Gregory and the Hawk

{{BLP sources|date=December 2018}}{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Gregory and the Hawk

| image = Gregory%26thehawk.jpg

| caption = Meredith Godreau in summer 2007

| origin = New York City, United States

| genre = Acoustic, indie pop, indie folk{{Cite web |url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/13624 |title=Drowned In Sound // Releases / Gregory & The Hawk – Moenie & Kitchi |access-date=November 1, 2008 |archive-date=October 21, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021023421/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/13624 |url-status=dead }}

| years_active = 2001–present

| label = FatCat Records, Pearly Gates!

| website = http://www.gregoryandthehawk.com/

}}

Meredith Marie Godreau{{cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/884153638 |title=A CENTURY IS ALL WE NEED |website=ASCAP |publisher=American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers |access-date=June 18, 2024}} is an American singer-songwriter performing under the pseudonym Gregory and the Hawk, active since 2001.

Early life

Originally from Medfield, Massachusetts, Godreau moved to Potsdam, New York, when she was twelve.

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".{{Cite web |url=http://www.wideastheocean.com/history/singles/gregoryandthehawk.php |title=Wide as the Ocean :: Releases :: Gregory and the Hawk EP |access-date=November 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425022804/http://www.wideastheocean.com/history/singles/gregoryandthehawk.php |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |url-status=dead }} 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 (both of the New York band Paper And Sand) joined the band. The four of them recorded the Boats and Birds EP.[http://fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/artistInfo.php?id=127 FatCat Records – artist biography]

=''Boats and Birds'' EP=

In 2006, Gregory and the Hawk self-released the Boats and Birds EP as a home-studio project containing the songs "Isabelle" and "Boats and Birds". Soon after the release, the four friends moved apart, and so Godreau began playing live with just Ratner on upright bass, and herself on acoustic guitar and vocals.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}}

=FatCat records=

In Your Dreams, Gregory and the Hawk's first full-length album, was self-released the following year with Mike McGuire and Susan Ambrose as the only other players. The album received many positive reviews but it was not until a show in Brooklyn that FatCat Records discovered her. 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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}}

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."[http://iheartau.com/2011/01/qa-gregory-and-the-hawk "Q&A Gregory and the Hawk"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528225800/http://iheartau.com/2011/01/qa-gregory-and-the-hawk/ |date=May 28, 2012 }}, AU magazine

=''Moenie and Kitchi''=

In the recording of Moenie and Kitchi, many of the instruments were played by the album's producer, Adam Pierce (Mice Parade), 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.[https://fat-cat.co.uk/release/gregory-and-the-hawk/moenie-and-kitchi FatCat Records – Releases – Moenie and Kitchi] "Moenie and Kitchi was not produced by me... and I really like[d] it, but it wasn't very personal to me. I wrote the songs but I felt like it was not something I could have made on my own," Godreau told AU.

=''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 (Felice Brothers) and Rob Laakso (Amazing Baby, Diamond Nights, Mice Parade, Swirlies). The album was released in Canada and the United States on November 9, 2010, and in the UK and Europe on November 15, 2010.[https://fat-cat.co.uk/release/gregory-and-the-hawk/leche FatCat Records – Releases – Leche]

=''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.{{Cite web |title=Music {{!}} Gregory and the Hawk |url=https://gregoryandthehawk.com/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Gregory and the Hawk Official Bandcamp Discography |language=en}} It contains a heavy use of synthesized sounds, as well as tracks that did not make it on to Come, Now.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018|reason=Need a citation as to where Godreau discussed songs originally planned for 'Come, Now' being released in 'Stone'}}

=On The Orange Mountain=

Starting in from August 2016, Godreau released a collection of new work. The project, titled "On The Orange Mountain" is a series of recordings captured in the field, from various locations around the Pacific Northwest. Godreau is funding the project through the crowdsourcing website Patreon.

Discography

=Albums=

Self-titled Demos (2005)
In Your Dreams (2007)
Moenie and Kitchi (2008)
Leche (2010)
Come, Now (2012)
On The Orange Mountain (2016–17)
Texas Collectious (2018–19)
Quarantunes (2023)

=EPs=

Demo (2004)
Gregory and the Hawk (Demo) EP (2005)
Boats and Birds EP (2006)
Bob: The Album (2009)
Huckleberry Cherry and Boules EP (2010)
Stone EP (2012)
VDay EP (2017)
Three Weeks No Songs (2020)

=Singles=

"Ghost" (2008)
"Olly Olly Oxen Free" (2010)
"Some White Mountain" (2023)

=Compilations=

The Lonesome Call of the... WHPRWHIL, Whprwhil Records (2006)
Pickathon, Pickathon Roots Music Festival (2006)
Nano-Mugen Compilation 2009, Ki/oon Records (2009)
We Will Rise Again, Far Cry 5 Presents: Into The Flames (OST), Ubisoft (2018)