Get a Knife

San Diego faves Dream on

by John O'Neill

Since releasing their first album, Drunk on the Moon, three years ago, the boys of San Diego's No Knife have averaged at least three tours a year, including a total of six or seven (it's a little hazy to them at this point) national jaunts and numerous West Coast swings; they lost a guitarist who kited off to Alaska, fired a drummer who was a pain in the ass, moved to a bigger label, and released a second album, Hit Man Dreams (Time Bomb), voted both album of the year and alternative-rock album of the year in 1997 at the San Diego Music Awards. So why don't you know them?

"It was definitely an honor to win [the SDMA], but it hasn't done that much for us outside of San Diego," says drummer Chris Prescott, who joined No Knife after stints with Tanner and Rocket from the Crypt. "It was a good thing in that there was more of a `let's check it out' attention that resulted. But we've been around awhile. [San Diego] is the same people playing in different bands."

Which in some ways explains No Knife's style. Hit Man Dreams builds on the practically indigenous guitar-driven sound started with SD underground heavies Pitchfork and later Drive like Jehu and aMiniature and is manifest in the new breed of bands, including Blank 182, Buck-O-Nine, and No Knife. But though the earlier bands were concerned with bluster, dissonance, and weird tuning, the current crop sands the edges, rounds the corners, and, while still retaining all the sonic punk power, brings a decidedly pop element to the table. There's plenty of testosterone in the air, but there's also a fragility in guitarist Mitch Wilson's lyrics.

"The lyrics are the hardest part to write, usually we'll have a song for six months and then, maybe when I'm sleeping, a phrase will pop into my head so I'll hop up and write it down," says Wilson. "If I think about [lyrics] too much they sound forced and corny. Now they're are a series of accidents!"

While Drunk on the Moon was a fair introduction to the band, Hit Man Dreams ups the ante with a release loaded with pop-punk spirit, lurching rhythms, unpredictable tempo changes and breaks, and tight musicianship. Riding a line between the natural beauty and barely controllable urgency inherent with being young, No Knife offer an album that articulates these complexities in relatively simple terms. It's refreshing in its unique style and universal in its introspective themes.

It's also a departure for the band, who assume a more collaborative creative roll. "It isn't as scattered as the first album," offers Prescott. "We're all contributing. The new stuff we're working on now is quite different. I expect the jump to the next album to be even bigger. We're all getting deeper into what we write, and we're getting better on our instruments."

Currently on their annual six-week summer tour (they play the Space on Friday, August 7, with Doc Hopper and Garrison), No Knife find themselves in an enviable position. Huntington-based Time Bomb Records offered the band the best of both worlds: creative control over their material, excellent national distribution through BMG, and, most important for a band who are usually on the road, tour support.

"It's totally ideal," says Prescott. "Things have changed quite a bit. The money's there to get a hotel when we need them, but we still try to stay at houses when we can. It's always nice to stay at people's places; it's a nicer experience and then you have friends to visit the next time through."

Local Buzz

Former pop-punk faves Gas Food Lodging are currently looking at a comeback early this fall. They're on the prowl for a bass player to round-out a line-up that will now include keyboards. How about the plight of the Amazing Royal Crowns? (Providence is their home, but Wormtown broke 'em first!) First they tack "Amazing" on front to keep the Royal Crown Revue happy, now they're told by a judge they have till year-end to change their name. Holy smoke, it's not like the Amazin's haven't been around for five years, so why all the sour grapes so suddenly? Could it be the Royal Crown Revue are a little miffed because they can't seem to get a good seat on the swing bandwagon and our boys are touring the world with the Bosstones? If our foster homeboys really wanted to confuse people, they should re-christen themselves the Amazing Canadian Trendoid Revue.

Former Worcester Phoenix Best Music Poll country heavyweight Bobby Hogan is still around these parts but only part-time. Hogan's driving long haul to help generate some money for his upcoming CD, says his mom. He's also graduated from bar gigs to more select opening slots for bigger Nashville stars, having recently opened for Billy Ray Cyrus and Lorrie Morgan.