He explains, "A lot of artists I know they get a year and a half away from a record they've just made it's like ... 'Oh ... it's terrible I hate that thing,' ya know?

I'm still in a honeymoon with the record ..."[1] His music has been featured on the television shows Scrubs, Being Human, Falcon Beach, Queer as Folk and Whistler.

"[4] He recorded first in the front entrance of a friend's studio, then moved his studio "to the basement of a friend's recently deceased grandmother on Hillsdale Avenue"[5] – this basement is where he recorded his early albums For Him and the Girls and (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves, as well as material that was released several years later on Before We Were Security Guards and Puppy (A Boy's Truly Rough).

In 2000, Workman collaborated on an album called Chrome Reflection, credited to a band named Bird which also featured fellow Canadians Jason Collett and Andrew Cash.

The album, titled (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves, became Workman's breakthrough record both in Canada and Europe, spawning the singles "Striptease" and "Jealous of Your Cigarette".

His record company press kit for The Delicious Wolves included such fanciful biographical details as sailing through the air on a kite, and learning music while working as a janitor at a tap dance academy.

Lover/Fighter followed in 2003; the album included the hits "We Will Still Need a Song", "Smoke Baby", "Anger as Beauty", "Even an Ugly Man" and "No Reason to Cry Out Your Eyes (On the Highway Tonight)".

It includes a radio edit of the single "Anger as Beauty", and "Love Will Tear Us Apart", a cover of a song by Joy Division.

[8] The same year Workman was featured, with recording artists Jully Black and Sam Roberts, in a multi-award-winning MuchMusic social-issue documentary "Inside Your Threads", by Tania Natscheff and Liz Marshall.

Workman and Black travelled to Bangladesh to witness the living and working conditions of garment workers making clothes for the North American market.

Los Manlicious is a return to Hawksley's heavier rock roots, resembling his major label debut, (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves more than his two previous albums, Treeful of Starling and Between the Beautifuls.

As well as Workman himself (credited as HW), several producers were enlisted for this album: Martin "Doc" McKinney, Andre Wahl, Bob Ezrin, John Southworth, Ken Friesen, Matt DeMatteo, James Paul.

Workman’s signature eclecticism shines brightly on songs like '1000 Miles of Atmosphere,' a nine-and-a-half-minute prog epic that’s stuffed with syncopated rhythms, star-dazzled synth twinkles and unpredictable sonic shifts.

His minimal setup consists of a duo, with Todd Lumley ("Mr. Lonely") playing piano and keyboards alongside Hawksley Workman on the guitar and vocals.

In 2023, his touring rig consisted of Squier Jazzmaster guitars played through pedals including Ibanez Tube Screamer, Neo Clone, and amp and cabinet simulators.