Led by Nashville-based songwriter Andrew Scott Wills (who can boast hits in both contemporary Christian country music and pop country), Hawken Horse speaks to the awe of West and the characters who populate its history: cowboys, Native people, the good, the ugly, freedom, dependence, oppression.
The band’s new song, “Rocky Mountain Gold” expresses that appreciation with gently rolling melodies and lyrics that paint a vivid picture of the Rockies’ beauty. In our interview, Wills explains his connection to history and his songwriting process.
Who are some of your musical influences?
There are so, so many. Some of the cornerstone influences would have to be Tom Petty, Gordon Lightfoot, Jeff Black and Ricky Skaggs. My favorite sound has always been what I called “acoustic rock” and so I’ve gravitated toward the less plugged-in, more intimate recordings. That being said, I enjoy Tchaikovsky to Outkast, George Strait to BB King.
Explain the title of your album.
This is an easy answer in one sense because the album is self-titled: Hawken Horse. So this ends up being a question about the band name which gives me a chance to talk about history! Jacob and Samuel Hawken were gunsmiths in St. Louis, Missouri starting in 1825 and developed and built the legendary “Hawken” blackpowder rifle that tamed the west.
The rifle was famously used by Jeremiah Johnson, Hugh Glass, Jedediah Smith and James Beckwourth. “Hawken” together with “Horse” represents two of the essential items a mountain trapper would need to survive life in the Rocky Mountains. And maybe for a songwriter to survive the music biz!
What’s the first concert you ever attended? What do you remember about it?
Music goes so far back for me. If I weed through all the early carnival cover bands and church musicals, one of my first ticketed concerts I can remember attending was maybe The Beach Boys? I remember how Mike Love was still such a pro and how they had their show down to a science. I remember it was at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio. Such a great venue!
Recent release you cannot stop listening to?
It’s going on 2 years old at this point, but “Western Swings & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs” by Colter Wall is the one I cannot stop spinning. It’s a masterpiece to me. From the steel sound on “Cowpoke” to the reverb on “I Ride an Old Paint” just sound so timeless. I’m kind of obsessed. I was supposed to attend his Ryman show this past year but a tornado touched down and for once in my life I chose common sense over music.
Do you start off with the music or lyrics first? Why?
Having cranked out 100+ songs a year on Music Row for a decade, there are few ways I haven’t written a song. But the method that comes most naturally to me is: lyrics first. To me the words are why the song is even being written in the first place. A songwriter is just a writer with a shorter attention span.