Another Amazing Interview!!!

Well... This is another interview with the band Hawk Nelson!!! This on is from Brio Teenage Girl Magazine!!!


Maybe you have a “Hawk Nelson is my friend” green T-shirt. Or perhaps you’ve seen the guys perform on the Revolve tour. And you’ve probably heard their song “Friend Like That ” on the radio. But this interview is about more than the things you already know. We have answers to the questions that YOU, our Brio sisses, e-mailed to us a few months ago. So check out the honest and entertaining responses from lead singer Jason Dunn, bassist Daniel Biro and guitarist Jonathan Steingard.

Brio: Since friendship is the theme of your new album, “Hawk Nelson Is My Friend,” what makes someone a good friend?
Jason: You might have some really good friends, but if they’re always talking bad about somebody else, I don’t consider them very good friends. A good friend is someone you can trust to say good things about you—someone who’s loyal and always there for you.
Daniel: Friendships aren’t necessarily telling the person what they always want to hear. The guys in the band are great friends because, through thick and thin, we’ve bonded, and we’ve stuck together. A true friend will call you out on things; they’ll be honest with you even if you don’t want to hear it. That’s what those guys are to me.
Jonathan: The people I’m closest to are those whom I don’t see for a year and then pick right up where we left off. That’s been kind of a theme, since we travel so much.

Who’s an influential friend in your life?
Jason: There’s one guy from high school with whom I still keep in touch. He’s a great guy, and he listens. He always cares about what I have to say, and that means a lot.
Jonathan: Daniel has been my best friend since before we were in the band together. We used to play in separate bands back in Canada, and every time we’d hang out, it was like we’d been hanging out for years. Daniel’s a couple years older than me, so he was one of the people who inspired me to want to be in a band.

What are some of your favorite songs from the new album?
Jason: In the past, we’d been writing songs about what we were hearing from kids in e-mails. And this time around, because this album is a dedication to our audience, the songs are more real. They’re about life on the road or growing up in my small town in Canada. It was fun to sing them in the studio, because it actually means something to me.
Daniel: “Not the Same” because it’s a song that describes our hometown, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. That’s a personal, close song to me.
Jonathan: I really enjoy “Friend Like That” because it’s fresh. It’s the first time we’ve been more intentional about our faith and moving away from being a little bit more vague. “Friend Like That” talks about the closeness we have in Christ. We’ve moved to a place where we can be more specific about saying things like that.

How did you get started as a band?
Jason: I started a band when I was 12. My dad was a worship leader at my church, and another guy who played the drums had a son my age. I started Hawk Nelson when I was 19. The guys in my original band in high school all got real jobs, and I couldn’t seem to get a real job, so I kept going with music. Along the way, I ran into Daniel and Jonathan, who also couldn’t get real jobs!

What does your band name mean?
Jason: The name doesn’t really mean anything. When I was 14, I was playing a snowboarding/skateboarding video game, and Hawk Nelson was my character’s name that I made up. But why it’s the band name, I couldn’t tell you!

How do you maintain your faith while you’re out on tour and away from your home church?Jason: When we first started, we found ourselves growing stale spiritually. So we’ve been doing devotionals every day as a band family. Some of us would do it on our own, but we weren’t growing spiritually as a band, and it’s important to stay focused as a team.
Daniel: The communication you have with your parents or your best friend, it’s the same with God. That’s helped me understand His availability to me on a daily basis. I miss not having a home church, but it’s helped me to develop a closer relationship with God.
Jonathan: Spending time making Him a priority. I’m always feel encouraged when I make time to sit down and spend time with God, even if it’s just 15 minutes. I also talk to my wife daily, and sharing what God’s doing in our lives is pretty cool, because it gives us a different perspective.

If there were no Hawk Nelson, what would you do as a career?
Jason: I’d probably be writing songs, and I’d be in a different band. I don’t think I could do anything else!
Daniel: I’ve thought about opening a coffee shop with a small venue for acoustic performances. I worked at coffee shops before the band, and I feel like the band is the in-between thing, and then I’ll go back to that (but hopefully I’ll have my own!).
Jonathan: I was a vet assistant before the band, and I may have ended up going to school to be a vet.

What advice would you give to girls waiting for a godly guy?
Jason: Keep waiting! Someone asked us the other day, “I’m 15, and I’ve never kissed a guy. Am I doing something wrong?” NO! You’re doing something right! It’s important to wait for that guy God has planned for you. We need to heed His guidance and stay strong in what He has to say.
Daniel: It’s OK to wait! When I was 15, I didn’t have a girlfriend, and everything worked out, despite my personal fears. God doesn’t want us to get hurt unnecessarily along the way. Work on yourself and work on your relationships with close friends who are gonna last you throughout life. God’s going to introduce you to that guy—he’s out there! Sometimes it just takes guys a little longer to get there.
Jonathan: Don’t consider having a guy in your life as the prerequisite for all the other things you want to do. Don’t be afraid to move forward in your life and in your relationship with God.

What’s your favorite Bible verse?
Jason: Proverbs 3:5-6. That’s a keeper!
Daniel: Mark 12:30. If I ever need to go back to, “What do I need to do today?” that makes it really simple and helps me to refocus.
Jonathan: Galatians 2:20. As a teenager, I went through a rebellious period and found out that living for myself wasn’t very fulfilling. That verse has really impacted me since then.

What’s your favorite food?
Jason: A Canadian delicacy called poutine. It’s French fries with cheese curds and then gravy on top, and the gravy melts all the cheese.
Daniel: Something my mom makes: Yorkshire pudding. I don’t know why, I just love it!
Jonathan: I love Indian food and curry.

What do you wish people in the U.S. understood better about Canada?
Daniel: People need to know about Tim Horton’s coffee.
Jonathan: Canada is not the same as America socially and culturally. We say “Eh?” and call couches chesterfields. I also wish Americans understood the obsession with hockey. The way Americans are about football, that’s the way we are about hockey.

What advice would you give to this generation?
Jason: Become leaders and not followers. There are a lot of people trying to be the next American Idol or person on TV. If everyone would start standing up for what they believe in and be leaders, I think we would see a huge difference.
Daniel: If God can take us, some guys from Canada who aren’t that talented, and give us our dreams and more, then He can take a kid to the moon! Find your ultimate dream and believe and go for it! Despite what people say, God can grant you the desires of your heart.
Jonathan: Learn to consider your parents and the authority figures around you as assets instead of barriers. As I grew up, I realized that I didn’t have to completely shut out the older influences in my life to establish my own independence.