teenage fanclub, Wild Beasts, and more recently ex Thunder guitarist Luke Morley's new band The Union have all recorded there.[ citation needed ]
Hawkins is credited with composing the theme tune to the CBeebies television show, Grace's Amazing Machines. [6]
Hawkins' guitar of choice is the Gibson Les Paul [7] and his main instrument, both live and in the studio, is his well used 2000 Honeyburst Standard (nicknamed "Dune" after the David Lynch film [8] ) which he played extensively in The Darkness and in Stone Gods. Over the years he has owned and played several Les Paul Standards and currently tours with 6-8 of them including a second 2000 Honeyburst (nicknamed 'Terry'), a Wine Red 1997 Standard (known as UB40 which is used for the songs 'Givin' Up' and 'Friday Night'), a late 1970s Sunburst B-stock formerly owned by the guitarist from the band Sputnik), a 2003 Goldtop (belonging to his guitar tech, but borrowed for tours), a late 1990s Standard re-finished in white, and a 2013 Honeyburst Flametop.[ citation needed ]
During 2003-2006 he used a Gretsch Elliot Easton solid body for the song "Black Shuck" but this was sold to fund the recording of the second Stone Gods album. Another guitar that has not been seen during this reunion is a 2000 Standard in black (nicknamed 'Black Shuck') that was previously also used live. He also owns a Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty which was originally handbuilt for Jimmy Page, but Page decided it was too heavy and rejected the instrument; Page is one of Hawkins's biggest influences. [9] It is fitted with a Fishman Powerblend pickup and is used for the song "Love Is Only a Feeling". It is also known that when Dan was waiting for the arrival of a different humbucker to put into the instrument his then-guitar tech said that he had a Kent Armstrong prototype humbucker that was taken out of one of Angus Young's Gibson SG's. He fitted Angus's old humbucker to the guitar and liked the sound so much that he left it in.[ citation needed ]
Among a variety of amplifiers, his primary choices are Marshalls, particularly the 1959 SLP and Handwired Re-Issue models (as is exemplified in videos of The Darkness live at The Astoria, London in 2003). For his 'dirtier' sounds in Stone Gods, he played a Marshall JCM 800 Re-Issue head through Marshall 1960AX/BX cabinets, combined with a Diezel Herbert head. He has also been seen using both a Vox AC30 combo and a Wizard Modern Classic head to complement his several Marshall stacks. [10] Effects wise, a vintage Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer pedal is his mainstay for overdrive, but photos of his 2012/2013 touring rig show additional pedals from Electro-Harmonix, MXR, Strymon and Devi Ever among others.[ citation needed ]
A large amount of Hawkins' distinct tone comes from his use of heavy gauge strings. He uses Ernie Ball Beefy Slinkys (typically; 11, 15, 22p, 30w, 42w, 54w) and Jim Dunlop Maxi Grip 0.73mm picks.[ citation needed ]
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The Darkness are a British rock band that formed in Lowestoft, England in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins, his brother Dan Hawkins, Frankie Poullain and Andrew Lewis.
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Stone Gods were a British hard rock band formed by some ex-members of the hard rock band The Darkness. Their debut album, titled Silver Spoons & Broken Bones, was released in July 2008, with the first single "Knight of the Living Dead" being released in June 2008. In December 2010 they officially went on hiatus.
Silver Spoons & Broken Bones is the only studio album by East Anglian band Stone Gods and was released on July 7, 2008 through Play It Again Sam. It is the band's first full-length album. Two of the songs, "Burn the Witch" and "You Brought a Knife to a Gunfight", were previously released on the limited edition Burn the Witch EP.
"Don't Drink the Water" is the third single from Stone Gods, and the second song on their debut album, Silver Spoons & Broken Bones. It was announced on 2 September 2008, on the official website blog, and released on 27 October 2008, and reached number 2 in the UK Rock Chart and 10 in the UK Indie Chart. Along with the title track came two B-sides, recorded at Norwich Waterfront in June. They are both live.
Hot Cakes is the third studio album by British rock band the Darkness, released on 20 August 2012 on Canary Dwarf Records. Produced by Nick Brine and band members Justin and Dan Hawkins, the album is the band's first since their 2011 reunion, and the first to feature founding bassist Frankie Poullain since the release of Permission to Land in 2003. It is also the last album to feature all 4 original members, after Ed Graham's departure in 2014. Despite not being released until 20 August, the album was made available to stream on the Rolling Stone website on 14 August.
Last of Our Kind is the fourth studio album by British hard rock band The Darkness. Produced by the band's guitarist Dan Hawkins at his studio The Hawks Nest in Norfolk, it was first released on 27 May 2015 in Japan, and later in other territories, by Canary Dwarf Records. The album is the first and only by the band to feature drummer Emily Dolan Davies, who replaced Ed Graham in 2014 before leaving less than a year later. The album also features Frankie Poullain on lead vocals for the first time on the final track Conquerors. The album was promoted via PledgeMusic, with the band offering signed copies of the album on both CD and vinyl, as well as signed guitars, handwritten lyric sheets and setlists from the band's archive.
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