#jon steingard

I don’t know Jon Steingard ... maybe he wasn’t discipled well. Or maybe he was, and he just doesn’t believe. Sometimes people just don’t believe. Their heart is stone. A veil lies over their eyes.

Today, April 4, 2016, is the ten-year anniversary of my favorite album ever, Hawk Nelson’s sophomore album, Smile, It’s the End of the World. Features the band members

Jason Dunn - vocals

Aaron “Skwid” Tosti - drums

Daniel Biro - bass guitar

Jonathan Steingard - guitar

and the tracks

The One Thing I Have Left

The Show

Bring ‘Em Out

Everything You Ever Wanted

Something On My Mind

Is Forever Enough

Zero

Nothing Left to Show

Head On Collision

Hello

It’s Over

Fourteen

No album or artist (classic Hawk Nelson) has influenced me musically as much as these guys, particularly this album. It’s my summer jam every year. It’s nostalgic in sound and subject matter. It’s beautifully made.

And let’s not forget the other guys who worked to make this great piece of pop punk:

Producer, Aaron Sprinkle. He’s produced albums for artists like Aaron Gillespie, Anberlin, Demon Hunter, FM Static, He Is We, Icon For Hire, Kutless, MxPx, Project 86, Relient K, Swimming With Dolphins, Zao, Thousand Foot Krutch, and, of course, Hawk Nelson, on their first two albums, this and Letters to the President.

Mixer, J.R. McNeely. He’s mixed albums for many of the above mentioned artists, along with Abandon Kansas, Kevin Max, Audio Adrenaline, Pillar, Underoath, Eleventyseven, The Letter Black, tobyMac, Nine Lashes, and Restless Heart

Mastering, Brian Gardner. He’s mixed for many artists since the 60′s, like 2 Pac, Thirty Seconds to Mars, 50 Cent, Air Supply, Avenged Sevenfold, the B-52′s, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, the Black-Eyed Peas, Billy Idol, Blink-182, Blondie, Bob Marley, Bob Seger, Cheap Trick, Creedence Clearwater Revival, David Bowie, Destiny’s Child, Donna Summer, Elton John, Eminem, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Foo Fighters, Frank Sinatra, Good Charlotte, Ice Cube, Insane Clown Posse, the Jackson 5, Jane’s Addiction, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, Jimmy Eat World, Kenny Rogers, The Killers, Kiss, Lamb of God, Lil Wayne, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Lionel Richie, Macklemore, Mariah Carey, Michael  Jackson, Motley Crue, Neil Diamond, Nine Inch Nails, Olivia Newton-John, Ozzy Osbourne, P Diddy, Queen, Queen Latifah, Ray Charles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, REO Speedwagon, Ringo Starr, Santana, Smashmouth, Snoop Dogg, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Tyler the Creator, and Willie Nelson

Song co-writer & preproducers Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch

Album photography by Dave Hill

Art direction/design and album insert illustration by Jason Powers

The album got nominated for a GMA Dove award for rock album and for recorded music packaging, and won a GMA Canada award for alt. rock album

Album charted #75 on Billboard 200, selling 14,000 copies its opening week

“The Show” and “Bring ‘Em Out” were used for Sunday Night Football commercials

“Something On My Mind” and “The Show” were used in the 2006 LucasArts game, Thrillville

“Bring ‘Em Out” and a song from their previous record were used in the 2005 film Yours, Mine & Ours

Where is the band now? Jon and Dan still make music in Hawk Nelson, which since 2012 has crossed from a more rock-based sound to a contemporary Christian sound, releasing two albums thus far since Jason’s departure, Made and Diamonds. Aaron left the band after recording the next album, Hawk Nelson is My Friend, to pursue other musical projects. Jason left the band in 2012 as the band was heading in a direction that wasn’t Jason’s style (he’s more of a rock-out guy). He’s since released two solo albums, the first to Bandcamp in 2013 (taken down and re-uploaded in 2015), Abandon Progress, and in 2014, possibly the strangest and most half-hearted album he’s ever released (I’m guessing contract obligation), The Grand Adventures of Hank Neilsen. In 2015 he started his new band, the spiritual successor to the Hawk Nelson “of old”, Lights Go Down, which to date has released one EP (the band has been on an unofficial hiatus since late December, much to the fanbase’s dismay), We Kept It Alive (available on iTunes).

This is a beautiful pop punk album in and out. You need to listen to it. Maybe buy it?

iTunes

Amazon

Google Play

Spotify

Hawk Nelson’s Lead Singer Crashes a Wedding

Jon Steingard had fun crashing a fan’s wedding in California! Sherry Joy Heins and Mack Taylor got married last week in Irvine, about an hour from Jon’s home. Sherry’s mom reached out to Jon to tell him that her daughter was a huge fan of Hawk Nelson so Jon did what any rock star would do– he crashed the wedding!

He even provided some marriage advice, touting the benefits of reading Dr. Gary…

Hawk Nelson Honored With SESAC Award for “Words”

Hawk Nelson continues to impact fans with their 2013 released album Made (Fair Trade Services). Recently, the band was honored with a SESAC award for their No. 1 song “Words,” a Billboard’s Christian Hot AC/CHR Top 10 single for 22 weeks. Today, Hawk Nelson is releasing their newest single from Made, “A Million Miles Away” to radio.

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