- Greg Hawkes
Greg Hawkes (born October 22, 1952http://bittersuiteband.com/music_birthdays-october.htm ] ) is a
musician best known as thekeyboardist for the New Wave bandThe Cars .Hawkes, a native of
Fulton, Maryland , attendedAtholton High School where he played in a band called Teeth. He then attendedBerklee College of Music for two years, majoring in composition and flute. He left to play in various bands, includingMartin Mull and his Fabulous Furniture, where he played flute, saxophones and clarinet. He also played in a band calledRichard and The Rabbits , which included future Cars bandmatesRic Ocasek and Ben Orr.The Cars
Greg Hawkes' most notable involvement was with
The Cars . Hawkes pushed the limits of available technology and sequencing helping to forge the sound of the 80's. His signature sounds include the Prophet V Touch Sync sound heard on Let's Go and Hello Again as well as arpegiated and syncopated synth lines such as on Shake it Up and Heartbeat City.Other
Hawkes also played with Ric Ocasek as a solo artist, often playing both keyboards and bass guitar. He also did a solo album, "Niagara Falls", which was released in 1983. He also plays guitar, percussion instruments, saxophone, clarinet and ukulele.
Current
Hawkes lives in Boston, where he works as a
session musician . He is a member ofThe New Cars [http://thenewcars.com] , a quasi-reformation ofThe Cars also featuring original guitaristElliot Easton . Filling in for other original Cars members are singer/guitaristTodd Rundgren , Utopia bassist/vocalistKasim Sulton and former Tubes drummerPrairie Prince . Atom Ellis fills in at bass when Kasim is touring with Meatloaf. The band is touring through the 2006–2007 season. A new live album with three studio tracks, "It's Alive! ", was released in June 2006.Hawkes' ukulele renditions of
The Cars songs can be heard here:
#"My Best Friend's Girl" [http://www.ukuleledisco.com/bestgirl ukuleledisco.com/bestgirl]
#"Drive" [http://ukuleledisco.com/drive ukuleledisco.com/drive]
#"Tonight She Comes" [http://ukuleledisco.com/shecomes ukuleledisco.com/shecomes]
#"You Might Think" [http://ukuleledisco.com/youmightthink ukuleledisco.com/youmightthink]Recently Greg has been playing with The Turtles (starring Flo and Eddie): http://www.theturtles.com/documents/37.html
olo Album/Singles
* "Niagara Falls" (1982 Passport Records)
* "Jet Lag" (1983)
* "Backseat Waltz" (1983)Notes
[http://www.blogtalkradio.com/runt/2008/07/08/rundgren-radio Greg Hawkes 2 hour interview on RundgrenRadio.com]
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