A Hawk and a Hacksaw (often abbreviated to AHAAH) is a folk band from Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is currently on The Leaf Label. The band consists primarily of percussionist Jeremy Barnes, who was previously the drummer for Neutral Milk Hotel and Bablicon, and violinist Heather Trost. The music is inspired by eastern European and particularly Balkan traditions, and is mostly instrumental with occasional vocals, shouts and cheers. The band has toured with The Olivia Tremor Control and Beirut. During its CMN tour of the UK in 2007 it was accompanied by the The Hun Hangár Ensemble.
The band's self-titled first album provided the soundtrack for the documentary Zizek!, which features Slovenian cultural theorist Slavoj Zizek (the film's director, Astra Taylor, is married to Barnes' former Neutral Milk Hotel bandmate Jeff Mangum).
In an interview with Splendid magazine, Barnes said of the group's name "The reason that I use it is the book Don Quixote, by Cervantes." He added: "It's basically that someone who has gone mad can't tell the difference between a Hawk and a Hacksaw, that's what they say in Don Quixote."
-Wikipedia