Hawksley Workman

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Hawksley Workman
Hawksley Workman performing in Toronto, Ontario, 2007
Hawksley Workman performing in Toronto, Ontario, 2007
Background information
Birth name Ryan Corrigan
Born March 4, 1975 (1975-03-04) (age 33)
Huntsville, Ontario
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre(s) Cabaret, pop rock, glam rock
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Website www.hawksleyworkman.com

Hawksley Workman (born March 4, 1975) is the stage name of Ryan Corrigan, a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has garnered critical acclaim for his quirky yet accessible blend of cabaret pop and glam rock.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Corrigan was born in Huntsville in the Muskoka region of Ontario, attending Almaguin Highlands Secondary School and later Huntsville High School. He later moved south, to Toronto, to pursue his musical career.

His first album, 1999's For Him and the Girls earned him comparisons to the likes of Tom Waits, Rheostatics and Harry Nilsson.

In 2000, Workman collaborated on an album called Chrome Reflection, credited to a band named Bird which also featured fellow Canadians Jason Collett and Andrew Cash. The album also featured performances by most of Workman's then current live band.

(Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves, released in 2001, became Workman's breakthrough record both in Canada and Europe, spawning the hit singles "Striptease" and "Jealous of Your Cigarette". At the end of 2001, he also released an EP of self-penned Christmas-themed songs, Almost a Full Moon.

Workman has been known for his unusual and creative promotional materials as well as his music. Around the time of his debut release, he published a number of letters to "Isadora", a fictional lover, in the classified section of Toronto's NOW. (These letters were later published as the book Hawksley Burns for Isadora.) As well, his record company press kit for The Delicious Wolves included such fanciful biographical details as sailing through the air on a kite, and learning music while working as a janitor at a tap dance academy.

In 2002, Workman was awarded the Juno Award for Best New Solo Artist and also received the award for Best Video for "Jealous of Your Cigarette".

Lover/Fighter followed in 2003; the album included the hits "We Will Still Need a Song", "Anger as Beauty", "Even an Ugly Man" and "No Reason to Cry Out Your Eyes (On the Highway Tonight)". The same year Workman was featured, with recording artists Jully Black and Sam Roberts, in a multi- award-winning MuchMusic social-issue documentary "Inside Your Threads", by Tania Natscheff and Liz Marshall. Workman and Black travelled to Bangladesh to witness the living and working conditions of garment workers making clothes for the North American market.

Live in Lille, released in 2004, is a DVD of a live performance performed in Lille, France, showcases his live musicianship.

Treeful of Starling was released on February 28, 2006, a quiet retreat compared to the more high energy Lover/Fighter.

In later 2006 Puppy (a boy's truly rough) and My Little Toothless Beauties (which displays a picture of a rotting carcass on the front), were completed but never released to the general public. They are only available for purchase at live shows, through the band's website [1], or on the internet as MP3 albums.

Workman's second most recent album, Between the Beautifuls, was released in early 2008, and soon followed by a single titled "Piano Blink".

Following on the heels of Between the Beautifuls is an initially Europe exclusive(excluding the UK) release titled Los Manlicious, which was released in May 2008.

Workman is a prolific artist, usually writing, recording, mastering and releasing entire albums in the span of a few weeks. He explains, "A lot of artists I know they get a year and a half away from a record they've just made it's like... 'Oh... it's terrible I hate that thing,' ya know? When I record [a] record, I never take more than a day per song... so by the time the record is mixed, finished, complete, done... I'm still in a honeymoon with the record..."[2]

His music has been featured on the television shows Scrubs ("Stop Joking Around" featured in "My Cake" Season 4/Episode 6), Falcon Beach, Queer as Folk and Whistler.

Workman has also produced records for a number of other artists, including Serena Ryder, John Southworth, Tegan and Sara, Paul Macleod, Sarah Slean, Jeremy Fisher and The Cash Brothers.

[edit] Hawksley's band

  • Hawksley Workman – vocals, guitar
  • Todd Lumley ("Mr. Lonely") – piano, organ, keyboards
  • Derrick Brady – bass guitar
  • Wyatt Burton – guitar
  • Stephan Szczesniak – drums

[edit] Guitar equipment

Hawksley revealed his choices for guitars and equipment in an interview with Australian Guitar Magazine in January 2006.[3]

[edit] Guitars

  • Squier 1952 Telecaster reissue – early 1980s model, JV series, made in Japan
  • Gibson Les Paul Standard – early 1970s model, ebony finish, Bigsby vibrato tailpiece
  • Gibson Les Paul Standard – early 1970s model, wine red finish, Bigsby vibrato tailpiece

[edit] Amplifiers

Hawksley uses two amps on tour. The first amp is either a Fender Blues Deville, Fender Hot Rod Deville, or a Vox AC-30. Using an A/B/Y footswitch, he switches between this first amp and a Fender Pro Junior which he uses for guitar solos. He has stated that he uses no pedals with the exception of an MXR "Micro Amp" pedal used with the Vox AC-30.

[edit] Discography

Release Date[4] Title Format Label
1999 For Him and the Girls LP Isadora Records
2001 For Him and the Girls – UK re-release LP Ba Da Bing!
2001 (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves LP Isadora Records/Universal Music
2001 Almost a Full Moon EP/LP Isadora Records
2002 Almost a Full Moon – re-release, new cover art, new track list LP Isadora Records/Universal Music
2003 The Delicious Wolves – UK re-release with two bonus tracks and new cover art LP Ba Da Bing!
2003 Lover/Fighter LP Isadora Records/Universal Music
2003 Anger As Beauty – single EP Universal Music
September 8, 2003 We Will Still Need a Song – 4-track single from the Lover/Fighter album EP Universal Music
July 8, 2004 We Will Still Need a Song – 2-track single from the Lover/Fighter album, plus the music video, released in Europe EP Universal Music
2004 No Reason To Cry Out Your Eyes (On the Highway Tonight) EP Universal Music
2004 Live in Lille DVD Isadora Records/Universal Music
Recorded in 1998, released in 2004 Before We Were Security Guards* LP Isadora Records
February 28, 2006 (Canada)

March 13, 2006 (France)

 Treeful of Starling LP Isadora Records/Universal Music
2006 My Little Toothless Beauties* – not commercially released LP Isadora Records
2006 Puppy (a boy's truly rough)* – not commercially released LP Isadora Records
2008 Between the Beautifuls LP Universal Music
2008 Between the B-Sides* – not commercially released EP Isadora Records
2008 Los Manlicious – To be released May 2008 in Europe(excluding the UK) LP Universal Music

* Only available at live shows or through the band's website. Digital copies are available from Zunior.com.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Albums | HawksleyWorkman.com Store
  2. ^ Workman, Hawksley interviews (audio, mp3, video)
  3. ^ http://www.hawksleyworkman.com/press/20060101ag.html
  4. ^ Discography. Official Community of Hawksley Workman. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.

[edit] External links

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Hawksley Workman
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