Frank Wiewel and Kirk Kaufman met during junior high school in Fort Dodge, Iowa, during the 1960s.
West Minist’r consisted of Wiewel (bass/vocals), Kaufman (guitar/vocals), Rusty Bell (guitar/vocals), Terry Dillon (keyboards/vocals 1968−69), Chuck Henderson (keyboards/bass 1969−72) and Dean Davis (drums 1968–71).
Rick Schaeffer, Arnie Bode and Keith Brown replaced the members who left the group, remaining with the band until its demise in 1974.
[4] The group released three singles during their time together: "Bright Lights, Windy City" b/w "Carnival" - Razzberry Records SR 2957, "My Life" b/w "Mr.
Housed in a brick chicken coop that the band had used for practice, this Tom Hidley-designed space was located on Kaufman's parent's farm outside of Otho, Iowa.
Close to the same time, former drummer for Blood Sweat & Tears, Bobby Colomby, who was working at Capitol Records, expressed an interest in the material Weiwel had sent.
[2] According to Geller, to his knowledge Hawks is the first band to be signed by Columbia Records on the basis of an unsolicited demo.
Tom Werman (Cheap Trick, Blue Öyster Cult, Ted Nugent) was the producer assigned to the band and Gary Ladinsky engineered.
Steve Schnee, writing for AllMusic, said, "Four of the five members wrote and sang great pop tunes that could have had wider appeal if this album had just received some airplay."
[2][13] Werman, writing for PopDose about what he considers his greatest misses, briefly mentions recording this album in Otho and that to him, at times, this group sounded very much like the Beatles.
[14] High Fidelity's Steven X. Rea, comparing the group to the Raspberries and Cheap Trick, said Hawks epitomizes what he considers American power pop.
He points out I Want You, I Need You - shimmering with a "pseudo-Anglo-pop sheen" - and Lonely Nights - as "energetic teenage elan" - being excellent examples from the group in the magazines Spin Offs/New Acts column.
Clarence Clemons guests on the Steen song (If We Just) Stick Together, released as a single b/w Black and White (Columbia, 11-02955).
"[18] The album appeared the next week in Billboard's Recommended LPs column, making mention of their teaming with John Ryan.
The band had planned to continue recording at West Minist’r as opposed to a studio in LA or New York as there were fewer distractions in Otho.
On the whole, Gary Glauber, writing for PopMatters, declared PWR to be "a delightful showcase of their talents as pop songwriters".
[20] Matt Collar, writing on this album at AllMusic, gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, and echoed his colleague's sentiments in the earlier review of Hawks, opining that the band was "too quirky and intelligent for mainstream radio and conversely too slick for the underground of college rock."
After his deal with Warner Chappell Music ended, he began work in an executive position with a magazine based in Nebraska.
Dave Hearn owns Silhouette Multimedia in Fort Dodge, Iowa and has recorded 7 solo albums in his home studio.
[22] On Saturday July 8, 2017 all of the members of the group got back together for the first time since 1982 to take part in Shellabration which is held yearly at the Rogers Sports Complex in Ft.
Recorded in Iowa by Kirk Kaufman, Frank Wiewel and Rick Hope, West Minist’r Sound, Otho.
Pretty Promises Pride Cold Grey Part of the World Roxanne Only Love is Real
Streets Are Dancing When It All Comes Down Somebody's Gonna Cry The Show is Over Recorded at Junior's Motel, Otho, Iowa.
Engineered by Kirk Kaufman Perfect World Radio - Not Lame Recordings, released 27 August 2003 I'm Alive Only Love Is Real Laughing Roxanne Goodbye California Cold Gray Part of the World Pretty Promises Living Inside Your Love That's Right I Don't Understand It You Can't Do Any Better Than That The Show Is Over Pride Right Away (demo version) Need Your Love (demo version) It's O.K., It's All Right (demo version) Note: This is the way the above title for this track is displayed by Muze, Inc. Also, Muze identifies Larry Adams as Dolor Larry Adams