Hekawis
Scalp Surfin' 7"EP
1995
Formed by James Pierce aka Eagle Mania (formerly of the Apaches and also concurrently in Shutdown 66) as a shtick on "F-Troop". They play excellent garage rock n roll and wear fab head-dress live and put on a really wyld live show. If you d'ont wanna lose your scalp listen to their releases, and let's pow wow!.
The Hekawis are a four piece original band. They play high energy Rock ‘n’ Roll with roots based firmly in the mid 60’s and anything cool that came before and after. While a mixed blend of 60’s Garage and Pop, 50’s Rock ‘n’ Roll and Blues, Australian 60’s Beat, and tough Soul is predominate throughout their original tunes, their originals range from screaming freaked out Nasty Rhythm & Blues / Soul “Give it Soul”, “Back to Mexico”; to Beatles style Pop of “Flowers in the Night”; soulful moody Ballads like “Tribute to Del” and flat out rockers like “Hekawi Stomp”.
They list some of their heroes as The 13th Floor Elevators, Kinks, Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, The Easybeats, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, and Iggy and the Stooges. An Hekawi gig is not complete without a few choice cover tunes and their scorching versions of “Shake” by The Shadows of Night and “L.S.D.” by The Pretty Things have to be heard to be believed. With a repertoire of over 150 songs, The Hekawis have no trouble with cover material either.
The guys formed in 1993 to play some parties and to cut a few records. After playing a couple of club gigs, they soon developed a huge following and landed support spots with Kim Salmon, The Dirty 3, The Fireballs and Dick Dale. In late 1993, The Hekawis debut single was released on Giant Claw Records out of Melbourne. The song “Indian Giver” received instant airplay on 3RRR and PBS in Melbourne and is now a sought after collector’s item both overseas and here in Australia. While touring Victoria to promote this release, The Hekawis were approached by Corduroy Record’s head Nick Phillips. “The Spook” (EP) was recorded for Corduroy and promptly sold out within a few weeks. This EP still holds the record for fastest selling single on Corduroy. The band’s next release was for the huge independent label Telstar Records in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.A. The “Scalp Surfin’ With” EP on Telstar became an instant classic, receiving airplay on college radio stations all over the U.S.A. It peaked at #35 on KTRU out of Houston, Texas. Although an amazing feat for a Brisbane (or even Australian) band, this chart success went mostly unnoticed and ignored here in Australia. Also ignored was other chart successes in France, Italy, and New Zealand.
The Hekawis are a four piece original band. They play high energy Rock ‘n’ Roll with roots based firmly in the mid 60’s and anything cool that came before and after. While a mixed blend of 60’s Garage and Pop, 50’s Rock ‘n’ Roll and Blues, Australian 60’s Beat, and tough Soul is predominate throughout their original tunes, their originals range from screaming freaked out Nasty Rhythm & Blues / Soul “Give it Soul”, “Back to Mexico”; to Beatles style Pop of “Flowers in the Night”; soulful moody Ballads like “Tribute to Del” and flat out rockers like “Hekawi Stomp”.
They list some of their heroes as The 13th Floor Elevators, Kinks, Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, The Easybeats, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, and Iggy and the Stooges. An Hekawi gig is not complete without a few choice cover tunes and their scorching versions of “Shake” by The Shadows of Night and “L.S.D.” by The Pretty Things have to be heard to be believed. With a repertoire of over 150 songs, The Hekawis have no trouble with cover material either.
The guys formed in 1993 to play some parties and to cut a few records. After playing a couple of club gigs, they soon developed a huge following and landed support spots with Kim Salmon, The Dirty 3, The Fireballs and Dick Dale. In late 1993, The Hekawis debut single was released on Giant Claw Records out of Melbourne. The song “Indian Giver” received instant airplay on 3RRR and PBS in Melbourne and is now a sought after collector’s item both overseas and here in Australia. While touring Victoria to promote this release, The Hekawis were approached by Corduroy Record’s head Nick Phillips. “The Spook” (EP) was recorded for Corduroy and promptly sold out within a few weeks. This EP still holds the record for fastest selling single on Corduroy. The band’s next release was for the huge independent label Telstar Records in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.A. The “Scalp Surfin’ With” EP on Telstar became an instant classic, receiving airplay on college radio stations all over the U.S.A. It peaked at #35 on KTRU out of Houston, Texas. Although an amazing feat for a Brisbane (or even Australian) band, this chart success went mostly unnoticed and ignored here in Australia. Also ignored was other chart successes in France, Italy, and New Zealand.
With the onset of the short-lived “Pulp Fiction” Surf Revival, The Hekawis decided to drop the instrumental part of their sound and to concentrate more on a pop/vocal sound. This paid off with the release of “Flowers in the Night” and “On This Day” - recorded at Wild Eagle Records (a small Brisbane label) in 1996. To this day, they are still receiving airplay around Australia (and the world) on 3RRR, 4ZZZ, and PBS and others. In 96/97, the boys supported Hoodoo Guru’s on the Queensland leg of their “Blue Cave” tour. This earned The Hekawis the respect of Queensland’s Guru fans and The Hekawis opening slot for the Guru’s at the Mansfield Tavern is still talked about.
The Hekawis later received rave reviews for their role as support band for You Am I on the “Pop and Soul Review” tour, and then hooked up again with the Hoodoo Guru’s in summer 97/98 on their “Spit the Dummy” tour. This led The Hekawis through QLD and NSW, and on into Victoria, finishing in Melbourne for the Guru’s last 3 shows at the Palace and Transformers. Needless to say, The Hekawis thrived on the experience, warming up and then rocking the huge crowds at the Guru’s final shows, and whipping them into a frenzy before leaving the stage - leaving the crowds begging for more.
The Hekawis are no strangers to touring, having played over 50 times in Melbourne at the Esplanade, Greyhound, Public Bar, etc. on at least a dozen different occasions, and have a large following there.
Although only a young group (no members over 30) The Hekawis have over 40 years of combined experience. They are professionals, wily veterans, and young upstarts all at the same time. Their live shows are legendary - whether playing for crowds of 300 or 3000, The Hekawis remain unfazed. They have never failed to win over an audience of any type. Giant smiles appear on the faces of punters everywhere whenever The Hekawis play.
The Hekawis are:
Screamin' Stevie: vocals, organ, harmonica
Eagle Mania: bass, backing vocals
The Sheik: lead guitar
Voodoo Man: drums, backing vocals
1 The Sadist
2 Sclap Surfin'
3 Pork Chop Beer Slop
4 Rumble
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Sorry for the bogus scan but it was all I could come up with. Anyone with a better resolution shot of the cover is more then welcome to shoot one my way.
http://rapidshare.com/files/59442769/Hekawis_-_Scalp_Surfin_.rar
1 comments:
There's a Top Fuel dragster we (High Speed Motorsports, see www.highspeedmotorsports.com) called "Fugowie", same deal, where the fugowie.
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