Ladyhawk Survive To Fire A Rapid Round Of Shots

Ladyhawk are lucky road warriors. Take the accident that totaled their tour van last year, for example.

"All our gear was fine, which was a miracle," says singer/guitarist Duffy Driediger. "And we were all fine, even though Ryan [Peters, drums] and I weren't wearing our seatbelts. It's pretty amazing that none of us even got hurt, let alone killed."

The band were en route back from their old stomping grounds in Kelowna, B.C. to their current home in Vancouver when they flipped the vehicle off the notorious Coquihalla Highway. While they emerged intact, the crash put the squeeze on the already brief time that they had to mix their forthcoming sophomore LP, Shots.

"We recorded that album in two weeks, and had to come back to Vancouver and mix it really quick in three days, and then we were supposed to go on a six-week tour of the States," says Driediger of the planned itinerary. "Instead, we had to take the Greyhound back to Vancouver and mix the whole album in a day- and-a-half, which, for mixing, is insane."

If it was a rush job, the finished product reflects anything but. The band have been honing most of the nine songs that make up the record at shows for more than a year (in some cases, much longer), and Shots showcases the same ragged-sounding rock 'n' roll that the foursome have built their formidable reputation as a live act on.

"Most of the songs were songs we'd been playing already for probably a year by the time we recorded them," says Driediger. "There were a few newer ones and one that we re-recorded that was on the [Fight For Anarchy] EP, and that's about it."

With Ladyhawk's newest set of tunes finally slated for a March 4 release on Jagjaguwar, the guys are ready to head back out on the road, where they'll once again support their friends in Black Mountain.

"We're going out to Montreal and Ontario and doing a bunch of shows with Immaculate Machine, and then hooking up with Black Mountain in Winnipeg and coming out west," says Driediger of the spring tour plans. "Our first real tour was with Black Mountain a few years ago. We've all come a long way since then."

Catch Ladyhawk live at these dates:

March 18 London, ON @ Salt Lounge w/Immaculate Machine
March 19 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah w/Immaculate Machine
March 20 Montreal, QC @ Le Divan Orange w/Immaculate Machine
March 21 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox w/Immaculate Machine
March 22 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern w/Immaculate Machine
March 27 Winnipeg, MB @ Pyramid Cabaret w/Black Mountain
March 28 Regina, SK @ The Distrikt w/Black Mountain
March 29 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo's w/Black Mountain
March 31 Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room w/Black Mountain
April 1 Calgary, AB @ The Warehouse w/Black Mountain
April 2 Kelowna, BC @ The Habitat
April 5 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom w/Black Mountain