Davy Knowles & BDS: Breathing Deep
By Team JamBase Aug 11, 2009 • 8:42 pm PDT
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Nothing has changed in that department. In fact, Knowles’ star continues to rise as he sets the gearshift for the heart of the sun, but otherwise a lot has changed. With the new album, Coming Up for Air (released June 16 on Blix Street Records), the supporting tour in motion, and a continuing line of high profile dates on the horizon, Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam may claim to be “coming up for air” but you certainly wouldn’t know it.
“Throwing my heart to a stranger was never something I could do” (from “Amber’s Song”)
The new album shares a producing credit with a rather recognizable name, Peter Frampton. Having heard from a mutual friend that Frampton was interested in doing co-writes on new material, Knowles jumped at the opportunity to collaborate. As with so many things in the music business, it’s a name dropped here, a meeting there and next thing you know Frampton took the reins, producing essentially the whole thing, save for a couple tracks self-produced by Knowles.
In the end, it took about a year before Frampton and Knowles wound up in a room together to talk about the co-writes and their goals for the collaboration, but things really took off from there. “We wrote three songs together and I asked him if he wanted to produce those tracks and he agreed,” Knowles says. “Naturally, as we were talking through what we wanted those tracks to sound like, I realized that is what I want the whole album to sound like.”
 (l to r) PK, Knowles, Barci |
“Doing what I could for someone else, didn’t know that I was saving myself” (from “Saving Myself”)
The biggest step forward for Knowles & Back Door Slam – including the name change with Knowles’ name now on the “door” – was rooted in a very tough decision. Knowles parted ways with former bandmates and lifelong friends, Ross Doyle (drums) and Adam Jones (bass). While at face value, this looks like a business decision straight out of Almost Famous (“Frankly, your looks are becoming a problem”), but having seen the new band live, it’s clear that this was the right decision. Obviously, any decision to part with original band members will rub some people the wrong way, but this new band with Steve Barci on drums and PK on bass is better. There is a lot more interplay and a noticeable uptick in jamming as opposed to what used to be a band all about Knowles with a heavy burden on near-nonstop soloing.
“It’s so important to keep learning and keep progressing,” Knowles offers. “It is not at all about the caliber of musicians. Just look at Cream, they were the best band in the world. I think it is important to learn from as many different people as you can. The sound of the band and on the album hasn’t changed too much, and no disrespect to Adam and Ross, but this has really opened a lot of doors. I think you just have to crack on, keep your head down and don’t look back too much.”
It’s almost ironic that the band name now highlights Knowles as opposed to simply Back Door Slam, because the live show actually involves a lot more input from the other members, particularly with the advent of a keyboard player. The band doesn’t have a solidified permanent keyboardist in the lineup, but Benmont Tench (longtime member of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers) played on most of the album tracks and the band has been implementing keys on the road, bringing Ty Bailie out for the live shows. “I always wanted a keyboard player. I love playing with a keyboard. In fact, the only reason it was ever a three-piece in the first place was because we couldn’t afford to bring out a keys player,” says Knowles. “It sounds really strange, but it actually creates a lot more room. Having someone to fall back on means I don’t have to always keep playing.”
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“We all need someone to lean on” (From “Keep On Searching”)
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You really get the feeling that Knowles has not only learned a lot musically from such monumental mentors but also a great deal about the way the game is played and what to avoid. Behind the scenes, it is immediately clear that Knowles and Co. are surrounded by good, professional people who understand all the facets to taking Knowles to the next level. Being just 21-years-old and on the road nonstop in a foreign country, it would be easy for a young musician to get sidetracked with partying and letting early success go to his dome, but this is a well-oiled team who keep the focus on the music. In fact, so much so that he even likes reading criticism. “If you stop listening to criticism, then you might as well just give up,” he says.
“So far away from the green you came from” (from “Country Girls”)
Despite his small town Isle of Man heritage, Knowles’ career remains steeped in the U.S. For the foreseeable future, the tour dates are pretty much all located in the States. Sooner or later, one can only assume that Europe will latch onto the sound of Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam, but for now the focus remains on the home of the blues. “It’s where the music came from,” Knowles says, “and it’s so big! You can never exhaust it. Plus audiences seem really into it.”
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Furthermore, the songwriting is growing more diverse and exploratory as well. Interestingly, the songs co-written by Frampton actually sound the most like existing Back Door Slam material, but the album takes on a decidedly fresher, more diverse approach with some slower, almost bluegrass material on “Amber’s Song,” a George Harrison homage in the vein of “Hear Me Lord” complete with Frampton and Knowles blitzing one another on dueling guitar solos, and a standout duet with Jonatha Brooke on her tune “Taste of Danger.” Believe it or not, the best songs on the album are not even blues. However, Knowles is quick to retort, “Rock & roll, classic rock, country – it’s all built out of the blues.”
The lyrics since Back Door Slam’s debut, Roll Away (2007), have improved markedly as well. Opting more for storytelling and reflection on tough experiences as opposed to simply filling in space between guitar solos, the new songs take on noticeably more life than on Roll Away. After all, this is blues music, which require some hard times for authenticity. “This stuff, lyrically, I thought about it way more,” says Knowles. “I tried to approach it more methodically and concentrated harder. Roll Away was the first thing I ever wrote, so I am very new to it.”
“Coming up for air, only God knows where” (from “Coming Up for Air”)
Following a solo acoustic tour as the opener for Jeff Beck, as well as recent band dates at Rothbury and the Mile High Festival, Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam are currently on the road with maybe the most random super-group in rock history, Chickenfoot (comprised of Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith). Chickenfoot’s self-titled debut reached number four on the Billboard charts, so clearly randomness sells.
Given the obvious signs that Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam have no intention of slowing down, is it perhaps ironic that the new album is titled Coming Up for Air?
“Even though there is a brand new album out, I don’t stop,” replies Knowles. “I love doing it. And the more you do it, the better you get.”
TEAR DOWN THE WALLS – LIVE FROM WORLD CAFE from Davy Knowles on Vimeo.
Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam are on tour now, dates available here. JamBase | Slammin’
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