MORE HAWK NELSON
Find out about Hawk's Thousand Foot Krutch connection, family relationships and wilderness adventures with Bigfoot.

by Joanne Brokaw

THOUSAND FOOT HAWK?

Thousand Foot Krutch’s Trevor McNevan, along with Tooth and Nail’s Aaron Sprinkle, co-produced Hawk Nelson’s debut album, Letters to the President as well as their sophomore project, Smile, It’s The End of the World. The guys in Hawk Nelson consider Trevor a mentor.

Growing up, Jason and Trevor went to the same school, church and youth group. Even though Trevor was four years older, he always took time out to encourage the fledgling band.

“Whenever he would get back from tour he’d be like, ‘How’s the band going? You got any new songs?’ “ Jason says. “He always seemed to care, even though I was like 12-years-old [and] in a band that I know now was terrible.”

The positive attention had a big influence on Jason, who says that when he’s home in Canada now he notices up-and-coming bands and does what he can to encourage them.

“I try to carry on the torch,” he says. “I don’t have a lot to say because I’m just me. I’m not Trevor McNevan, you know?”

Trevor laughs when he hears Jason’s comments. Hawk Nelson was the first band that the TFK front man has really developed, noticing early on that the guys had not only talent but a sincere heart for what they do.

“I love those guys,” Trevor says. “They’re so incredible to work with that it doesn’t ever feel like work.”

HAWK NELSON: WILDERNESS ADVENTURERS

Last summer, Hawk Nelson braved excessive airport layovers and 100-degree heat to join 60 Breakaway readers in kicking off Breakaway’s Summit Adventure in Oakhurst, Calif. That meant hanging with your fellow readers, playing a private outdoor concert and pumping up the guys before launching them onto the trail for 10 days. Hawk was a great addition to all the festivities, and the Breakaway staff was honored to have them. Here’s a glimpse of what went down from Hawk Nelson’s perspectives.

Breakaway: So tell me about the Breakaway Summit Adventure.

Daniel: The trip was really fun. We were only there for one day, which was disappointing. We had to fly to do a show before and a show right after. If we could, we would have been there for the hike and everything.

Jason: I saw, like, five deer. It was awesome.

Daniel: Yeah, Jason saw five deer, but what he doesn’t know is that near Yosemite National Park, I actually saw Bigfoot.

Breakaway: Bigfoot? What did he look like?

Daniel: Well, he had big feet, but he’s not as tall as people think. He’s actually about 6’5,” 6’6”.

Breakaway: Did he talk to you?

Daniel: They don’t speak English. Yeah, there are more than one. Bigfoot is the common name, but you can also refer to them as Yetis.

Seventeen-year old Chase Denton had never heard of Hawk Nelson before the Summit Adventure trip last summer. But he certainly won’t forget his experience with them.

“Once I arrived at Camp Oakhurst, I was expecting a second-rate band who sang forgettable songs. I was pleasantly surprised when they turned out to be a charismatic band with moving and catchy songs, great personalities and a love for Jesus that was made clear without being preachy," says Chase Denton, 17, of Ashville, N.C. “The band gave free autographed CDs to each guy on the trip. I consider mine a soundtrack of California and Summit Adventure. It brings back some really good memories every time I listen to it. I am now a huge Hawk Nelson fan.”

On the way from Alabama to Fresno, Calif., 18-year old Kevin Hall’s flight was canceled, leaving him with time to kill in the Las Vegas airport. Standing in line he met Hawk Nelson and they made the last leg of the journey to Fresno together. Until last August Kevin was exclusively a country music fan. His meeting with Hawk Nelson changed that.

“In Alabama, Hawk Nelson would stick out on account of their wardrobe, and because of the negative stereotypes that can go along with that look. I was a little on guard until I talked to them for a while," says Kevin of Dadeville, Ala. “I was impressed with how they handled the stress from the flight delays and their sense of humor. They were actually quite laid back about the whole delay thing. They were always laughing, joking around, telling hilarious-laugh-till-it-hurts stories about their trips. They were a blast to be around."

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REAL RELATIONSHIPS

When he was 17, Jason Dunn took a vacation to the east coast of Canada, to the same place his grandparents liked to visit. He brought home a gift for his grandmother, with whom he had a special bond. “I bought this little stuffed-animal puffin for her, because my grandmother was like my best friend. I bought it because I loved her, you know?” A few years later, his grandmother visited the coast and, without telling her grandson, brought the stuffed puffin with her. When Jason saw his grandmother’s vacation pictures, the stuffed puffin was posed in every shot. “It was so emotional,” he laughs. A few months after that trip Jason’s grandmother went into a coma. When he went to say goodbye, he was very upset. “I hugged her and she started crying,” Jason says. “The doctors couldn’t believe what they were seeing. She’d been unemotional for three months, and I actually brought tears to her eyes.” Several years later, Jason was driving to Sacramento when some country music came on the radio. “I don’t even listen to country music, but my grandparents used to,” he says. He says he’d sleep over at their house and wake up to country music, the same music he was hearing on the car radio. “Both my grandparents are dead now and it really made me miss them,” Jason says. “I started sobbing while I was driving.”