The Nighthawks

VizzTone is proud to announce the April 15, 2022 release of Established 1972 by The Nighthawks, an album that represents 50 years of Washington DC’s road warriors going strong.

When they were first formed in 1972 by vocalist Mark Wenner and guitarist Jimmy Thackery, the Nighthawks were unabashed blues-rockers, filtering the Chicago sound of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf through an East Coast bar band's sensibilities. Not much has really changed during the 27 years between their debut album and the release of 1999's Still Wild. The Nighthawks have branched out a little in the years following Thackery's late-'80s departure, the band mixing elements of classic R&B, roots rock, and country into their hard-hitting, crowd-pleasing performances. Still Wild furthers their gradual evolution into a powerful genre-jumping outfit, the band throwing out typical blues covers like Willie Dixon's "Tiger in Your Tank" and Muddy Waters' "Read Way Back" alongside raucous, country-flavored rave-ups like Charlie Rich's "Washed My Hands."

The latest recording from the Nighthawks, All You Gotta Do, is about as close to perfection as you would want from a blues and American roots band. Of course those terms and descriptions, blues rock, soul blues, roots rock, roots music, Americana, hadn t even been coined yet when this band started mixing it all up. And created their own magic gumbo of rock and roll. Inspired and encouraged by their hero s and mentors, that created the genres, they learned the language and feel of this great music. And that s what makes the difference. Founding member Mark Wenner has always had a sound he was after. From the deep blues of Muddy Waters, early rock & roll of Elvis and Buddy with some great four part harmonies was the formula. He has the band now that can do just that and more.

With harmonica player/singer Mark Wenner, bassist Jan Zukowski, and drummer/singer Pete Ragusa now well into their third decade together, the Nighthawks are a veteran blue-collar band that gets the job done, and Pain & Paradise is one of their better studio efforts. Guitar chores are now handled by relative newcomer Pete Kanaras, who replaced Danny Morris. The Nighthawks' reach never exceeds their grasp, and this album displays their excellent grasp of the Muddy Waters/Little Walter-style Chicago blues and bar-band rock & roll that lie at the core of their sound. They kick butt enough that you know you've been kicked, but not so much that it hurts, and they're even confident enough to ease up every now and then.

Simon Stokes the crazy hard psych rocker par excellence. Grandson of big band leader Harry D. Stokes, Simon Stokes was known as a loner, sleepwalker, and fan of the classic monster movies his grandfather loved. As a teenager, Stokes became obsessed with the blues and R&B via the legendary DJ Symphony Sid. Beginning in 1965, Stokes recorded a number of 45s in LA as the Flower Children and Heathen Angels. He then got a deal as a staff writer at Elektra the same day they signed his friends The MC5 and The Stooges! That’s not it for impressive connections. Simon Stokes made this album, beyond Captain Beefheart in the psychedelic blues stakes, in 1968, and became a cult figure with Biker groups everywhere…