For the Fans
04-27-2008
by Kevan Breitinger
Despite a minor scheduling snafu (on my part!) my conversation with Hawk Nelson bassist Daniel Biro couldn’t have gone better. Of course, it helped that he’s one of the nicest guys in the world. Believe me. He was patient with me even after messing up his schedule on his first wedding anniversary!
CMCentral (Kevan Breitinger): Thanks for being so nice about it, I appreciate it.
Hawk Nelson (Daniel Biro): Sure, no problem. How is your afternoon going?
Very good. And yours? I guess it’s interview day for you today, huh?
Yes, it’s actually a pretty crazy day for me. It’s the first anniversary for me and my wife. We have a few days off for Easter before we head out on our tour, so I’ve been getting a few things done.
Wow, that’s great, happy anniversary. I’ve spent quite a bit of time with the new album, Hawk Nelson Is My Friend, and liked it a lot, as well as the title. I also love the focus that you guys put on friendship. Not just because it’s a cool focus but because it actually seems to show up in real life for y’all.
Yeah, in so many ways. As a band when you’re on the road with the guys in your band and your crew, and with all the other bands, you are kind of forced into an extended family. It’s not a bad thing. It’s a love/hate thing sometimes (laughing), but they really do become your closest friends.
Well, you’re in close quarters, too, right?
Very close. Picture ten people in a one room apartment. Now picture them in a room half that size, the size of a bus.
But it’s cool that you manage to maintain those friendships. And creative friendships aren’t always the easiest to maintain either.
(Laughing) Oh, definitely.
But I admire what you’ve created, the way Trevor McNevan continues to play such a creative role in your music and the way that works back and forth so nicely.
Well, he’s more than a friend, honestly. He’s like a mentor/older brother to me. He’s always been a guy I look up to, and he always has little tidbits of advice for us here and there. He tries not to be overshadowing or whatever but he’s an awesome guy, an awesome dude to look up to, you know?
Is that something that you’re able to pay forward to other bands behind you or other players?
The last five years have been so much about growth for us, from the music to relationships to the mental growing up, all 
that stuff. Now we’re in this great place on our first headlining tour, and we’re able to take a little bit more of that role with our opening bands, saying, ok, we’re going to do a quick Bible study before the show every night, even if it’s only a couple of minutes. We try to make it a priority. It’s funny, you look back and you don’t really realize how big of a deal that is, but if you don’t do it, it’s not gonna get done. So yes, we’re trying to take a little bit more leadership from what we’ve learned from the other bands.
I think that’s a very big deal, Daniel, it’s great that you make that a focus.
Well, you kinda have to. People always ask how we have time with God on the road, but it’s the same as it is with any other job. If you work at home or at McDonalds, it’s a struggle to make time. It’s just the same. You have to make time, and make God a priority.
Yeah, you’re right about that. You guys also work hard to maintain a strong bond with your fans, don’t you?
Well, I can’t give credit for the success of Hawk Nelson to Hawk Nelson. It’s always been such a team effort with others, whether it’s Trevor or other co-writers, or the label working so hard, or the fans coming out and supporting us. Sometimes we’ll see the same fans six times a year at shows. It’s not due to just us; we definitely realize it’s a group thing that everyone kind of pours into. I think that’s why the band is successful.
So you tipped your hat to the fans with the name of the new album.
Yeah, this one’s for them. Sometimes you just want to write one for the fans just to say thank you.
You have a lot of great people involved with you on this album, too. That seems to be something you guys do well.
It can only make you as a person sharper and stronger, and with some of these other writers that aren’t Christians, it’s important to us to do a good job representing Christ. That’s what it’s about. We’ve never been a band to live in a bubble. It’s always been about wherever He wants to take us.
I can see their influence as well in the music. The whole classic rock thing of “Turn It On,” which has such a strong 80s groove to it, the Richard Marx influence.
Oh yeah, totally. I remember hearing one part and thinking, ‘this sounds like the Beach boys.’ Bands are always changing in different ways, but involving different writers is just such a good idea that bands should be forced to do it.
I loved the closer, “I Still Miss You.” It was so moving, and powerful musically as well.
It is such a personal story for Jason, and one he has wrestled with over the last few years in losing his grandmom. He’s had the song on the back burner over the last few years and we encouraged him to put it on the album. One of the producers actually thought it was more of a personal song just for him, so we didn’t record it with him. But we felt so strongly that it should be on there that we ended up recording it with another producer.
I’m glad you did, I thought it was an album high point.
Jason really wrote that one on his own.
Most of your writing you do together as a group?
I’ve always found it hard with four people, and I don’t know if that’s true for everybody. But Jason and I will often meet with another writer who will bring an idea, or we’ll bring an idea and we’ll develop it together as team.
You have a new drummer too?
Yeah, Aaron (Tosti) was pretty sure he was gonna move on last fall when we were recording, but we had been playing those songs together as a band so we wanted him on the record. So he stayed with us ‘til the end of the year, and we did a transition thing with Justin (Benner). But Aaron did an amazing job on the record. And our new drummer Justin is doing such a good job live. He’s so trustworthy and responsible. We don’t have to worry about anything with him, it’s so great.
How do you go abut finding a new band member?
Well, last summer we did these Faith Baseball nights, and The Send opened for us. Their lead singer Joe decided to go home to Oregon and take some time off. Their drummer was Justin and we had become good friends. He had already filled in for a few shows for Aaron so he knew our material. It was the cleanest transition ever. He hangs out and signs with us, and the fans have been really cool about it. It’s never been this smooth.
Wow, you guys really seem to have a lot of favor resting on you.
You know what? You’re right. I feel really blessed. I feel bad sometimes because there are bands out there that are better bands than us, but they’re not getting the breaks. I don’t know what that is, but I know that God has had His hand on our band from the start. Maybe it’s the church that we started at, the same church that Jason and Trevor came out from. They’ve always been big supporters spiritually, and I feel like that’s played a big part in who we are.
Absolutely. I don’t know many churches that have that sense of mission for the bands they send out.
We don’t get to go back there as much as we’d like because we tour so much in the states now. But Jason and Trevor’s youth pastor Rick is coming out to join us in Nashville on April 1st, the day the new record (Hawk Nelson Is My Friend) drops. He’s gonna stay out with us for four days, leading Bible studies, and just hang out with us.
I love to hear that, and it’s something I hear more and more of: pastors supporting bands by traveling with them. Great idea.
Well, we’re not pastors, we’re just band guys, so it’s really nice to have that kind of support and encouragement.
Well, Daniel, thanks for taking the time to talk with us, especially on such a special day, and thank your wife too.
No problem, Kevan , great talking with you, too.
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