Copious Notes

Jason Dunn has left Hawk Nelson and is embarking on a solo career. Photo via jasondunnfoundation.com.

Jason Dunn and his bandmates in Hawk Nelson were frequently asked, “Which one of you is Hawk Nelson?”

Over nearly a decade, the band’s fans learned the moniker was a dual tribute to skateboard master Tony Hawk and a favorite store in the band’s native Ontario. But now, Dunn has a simpler question to answer: Who is Jason Dunn?

Jason Dunn with Hawk Nelson on the main stage the opening day of the 40th annual Ichthus Festival, June 11, 2009, at Ichthus Farm in Wilmore, Ky.

The answer is he is the former frontman of Hawk Nelson, now striking out on a solo career that starts its first tour Saturday night at NorthEast Christian Church.

“We had a really good run, and I’m really proud of how the band went,” Dunn says in a recent phone interview. “From 2005 to 2008 were really massive years for us, and we had a really, really good time.

“But in 2009, I could just sort of feel we were losing momentum, and I didn’t want to fall off the face of the earth, so I thought it was time to go out and try something I’ve been wanting to try since I was a little kid: to make a solo record and take another stab at it and try to keep momentum up. So here I go.”

Hawk Nelson is continuing as the trio of frontman Jonathan Steingard, bassist Daniel Brio and drummer Justin Benner. Dunn, meanwhile, has spent most of 2012 searching for that solo voice.

“I was the voice of Hawk Nelson, and I can’t get away from that, no matter how hard I try,” Dunn says of his new music.

And he tried.

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