PHOTOS: Jorie Gracen - Mario Novelli - Michael Gillespie - Florence Eskin - Susie Lewis - Rachel Stine
MEET THE PONDHAWKS
WHAT DO a former member of Thijs van Leer's band (Focus) and three alumni of The Coyotees including; a famous rock photographer; a world class lead guitarist and the singer/songwriter who brought The Coyotees to fame HAVE IN COMMON? They are all members of Chicago's HOTTEST new original rock band... THE PONDHAWKS!!!
MARIO NOVELLI, the man whose vision started it all, was the creative force behind The Coyotees. With Novelli at the helm, The Coyotees won the prestigious WGN-TV "Battle of the Bands" in 2006 for Novelli's original composition "Midnight Howl". FOX-TV featured them on their stage at "Taste of Chicago." The Coyotees sang commercials for Chicago's 97.1 FM The Drive, and jingles for FAB 4 Internet Radio. The band shared the bill with such notables as The Doobie Brothers, Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad), The Ides of March, Danny and The Juniors, Mickey Dolenz, Davy Jones (Monkees) and The Temptations Review. The Coyotees are now THE PONDHAWKS.
Novelli wrote and produced The Coyotees "Fire Eyes" album which was a critical success due to Novelli's catchy melodies and powerful lyrics. Now Novelli has formed THE PONDHAWKS along with co-songwriter, JORIE GRACEN. The band's unique vocal harmonies and original music has set them apart from other bands gaining them recognition. They were asked to open for David Cassidy (Partridge Family) after only playing two gigs as THE PONDHAWKS. Their song "Crying Hyena" was heavily played on UK radio and was the most requested song played on The Mountain's KQMT 99.5 FM "Breakfast With the Beatles" hosted by Archer.
THE PONDHAWKS are currently working on their first album of original material.
hey mario and the pondhawks! the new songs sound amazing, i love weather girl quite a bit, and the others are all classic! Mario: hope to jame with you sometime!? it would be a lot of fun!
This band is AMAZING and I really love the harmonies on the new song, "Dragonfly"! Keep up the good work, and are you ever going to tour outside of Illinois???
Pond hawks, WOW is all i have to say, everytime i hear something new im shocked. You guys are like the beatles of the modern age, awsome video hope to see you soon, Sam s.
POND HAWKS! hope all is going well, as always i stoped on to listen to the songs, they rock! Im not going to be able to make it to beatle fest because il be in marching band camp at niu, im soo upset. Hope to see you guys soon and a always keep rocking!, sam s.
Hey, I really enjoyed your show last Sunday, I'm glad I finally got a chance to check y'all out! Wish I could have stayed to the end and said hi, but had another engagement to run to. Hope to see you again this summer! :)
