– Lead Vocals – Guitar
Rod Hawkins grew up in Howe, Texas, about 60 miles north of Dallas.
“Music was always all around me. My Dad is a chronic whistler of all things musical, and I suspect my love of music grew from there. When he first started as a drummer, he took me to see Buddy Rich. I was also active in church, and a huge part of that was acapella singing, which helped me train my ear and allowed me to harmonize so easily,” said Hawkins.
He credits Howe ISD for their band program, which represents the sum of his formal training. Beyond that, he is self-taught. He was the youngest of three, and his older siblings were a huge influence musically. The first time he heard Chicago, it was blaring off an 8 track player in his sister’s room.
“I remember being blown away by the intricacy and power of the horns. It was unlike anything I had ever heard,” said Hawkins.
The father of one of his childhood friends was an incredible guitarist and singer, so anytime he was able to visit, he was scoping out the guitars and soaking up everything he could.
His first band was a country and western group called Summit when he was in junior high. His first real gig was at Iron Springs Christian Camp playing with the early lineup. His band lasted until he left for college, playing opries, PTA meetings, banquets, and music shows all over North Texas.
When he attended Texas A&M, he jumped right in and helped form a band called None of Your Business with Chicago Tribute Authority Texas lead vocalist Benny Pendergrass. After college, he stayed actively musically, but predominantly in isolation in the music room at his house.
During that time he wrote and recorded an original song and threw it out on bandmix.com so that a buddy could hear it. He didn’t think about it again, until someone from CTAT found him on the site and reached out to invite him to join.
“When CTAT came knocking in 2019, I hadn’t been in a band in over 30 years, but I was itching to find a project to get into,” said Hawkins. “At least once a show, I have a moment to pause and reflect on how lucky I am to be in this band. Some shows, I fight back the tears in my eyes and the lump in my throat during that moment. As long as I get chills at least once during a show, I know that we’re doing something right that is also affecting the crowd in a similar manner. Every show makes all the hard work worth it,” said Hawkins.”