This Ain’t Art, It’s Rock and Roll: 'Ugly Beach Boys' The Warhawks swoop into the Wormhole

“There’s been a lot of questioning in the scene about rock and roll, saying rock and roll is dead,” said Warhawks drummer Patrick (PB) Bilodeau over the phone from his tour van. “That’s why we named the album 'This Ain’t Art' because everyone nowadays wants to be indie, like, ‘I’m an artist, not a musician.’ It comes off pretentious and we’re trying to get back to the idea of raw old school, gritty rock n’ roll where we sing about truth, emotion, life and death, and all that sh**. The highs and lows of life.”

Credit: Michelle Kott

Credit: Michelle Kott

Brothers Patrick and Jon Bilodeau (guitar) formed The Warhawks with cousin Matt Orlando (guitar) and then added childhood friend Tom Lipski (bass). The Bilodeau brothers and Orlando grew up together hanging out at the swim club and making movies on an old VHS camera. Then when Matt was twelve, he got a guitar and music became the gang’s main creative outlet. Jon (or JB), followed suit and bought a guitar, as well.

“We didn’t want three guitars in the band,” lamented Patrick. “I originally wanted to play guitar, but they said I gotta be on drums.”

All four members of The Warhawks, however, share lead vocal duties, usually based on who wrote the song. The fact that they all contribute to songwriting and singing has earned them comparisons to other famous bands.

“We’ve been called the ugly Beach Boys before,” said Patrick with a laugh.

With a dozen EPs and an excellent debut album (2019’s "Never Felt So Good"), as well as a reputation for electrifying live shows, The Warhawks have built a strong fanbase in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area. It certainly helps that they would often transport their fans to shows in a school bus dubbed the “Hawk Bus” that they borrowed from a coach from their old high school.

“Ever since we started doing that, the shows have really been selling out,” said Patrick. “We can just bring people from our hometown across the bridge.”

“It also makes for a rowdy crowd,” added Matt. “People don’t want to drink and drive so they’re able to let loose more.”

Being from the Delaware Valley is an important part of the Warhawks’ identity. While North Jersey leans towards New York City, South Jersey associates more with nearby Philadelphia and its music scene.

“The whole scene is gritty,” said Patrick. “We have really hot summers and really cold winters. We’re all in the blue collar industry and a lot of our friends and family are, as well. We come from a stock of construction workers and painters.”

The Warhawks all work as house painters on the side and actually paid for their last several recordings by painting their producer Dave Downham’s house and studio.

“We have no money, so we use a barter system,” said Matt.

Credit: Brian Mietz

Credit: Brian Mietz

Coming from a blue collar background, the band also believe that their fans in particular like to work hard and play hard.

“Because it’s such a blue collar town and area, a lot of our inspiration comes from everybody going out on the weekend huge,” explained Jon. “They either go to all the bars in Philly, go to New York City or Asbury, or down the shore. That’s the inspiration of our songs — working hard during the week and then finally having that release on the weekend. We really hunker down during the week and have an explosion on the weekend.”

The Warhawks are ready to explode at the Wormhole on Friday along with Savannah alternative rockers LILAKK and Ember City. Unfortunately, they won’t be pulling up in the Hawk Bus. Instead, they’re traveling south in a regular old tour van, albeit a nicer one than they used last time, with velvet green interior and a VHS player. The previous van didn’t even have seats.

“It’s one of the most dangerous things we’ve ever done,” recalled Pat. “Our last van was just the metal structure of the van and we threw beanbags and sleeping bags in the back.

Matt added, “The guys in the front would drive and navigate and the guys in the back just held hands and prayed.”

Hopefully, future success will allow The Warhawks to procure another Hawk Bus loaded with adoring fans to take on the road.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: This Ain’t Art, It’s Rock and Roll: 'Ugly Beach Boys' The Warhawks swoop into the Wormhole