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Timeless: The Nighthawks reflect on 45 years of musical history

How does a band not only stick together for almost 45 years, but also stay relevant, for a staggering 45 years in the fast-paced music industry? To let Mark Wenner of The Nighthawks tell it, it is as simple as staying “true to the music.”

For Mark, vocalist and harmonica player, the founding of the blues and roots band stretches back to 1972. After graduating from college in ’72, Mark went back to his hometown of Washington, DC and connected with Bobby Radcliff, a friend who was already on the music scene.

“I would just show up every time he was playing somewhere, and he was very tolerant and would let me play, and I stole his drummer. Or his drummer ran off with me,” Mark recalled with a laugh.

After acquiring a drummer, as well as a few more vital parts such as a lead guitar and bass guitar in the forms of Jimmy Thackery and Jan Zukowski, they were off the races.

Once formed, The Nighthawks began the grueling work of climbing up the musical ranks by opening for other larger Blues acts in clubs. What many see as the hardest rungs of the ladder to musical success paid off majorly in the form of priceless mentorship, or as Mark prefers to call them, “role models.” Notably, the were under the tutelage of Blues legend, Muddy Waters. Waters, who taught them a slower, more traditional Blues style while The James Cotton Band imparted a faster and upbeat fashion on the group.

“Between Muddy Waters and The James Cotton Band, those guys were pretty much our teachers.”

However, even the most talented band will lose steam if they don’t have a clear purpose for making music in the first place.

For Mark, it’s simple: “Making people forget the problems in their lives and getting a little free on the dance floor.” According to Mark, although the bands original objective was to just play music that they wanted to play, the band receives a great satisfaction out of the enjoyment their able to give to their audience.

“I’ve always said that a preacher, a teacher, a lawyer and a musician all have the same purpose. You get up in front of a group of people focus their attention, and give them a cathartic experience. The catharsis of getting to the other side and becoming someone else, or becoming yourself, plays an important role in people’s lives, and I’m pretty proud to say that we do that.”

Although not with all of the original founding members, even The Nighthawks need some form of group dynamic in order to keep going. Luckily the found that their system of mutual respect and appreciation for each other. Acknowledging that he is the founding member and “thread of the band”, Mark credited the how well the current lineup of members mesh together as a unit with the success the band has been having as of late.

“There’s a real sense of working together as a team, as a unit, that really comes across on this album. Everybody gets to showcase their real talents on the album.”

Now on their 29th, “All You Gotta Do,” being released this past July, The Nighthawks decided to do something seldom seen in a band with the amount of history that they have: they go forward by going back.

When asked what makes this album different or similar to past releases, Mark responds that it follows the blueprint of the first album, “Rock ‘n’ Roll,” by offering listeners a wide variety of material all played in one style by the same band.

By doing those, Mark says that listeners will get the recognizable style of The Nighthawks no matter what song is played from the album. On the albums creation, Mark comments that “All You Gotta Do” is “just the band, with very little overdubbing.”

Being a band that has been around so long that they’ve seen the world itself change, it’s easy to expect that they have seen the musical landscape of blues and roots change as well.

As times have changed, it seems that the collective ear of the people is more receptive to sounds that have a little more history to them.

“It’s changed incredibly, dramatically. It’s so much more part of the mainstream. There were no blues clubs except in Chicago and Mississippi, there were no blues societies, there were no blues festivals except for two. We’re visible now.”

They will be incredibly visible 6 p.m. Friday when they’ll be having a show on the Hiawatha River Cruise.

For tickets, visit ridehiawatha.com/index.php/cruises/concert-cruise.

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