Hawk: Let The Metal Live

According to Charlie Wayne - Charlie Wayne Morrill is one of the founding fathers of the 80s L.A. metal scene, fronting such early favorite Hollywood bands as Black Knight, Morrill, Hawk, and eventually the Bullet Boys. At the age of 16, Charlie formed the band High Times with future Bullet Boy Bassist Lonnie Vincent (Miller), and drummer Mike Edwards. High Times performed all over South Bay and California including the legendary Gazzari’s. High Times was a great start for Charlie, and even though they were known to play the crazy house party here and there, he knew High Times had run its course and it was time to step up to the next level. So Charlie recruited his brother David Morrill and John Regan and formed what would become one of the Sunset Strips most popular bands – Black Knight. Black Knight would become an unstoppable force to be reckoned with on the Hollywood strip for nearly 5 years. In fact, Black Knight ruled the strip; years before Motley Crue, Ratt, W.A.S.P., Dokken, and the countless other metal bands that would soon evolve. Black Knight had a loyal following including a young red-haired freckled kid by the name of William Rose, who followed the band religiously all over L.A. William would often carry around his notebook of lyrics, which he would share with Charlie. Charlie took a liking to this young hanger-on and was floored one day when this same red-headed kid approached Charlie saying that not only had he started a band, but his band Hollywood Rose, would be opening the show for Black Knight. It was a huge honor for the singer who would eventually be known the world over as W. Axl Rose (and whose notebook contained preambles to “Welcome To The Jungle” and “Sweet Child Of Mine”) to now be opening up for his idol Charlie Morrill. Even though Black Knight ruled the early L.A. metal scene, money was still tight and nationwide fame was still allusive. Charlie found himself, at times, homeless and living out of his Chevy Vega with Axl Rose. Sometimes Charlie and Axl got a bit of a reprieve and were able to crash in a recording studio in Vernon Ca. where they often recorded. In addition, good friend Chris Holmes, who would go onto fame in W.A.S.P., also crashed at the studio.

Charlie remained the man with the plan; the guy everyone looked up to as he led Black Knight to a huge local following. However, an ad in Circus magazine placed by Metal Method’s Doug Marks caught Charlie’s attention. The ad boasted, “New band forming with immediate worldwide exposure”, and out of 1,000 singers auditioned, Charlie won the job. With the key members of the band in place, Charlie and Doug recruited a rhythm section comprising of Glen Burtis (who they stole away from Lita Ford’s band) and Charlie’s old schoolmate and High Times Bassist, Lonnie Vincent Miller.The band, known as Hawk, sold out shows for over a year straight through Charlie's excellent frontman showmanship and experience. Even though the band flourished as it was, Doug Marks and Lonnie Vincent Miller still sorted through demo tapes sent in by wanna-be rockers from around the world, when one tape of a young drummer absolutely floored them. Nervously, Doug and Lonnie sat Charlie down, afraid that he would reject getting rid of current drummer Glen Burtis. After coaxing and begging Charlie to have an open mind, Charlie agreed to switch drummers knowing there was something special that he had heard and saw in this young drummer, Scott Travis. They fired Glen Burtis and had Scott Travis (who would eventually go on to play with Racer X and ultimately Judas Priest) on a plane the next day. The band rocked hard for nearly a year; Axl still followed Charlie and his new project loyally, and artists like Ted Nugent and Jon Bon Jovi were taking notice of Hawk. This version of Hawk toured successfully in the mid 80’s and even went into the studio and recorded this previously unreleased (until now) album in 1985! However, a year into the project, Doug Marks decided he had had enough of playing out live and announced he was leaving the band. Charlie, Lonnie, and Scott knew they had a great thing going, and opted to keep the band together, recruiting guitarist Mark Torien from Ratt. That’s the story on how the core of what would eventually one day become the Bullet Boys all met. As would often happen though, bands would run their course, dissect, and form new bands. So after a year of hardcore touring and partying, Charlie and Scott left the band and formed Morrill. This incarnation worked well until Scott announced that he was leaving for a new gig with Racer X (comprised of Jeff Martin and Paul Gilbert, who would eventually form Mr. Big, and Bruce Bouillet and John Alderete). At nearly the same time, Johnny Rod quit King Kobra to join W.A.S.P. , so Lonnie Vincent Miller, who was currently without a band, took over the bass duties for King Kobra. Soon, King Kobra’s lead singer at the time, Mark Free left the band opting to become Marcie Free; so Lonnie suggested his old high school friend and former Hawk band member, Charlie Morrill for the Lead Vocal gig in King Kobra. With Charlie on vocals, King Kobra toured parts of the U.S. and even made it over to Spain. However, 6 months was about all Charlie could muster out of King Kobra, and he left and reformed Morrill with his brother David. Morrill rocked L.A. and became a highly sought after band with Axl remaining a loyal hardcore fan to anything and everything Charlie would do. As incestuous as it seems, one guy would leave a band, and then another guy would replace him, only for those two to leave, and a former bandmate to take their place – it seemed as if there was a revolving door of everyone in someone else’s band.

So as the case would be, former Hawk member, Mark Torien, would take over the singing duties of King Kobra. At the time, King Kobra consisted of 3 members who would eventually form the Bullet Boys (Mark Torien, Lonnie Vincent Miller, and Mick Sweda). King Kobra would eventually break up and Mark, Lonnie, and Mick recruited Jimmie D’anda and changed the name to the Bullet Boys. This band was highly influenced by the songs and ideas of former frontman and leader Charlie Morrill. As you can probably guess, someone left the band…that someone being Mick Sweda and Charlie was recruited as his replacement. Although Charlie and Mick would switch back and forth a number of times, in an out of the Bullet Boys; the core powerhouse of Lonnie Vincent Miller and Charlie Morrill were back together. As was usually the case, Charlie stepped up to the forefront, and provided fodder for what would become many of the songs to grace the first Bullet Boys album. In fact, the hit “Smooth Up In Ya”, was originally a song by Charlie called “Sex In The Bathtub”. Lonnie would eventually slow it down and change the lyrics. What happened next? You guessed it…Charlie left the Bullet Boys for a solo career, only for the Bullet Boys to replace him and get signed to a major record deal six months later. Charlie Wayne Morrill, perhaps the godfather of the L.A. metal scene, has been rocking out solo ever since. With 26 albums released to this very day, and even a short-lived duo with Ron Keel in Nashville (known as Keel Wayne), Charlie continues to record, tour, and excite audiences the world over. Here is your chance to hold a piece of History, straight outta 1985, and never released until now…Please enjoy this uncovered gem…Hawk - Let The Metal Live!

-- bio by FnA Records