Girl with a Hawk urge everyone to give a folk with ‘#Vote (Rock The Boat)’
Boston band strips it down to raise up a voice with an impassioned new single out Friday, September 27 via Rum Bar Records
The official Joan Hathaway music video arrives on Wednesday, October 9
‘#VOTE (Rock The Boat)’ will be available as a free download on Bandcamp
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Photo Credit: Kelly Davidson
BOSTON, Mass. [September 27, 2024] -- With all the tension and unease engulfing society on a daily basis, there are currently a lot of four-letter words on the tips of everyone’s tongues. But the most impactful is one we’ll hear a lot over the next few weeks: “Vote.”
Helping inspire motivation across the country as a fateful presidential election hangs in the balance, Girl with a Hawk are using their platform to inspire a blue wave at the polls with “#Vote (Rock The Boat),” the Boston band’s inspired new single set for release on Friday, September 27 on Rum Bar Records. In an effort to inspire voters across the country, the track will be available as a free download on both the band and labels’ Bandcamp pages. Shortly after hitting the streams, the official Joan Hathaway-directed music video arrives on October 9, and the band performs acoustically at a Harris/Walz fundraiser at Crystal Ballroom the next night, October 10.
With a folk-like passion and a newfound country twang, the stripped-down “#Vote (Rock The Boat)” doubles as a protest song for the modern day. It’s also a bit of a musical pivot for Girl with a Hawk, shedding their rock n’ roll swagger and new wave bounce in order to let Linda Viens’ motivational lyrics ring clear out of the speakers, while harmonica from guest collaborator Jim Fitting of Treat Her Right and Session Americana gives it some enhanced soul.
The track was first penned by the veteran Boston musician and songwriter 20 years ago when George W. Bush was running for reelection against Massachusetts’ own John Kerry. Now, two decades later, with the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz setting their sights on the White House, Viens brought the bones of the track to her Girl with a Hawk bandmates to resurrect its sound and sentiment for what’s shaping up to be the most important election in our lifetimes.
“Not since the Civil War has preserving our democracy been so crucially dependent on the American people being active, and voting, as it is right now,” Viens says. “We have to fight as hard as we can for the Harris/Walz ticket, and I hope the song inspires people to recognize the power they hold to affect change and move our country forward. That said, I believe in democracy, and if a candidate I don’t like wins an election fair and square, then the people have spoken.”
That sentiment rings true in the lyrics, which Girl with a Hawk are eager to share along with the guitar tabs to inspire others to learn and play the song. As Viens sings boldly about the benefits of maintaining a democracy and the dangers of political indifference, all while observing the crazy world around us as our collective interests and attention spans continue to shrink, she hopes the messaging of “#VOTE (Rock The Boat)” inspire action – from right this second to the moment the polls close on November 5.
In the song, the band is mindful to not be preachy or persuasive in convincing a person to vote one way or another. They just want to get every American man, woman, and person to the voting booth on Election Day.
“The lyrics of ‘#VOTE’ retain a kind of neutrality,” she adds, “in that ‘sides’ are not taken, there is no reference to ‘right’ or ‘left’. But we hope the video underscores the political and cultural ethos inherent in the lyrics in a more direct way; emphasizing the ideas of liberty, justice and freedom for all. We also hope that the video brings a smile, and reflects a collective faith in a world that is more diverse, inclusive, and ultimately joyful, because people are free to choose who they want to be and how they want to live. My work has always been about creating loving and supportive communities, where we lift each other up, think and act for the common good, and lend a helping hand. For me there is no greater way to bring humans together than through the power of music!”
In addition to the enlisting of Fitting on harmonica, “#Vote (Rock The Boat)” brings Girl with a Hawk together in a new capacity and configuration, with Viens on lead vocals, guitar, and backing vocals; Daniel Coughlin on slide guitar and backing vocals; and Richard Lamphear, Dan Bernfeld, and Nancy Delaney all contributing backing vocals, taking a breather from their usual efforts on keyboards, bass, and drums, respectively. The track was co-produced by Lamphear and Viens.
“It’s definitely a stylistic departure because it’s a straight-up folk song,” Viens notes, “and an old one at that, and Girl with a Hawk is a ‘rock band’. I was going to redo it on my own, just me and an acoustic guitar, but then I thought about the great players I get to work with and thought – ‘that’s just silly – get the band involved!’ They each make me a better artist at all times. But none of us really play harmonica, so we brought in the great Jim Fitting and he added that extra pathos that the song needed.”
And in the end, an extra dose of emotion and empathy is really at the crux of what lies ahead over the next several weeks as America decides its next president. Especially at a time when passivity and cynicism act as a dangerous combination that often leads to dictators gaining power and civilians losing the very freedoms he, she, or they once took for granted.
“Most of us do not want to live in a world where LGBTQ+ people are not safe; where people of color are not safe, or have the same opportunities as whites; where children are being gunned down daily; where books and education are devalued; and where women don’t have control over their own bodies,” Viens implores. “No candidate is perfect. We must vote while we still can, especially in this election, to ensure that future generations continue to have the sacred power of their freedom, their choices, and their voices.”
Just ahead of the election, in addition to the acoustic gig in Somerville, Girl with a Hawk perform live on October 30 at The Square Root in Boston with Sal Baglio and Kelly Knapp for the International Pop Festival. From there, they then play The Burren in Somerville on November 15 with The Cynz and Speedfossil; hit Lowell’s Worthen Attic for an acoustic show; and close out the year December 13 at Sally O’Brien’s in Somerville with Crow Follow and Evelyn Pope. Those three shows could have a decidedly different mood and feel if things go south on election day.
But for now, Viens, and the band, just want to inspire everyone across the country to cast a vote, make their voice heard, and preserve democracy. Because it remains the very core of all forward progress we have experienced as Americans, and as a country.
“Every cultural and social advancement towards greater humanism we have made as Americans has happened because somewhere, often under extremely dangerous and vulnerable circumstances, people have chosen to fight against oppression, proposed new laws, gathered signatures, designed legislation, and voted those rights into reality,” Viens affirms. “The end of slavery, civil rights, the right to vote for women and people of color, the right to marry any gender or color person one chooses, the right to control decisions about one's own bodies, the right to own property, have a bank account, etc., all came about because people banded together to fight for these things and change previously prejudiced and harmful laws.”
With “#Vote (Rock The Boat),” the message is clear.
“This song is really an homage to the great, profound privilege of living in a country where we have a vote,” Viens concludes, “and a call to action when something crucial at hand needs our vote, and our voice.”
Media Contact: Please direct all press inquiries to Michael Marotta at michael@knyvet.com,
radio inquiries to Lou Mansdorf at malibuloupr@gmail.com,
and reach Girl with a Hawk directly at viens.linda@gmail.com.
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On ‘#Vote’, Girl with a Hawk is:
Linda Viens: Lead vocal, guitar, backing vocals
Daniel Coughlin: Slide guitar, backing vocals
Richard Lamphear: Backing vocals
Dan Bernfeld: Backing vocals
Nancy Delaney: Backing vocals
Jim Fitting: Harmonica
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‘#Vote (Rock The Boat)’ production credits:
#Vote (Rock the Boat) © 2024 Linda S. Viens. All Rights Reserved
Written by Linda Viens (feat. Girl with a Hawk)
Produced by Richard Lamphear and Linda Viens
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‘#Vote’ artwork:
Original logo design by Nicole Anguish and cover design by Linda Viens
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‘#Vote (Rock The Boat)’ lyrics:
Get on your feet and walk the streets
And pay attention
Every person that you meet, has their intentions
If you could look inside the soul of everyone
You knew could hurt you
Would you hesitate to offer, another point of view
I watch the news reports of war and find my mind
Cannot comprehend it
But people say it’s nothin’ new, it’s always fueled by hatred
What does it mean to believe
You are the chosen one
It is dangerous to think, we are the only ones
Deserving liberty and peace, they belong to everyone
Deserving Democracy and peace, they belong to everyone
Rock the boat, use your vote, you cannot waste it
Rock the boat, use your vote, don’t be silent
I do believe we’ve got the power in our hands
To make some changes
A new model, a new plan, for the ages
They say Utopia is dead, well I don’t buy it
That peaceful vision in our heads, it’s worth tryin’
Yeah, sweet vision in our heads, keep on reachin’
Rock the boat, use your vote, you cannot waste it
Rock the boat, use your vote, do not waste it
Do not waste it (use your power)
Do not waste it (use your power)
Do not waste it (use your power)
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Girl with a Hawk bio:
Linda Viens began playing music with the gift of a classical Mexican guitar from her Dad for her 12th birthday. In college she got into punk rock. She played drums and sang in the punk band, Children of Paradise, went on to lead local roots rockers, Witch Doctor, sang cabaret with collaborator Catherine Coleman in Les Chanteuse Sorcieres, and formed the notorious funk orchestra Crown Electric Company with her former husband Wayne Viens in the mid-nineties. Linda was a founding member of Boston Rock Opera and has performed in many musical theater productions, including Sgt. Pepper, Jesus Christ Superstar, Abbey Road, Preservation, and Billion Dollar Babies vs. Aqualung. Linda has produced and recorded with some of Boston's finest including Mark Sandman (Morphine), Richie Parsons (Unnatural Axe), Asa Brebner (Modern Lovers), Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses), Jon Macey (Fox Pass), Adam Sherman (Private Lightening, Nervous Eaters) and released the album Powdered Pearls with Emily Grogan and their band together, Angeline in 2006. Linda went on to form Kingdom of Love, a studio project with producer and musical partner Richard Lamphear and released their EP Ghosts in 2017. Linda continues to work with Richard in her new band, Girl with a Hawk, formed during the Pandemic in 2021.
Richard Lamphear is a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. His former bands include alt- punk band Amoebas in Chaos and Kingdom of Love. Daniel Coughlin is a guitar player and arranger. His former bands include Children of Paradise, Witch Doctor, Lazy Susan, and The Illyrians. Nancy Delaney plays drums. Her former bands include Willard Grant Conspiracy, Boston Rock Opera and Cold Expectations. Daniel Bernfeld is a bassist and singer-songwriter. He is also a member of Sour Parade.
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Media praise for Girl with a Hawk:
“Girl with a Hawk have finally arrived.” _Guitar Girl Magazine
“powerful and well-crafted…” _WBUR, Boston’s NPR
“With their debut EP, Keep ‘Er Lit, Boston’s Girl With A Hawk have crammed an impressive amount of promise into just five songs. You can’t help but think of Chrissie Hynde when you listen to the smoky, hypnotic vocals of Linda S. Viens. And The Pretenders are an apt starting point for the band as Girl with a Hawk play a similar brand of punk influenced, melody-heavy, pretention-free rock ‘n’ roll.” _New Noise Magazine
“20 minutes of enervating pop-rock, in which guitars bite viciously at times, but the strong vocals keep everything together – music for which you would turn up the radio.” _Add To Want List
“The five-song EP is a fun mix of modern rock and Americana with engaging storytelling. Girl with a Hawk’s keep ‘er lit mix of modern rock, new wave, and early 90’s rock influences is engaging, and the band’s musical career will be a fun one to keep listening to.” _I’m Music Magazine
“Step into the mesmerizing realm of “Girl with a Hawk” [which] weaves not just melodies but enchanting tapestries of sound and emotion. Their story is a captivating odyssey, an exploration of music’s very soul.” _The Up & Up
“‘Way with Words’ is a song that eloquently captures the constantly evolving sound of this genre-bending quintet as they deliver another soon-to-be live favorite. If you’re new to the Hawk Rawk then ‘Way with Words’ might be your best starting point as it fuses a lot of what’s to love from last year’s keep ‘er lit release.” _Rock And Roll Fables
“‘Feel Me’ is a searing message about connection, love…and love lost. The brilliance of this song is reflective of the incredible catalog of GWAH: infectious melody, alluring lyrics and an unforgettable message!” _Rock Never Rusts
“‘Feel Me’ is a song that is well balanced, including a rough edge besides an 80s pop side in the keyboard. Kim Wilde on a rock guitar, something like that. It all ends with a guitar solo that simply sets the world ablaze for a short while. ‘Feel Me’ deserves to be heard far and wide.” _WoNo Magazine
“Songs filled with muscle and melody!” _Boston Groupie News
“‘Feel Me’ is a garage rock meets New Wave song that is much darker than you’d normally expect with a blending of those two genres. Viens is just pouring her heart into this one, and, as much pain as there is in the song, it’s also a rock song. So far all of the tributes to Justine Covault that we’ve covered have been sad and mournful, but they’ve also rocked, which is the perfect tribute to one of the biggest champions of the Boston music scene.” _If It’s Too Loud
“It is a song [‘The Romantic’] that in its rock 'n' roll melodies channels influences from Tom Petty, The Pretenders, Wilco... and that its composer defines as an ode to true love.” _Exile SH Magazine
“‘Feel Me’ has a real cool throwback/ new wave sound. Vocalist Linda S. Viens, gives a powerful and flawless vocal performance that gave us chills. We could definitely feel the love and emotion on ‘Feel Me’.” _The Whole Kameese
“‘Same Stars’ is a heart-and-soul touching story, a longing ballad, a bittersweet siblings love-inspired reverie with Linda Viens‘s moving voice sending shivers down your spine. Stirring.” _Turn Up The Volume
“... ‘Same Stars’ became one with my soul. More than a song to me, it’s become an anthem of hope. Hope through the turbulent times and seemingly insurmountable odds we may face in our lives. A reminder to ‘never give up the day before a miracle happens’. When I reach the end of my days, those who truly know me, know of three songs that I want played in my memory. I think my list just got longer.” _“Boris” Boden, The Secret Weapon on Woody Radio
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Press Contact: Michael Marotta at michael@knyvet.com
Radio Contact: Lou Mansdorf at malibuloupr@gmail.com
Band Contact: Linda Viens at viens.linda@gmail.com
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