Gregory and the Hawk
Meredith Godreau is an American singer-songwriter performing under the pseudonym Gregory and the Hawk, active since 2001.
Early life
Originally from the Boston area, Godreau moved to upstate New York while still in school.Career
Godreau took on the pseudonym Gregory and the Hawk in 2003, citing her influences as Nick Drake, Liz Phair and PJ Harvey. The name was derived from her brother, Gregory, and his imaginary childhood hawk.Demo EP
She released her demo EP, including early versions of "Boats and Birds" and "Isabelle". When asked about going by her real name, Godreau responded, "There is no reason for it. But, I'd walk by places and it'd say 'Playing Tonight – Joe Jones' and I think that was super-boring and I'd never want to go to that show."Godreau began playing solo shows in small venues around New England until 2005 when she met Mike McGuire in New York. They played live shows together for several months before the bass guitarist Jeff Ratner and drummer Adam Christgau joined the band. The four of them recorded the Boats and Birds EP.
''Boats and Birds & In Your Dreams''
In 2006, Gregory and the Hawk self-released the Boats and Birds EP containing the songs "Isabelle" and "Boats and Birds". Mike McGuire recorded In Your Dreams, Gregory and the Hawk's first full-length album, in his home studio. The album was self-released in 2007 with Mike McGuire and Susan Ambrose as the only other players.FatCat records
Godreau played a show at Southpaw in Brooklyn in the summer of 2007, where a representative of Fat Cat Records saw her set. A month later, she was in the studio recording her first FatCat single, "Ghost", and first album, Moenie and Kitchi, which were released in September and October 2008, respectively.In an interview with AU magazine, Godreau was asked about her work with FatCat Records and responded, "I wasn't really aiming to be on a record label, but now that I am, there have been so many great people that I've met in the last couple of years because of it that I would never, ever say that I wouldn't want to have that. I'm very glad about the people I've met, and not necessarily the technicalities of being on a label."
''Moenie and Kitchi''
In the recording of Moenie and Kitchi, many of the instruments were played by the album's producer, Adam Pierce, with most vocals and guitars recorded simultaneously in just one take. Gregory and the Hawk took a three-continent tour for this album, taking in support slots for múm, The Album Leaf, Mice Parade, Frightened Rabbit, Asian Kung Fu Generation, and other bands.''Leche''
Godreau worked on Leche in winter 2009, writing and self-recording, then taking her music to engineers and collaborators including Pierce, as well as Jeremy Backofen and Rob Laakso. The album was released in Canada and the United States on November 9, 2010, and in the UK and Europe on November 15, 2010.''Come, Now''
Godreau's album Come, Now, was released on June 5, 2012. Leading up to the album's release, three songs were posted on her website: "First Flying V" in November 2011, followed by "Cause It's Cold" and "Been Too Long" in January 2012.''Stone'' EP
The 6-track Stone EP, was released on November 20, 2012. It contains a heavy use of synthesized sounds, and lyrics about moving across the country.On The Orange Mountain
Starting in from August 2016, and going through 2017, Godreau released a collection of new work. The project, titled "On The Orange Mountain" is a series of live recordings captured in the field, from various locations around the Pacific Northwest. Godreau ifunded the project through the crowdsourcing website Patreon, and has since released the audio recordings digitally.Discography
Albums
Self-titled Demos In Your Dreams Moenie and Kitchi Leche Come, Now On The Orange Mountain Texas Collectious- ''Quarantunes''
EPs
Demo Gregory and the Hawk EP Boats and Birds EP Bob: The Album Huckleberry Cherry and Boules EP Stone EP VDay EP- ''Three Weeks No Songs''
Singles
- "Ghost"
- "Olly Olly Oxen Free"
- "Some White Mountain"
- "Darling"