by Mykaela A. Jones
During the Elevation Tour stop in Kremmling, punk rock Christian band, Hawk Nelson, sat down to do a quick interview with the Grand Gazette. The super chill and down to earth group – composed of Dan Brio, Jonathan Steingard, Micah Kuiper, and David Niacaris – sat down in the teacher’s lounge of West Grand High school to talk about the band, the festival, and their upcoming plans.
Hawk Nelson originated in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada in 2000. While they have gone through changes, including new members coming and original members either stepping down or retiring, that is all just part of the process, according to Dan Brio, who brought up the fact that Jonathan Steingard went from being the bands lead guitarist to a singer for the band during 2012, when the so called “New Age Hawk Nelson” was coming together.
When asked what their goal as a band is, Jonathan stated, “We all have loved music and performing as it allowed us to travel (the group has been to all 48 continental states in the US), but what we found to be a repeating factor was that our songs were encouraging the young people who listen to our music, saying that a lot of our songs were like their anthems, overtime that became the real mediator for us, I guess you could say our main goal is to keep encouraging people.”
All the band members agreed upon the fact that Kremmling, Colorado was a sweet “hidden gem” in which they enjoyed visiting. They said they were able to get out and go hiking and fishing, which they don’t get to do while touring most of the time. Jonathan again stating, “The setting, the people, and the vibe are the things we all have been enjoying,” while Dan said that Kremmling is “Gorgeous.”
On the note of their music, they say that despite being a Christian band their sound today is heavily influenced by alternative and punk bands, such as Blink-182, Good Charlotte, Fun., The Bleachers (Which Jonathan suggests everyone listen to), and more recently Coldplay. After the Elevation tour, Hawk Nelson will be making their way across America again before heading off to play in the Philippine Islands and Tokyo, Japan.
The members of Hawk Nelson then left for their set and played a high energy, fun, and all together successful show. The group was so polite and all around super fun to interview.
