KNAVE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GRANT DIFFORD
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/knaveband
COUNTRY: South Africa STYLE: Rock

YOU RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THE DATES FOR YOUR NATIONAL TOUR TO SUPPORT YOUR NEW ALBUM “COGNITION”; WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS TOUR?

JEAN: Well, as with any new area/venue you play at, there is always that nervous feeling of 'god, I hope they like us...' but we've been having some great feedback on our Facebook and Myspace pages from people around the country, so I’m hoping we get to meet a lot of awesome people who wanna party with us!

CHRIS: None really, I go, I play, I come home and carry on with what I was doing before I left. All in all there are no real expectations except of our own personal performance because that’s what we are most critical of, regardless if the shows are sold out or not we always strive to put on our best performance.

MIKE: To reach all parts of SA – take the music out of our comfort zone and see how its sits with people who have not yet seen or heard of us. That or to build on an existing bonds with our fellow listeners.

Also to get our travel legs in order – we’ll be flying a lot this time round which is good for the safety of Knave… how we survived that last tour I do not know… still counting our lucky stars. Also, just building on the bond we share in this band and whether or not we’ll kill each other when the going gets tough :)

LOUIS: Not to fight any of my band mates – when a band can’t afford a therapist it becomes tough sharing a small space together for a lengthy period. But we’ve all become a lot closer since then – when you learn to cope with each other’s bullshit you become better friends, a better band and essentially a better unit. So with all that in mind – we want to spread the word and music of Knave and represent ourselves as the positive lot that we are.

DID IT TAKE LONG TO PUT THIS TOUR TOGETHER, AND IS IT ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE A PLAN B OR C IF THINGS DON’T GO AS PLANNED?

JEAN: For this, I have to thank our manager Mr. Duncan Bell... the man is a machine... A MACHINE!!

CHRIS: Our manager from Turning tricks entertainment organised the tour. If there are any hiccups we are confident that they will be taken care of. As our manager always says “the band must not be stressed out before they play”, that’s his job.

MIKE: We have a killer manager called Duncan Bell who made this tour possible – his foresight and experience has made dealing with various venue owners/ sponsors a complete pleasure.

LOUIS: We have a lovely manager who carries the load – Mr. Bell has all the plans.

WHO ARE THE BANDS THAT WILL BE SUPPORTING YOU ON VARIOUS PARTS OF THE TOUR?

JEAN: At the moment, the only band 100% Confirmed are our buddies Chromium… Jean loves his Chromesacks, but I’m really looking forward to seeing some of the coastal talent!

CHRIS: There are quite a few bands playing with us and they were handpicked by Turning tricks entertainment.

MIKE: The Durban leg will be rocked with our good friends Chromium, otherwise its 12th Ave, Military Rd, The undefined, Red light and many more who I look forward to meeting and rocking some good times with. The music scene is full of great people – I’m stoked to be a part of it.

LOUIS: No idea.

YOU WILL BE PLAYING IN AREAS WHERE YOU DON’T GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM AT OFTEN, EVER HAD AN “IDEA” IN YOUR MIND ABOUT HOW A CERTAIN VENUE WOULD BE LIKE AND THEN BE PROVEN COMPLETELY WRONG?

JEAN: Using our last tour as reference (as it’s the only tour we've ever been on) we did a coastal tour with Chromium, and it was one of the best experiences of my life... We arrived at venues that were completely empty minus the bands and bar staff... and then out of nowhere, the venues are packed... so I’m hoping its second time lucky... Buccaneers in East London deserves special mention... a venue RIGHT on the beach front?!? OMFG!! YES!

CHRIS: Nope, I normally make up my mind about the venue and sound once we have played there. Sometimes it’s hard not to be disappointed especially when you get to a show and it’s been badly organised and there are sound issues, no place for the band to park, no place for the band to set up or chill and other things like that.

MIKE: Many times, even here in JHB we get the odd surprise… one in particular reminded me of some Chainsaw Massacre set up, long story short is that while I was trying to “escape” I ran out of petrol and had a very shaky night’s sleep in the foetal position.

LOUIS: Just about every time – and even when you’re there it changes as the gig progresses. We were in Grahamstown on the last tour and when we got there it seemed like a concrete hole in the ground. By the time we played it was packed with crazy people. So you never know what you’re going to get. Tour is like a box of chocolates.

LOOKING AT YOUR PAGES ONLINE, THERE ARE A LOT OF POSITIVE COMMENTS ABOUT YOUR LIVE SHOWS. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO FIND A “FORMULA” THAT WORKS AND COMPLEMENTS YOUR PERSONALITIES ON STAGE?

JEAN: I don’t think there is a 'formula' to Knave… we get on stage and pretty much do our own thing and just have fun... the process from us playing our first gig and being too sh*t scared to even move a muscle on stage due to nerves and lack of experience was a long one, but I think we're comfortable now, as individual musicians and as a unit... albeit, I do still get the pre-show jitters..

CHRIS: When we were a younger band we went through stages of trying to copy other styles and we tried the jumping thing, we also tried dressing up for shows or trying crazy gimmicks but in the end we grew out of it, we did formulate our own style, we just can’t tell you what that is. I guess having a good live show just comes with a lot of experience.

MIKE: We don’t have a specific “formula” or practiced stage performance routine… we practice the music, feed off the crowd energy and give it 110% at all times by just throwing it out there. The people are very perceptible to good energy on stage. We are also lucky to have our very own Star Wars’ Chewbacca on Bass… I for one eat that wookie stuff up. hhaha

LOUIS: It’s just confidence – everyone eventually finds their own stage persona. We have no gimmick – we don’t do synchronised jumps or pre-planned stage moves – we go out to have a good time – it’s more real that way, and that way the people who made the effort enjoy it with us as well.

THERE WAS A SMALL SHORTAGE OF YOUR ALBUM “POLARITY” IN STORES A WHILE BACK, IS IT HARD SOMETIMES TO ESTIMATE HOW BIG THE DEMAND WILL BE?

JEAN: Most definitely! When Taunt and Tether hit it big, we were totally unprepared for it, lesson learned and it won’t be happening again!

CHRIS: Yes especially when a band is ignorant towards understanding how their record label works, but then again we don’t even think our record label expected us to blow up like we did, it was due to our song being in a Prison Break promo and then play listed on 5fm shortly after.

This created a huge demand. Store orders were coming in and unfortunately our label just couldn’t make the albums as quickly as they were being sold, stores were cancelling backorders by the bucket load. Polarity is a rare album to have because you won’t find it in many stores anymore, if any at all. Polarity is now only available on download. Cognition will now take preference in stores.

MIKE: Yep, but we also had to deal with a “record label” who promised the stars and delivered zero. Prison Break happened for us and then 5fm followed which created a huge demand… unfortunately we couldn’t fully capitalise on our fortune but we learnt so many valuable lessons and gained some very important pieces in the process.

LOUIS: Of course it is – in this industry you have no liberties to assume how popular you are. It’s funny with us – we sell well in the scope of local heavy music. It’s very hard to predict how well your album might do. Due to the lack of support from the media for the local scene it’ll be foolish to get your hopes up. We’ve been lucky I guess.

HOW MUCH WORK WENT INTO YOUR NEW ALBUM AND ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS?

JEAN: Wow, where do I start? We’ve spent A LOT more time on 'Cognition' than we did with 'Polarity'… mostly because we are that much more experienced this time around, we knew more of what we wanted, and also needed to create in our eyes, a step up from Polarity.

CHRIS: A lot of work has gone into this album, we feel that we have become a much more mature band and it shows in our music, we are definitely happy with the results because this album is our best work to date. The creation of Polarity was a different process but this time round we all started with a blank canvas and instead of painting over each other’s work we worked together, cautiously adding to the canvas until we were happy with our final piece of art.

MIKE: Still busy with it – should be done come Mid-May… we are a little behind schedule but the studio has been fully booked. I’ll be happy when it’s done & dusted and meets everyone’s needs regarding production.

LOUIS: A lot of hard graft went into this one – the first album took longer because it was us finding our feet and each other, now the task was to mature and outdo ourselves. It’s been a very hard yet satisfying journey and I feel 100% confident that we topped ourselves with Cognition.

YOUR PREVIOUS ALBUM “POLARITY” REALLY GAVE YOU GUYS A PUSH IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, HOW MUCH OF THE “POLARITY SOUND” IS STILL PRESENT ON THE NEW ALBUM?

JEAN: I think upon hearing a song for the first time on radio or whatever, you will hear its Knave… we haven’t diverged from our 'core' sound, but we have most definitely become a little bit harder and a little bit lighter.. Cognition is a more mature Knave, we've honed our skills a little more, opened our minds a little more and most importantly, become closer as a band.

CHRIS: Although Polarity will forever be that first foot in the door we have grown a lot since then, we all have better equipment and our musicianship has grown, we are still Knave and have a unique sound so there will be some similarities between Polarity and Cognition, it’s inevitable. To the Knave fans that have the Polarity album they will definitely hear the growth in Cognition.

MIKE: I think every band grows a bit with each new release… I’m hoping this one gets out like Polarity did but creates a motion of “Knave is maturing for the better” kind of attitude with people.

LOUIS: Not as much as you’d think – we’ve honed ourselves more as a unit rather than individual songwriters – so all the songs have a lot more diversity than on Polarity. Cognition really takes you through a journey of moods and styles. We’re all much better represented in this effort. There is a lot more put on the table.

DID YOU USE ANY NEW INSTRUMENTS OR RECORDING TECHNIQUES FOR THE SONGS ON “COGNITION”?

JEAN: When we had finished recording one of our tracks 'The Abandoned Ballet', I immediately knew it needed an authentic violin sound, so I put out a message on Facebook, asking if any violinists would be kind enough to help us out… the feedback was astounding. Unfortunately, I had to choose one, and that was Natalie Cowling from a band called Frequency.

I sent her the track, and she came into studio a few days later with full musical notation on violin parts she had written for the song… our jaws were on the floor at this young lady's professionalism… she really added that 'something' to the track! THANKS NATALIE!!!!

CHRIS: This time round we recorded in a proper studio and not in one of our producers rooms at home, I think this made us work harder and inspired the addition of a violin in one of our tracks plus a guest performance on one track by a rap artist called Obita, also this time round we have included Louis (bass) voice to add to the bottom end screaming on some of the tracks. The production on Cognition will also be much better than in Polarity.

MIKE: Violins, Louis Voice, A lot Less triggered effects, induced Vodka sessions… etc

LOUIS: We used a violin in one of the tracks – we’ve also been more open to spontaneity - if a song calls for a new direction we were not shy about letting it take its natural course. With Polarity the songs were as they were written in the band room. We gave the studio environment and Jared, our producer, much more breathing space this time round. The man is a genius – he sees the music from a different place – and we allowed him to express himself in our music. It was very refreshing.

ONE OF THE MEANINGS OF THE WORD COGNITION IS “THAT WHICH COMES TO BE KNOWN”. WHAT ASPECTS OF THIS NEW ALBUM WOULD YOU LIKE IT TO BECOME KNOWN FOR?

JEAN: Cognition deals with a lot of subject matter, not purely personal, but everyday issues that plague our world... from religion to woman abuse, but all resolved in the positive light that we hold strong to.

CHRIS: All round good musicianship, song writing and unique vocals, we hope that people realise that Knave is here to stay no matter what, whether people like us or not or if we are popular or not we will continue to write and perform music together. A lot of bands break up after releasing their first album but for us to actually complete our second album has proven that we can stick together.

MIKE: Positive growth.

LOUIS: I remember the day we decided on the title – this is probably way too personal to mention in an interview – but at the end of Polarity the band was at the brink of destruction. We had major fallouts amongst ourselves. So we took the time to reconnect as people before we even picked up our instruments. We took a few occasions to just go into a serene environment and put our shit aside. That is where Cognition came from for me – we discovered each other. Rather than just fulfilling the band dream – we became a band. We became brothers.

YOU’VE HAD SOME SUCCESS WITH YOUR SONGS BEING PLAYED ON RADIO, WHEN WRITING YOUR NEW ALBUM DID THE WORDS “RADIO FRIENDLY” EVER COME UP; AND WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THING ABOUT LOCAL RADIO THAT NEEDS TO CHANGE IN YOUR OPINION?

JEAN: Radio Friendly? ...as much as it pains me… yes we have… but that’s all it ever is… talking about it… we have never sat down and tried to write a track for radio… I think if we had to sit down and try and force a song into existence, it would fail and be tossed into that void of horrible horrible Knave tracks that no one should ever hear.... ever…we aren't the kind of band that churns out 30 songs in a month… we take our time writing new songs… it’s a painful process at times, but ultimately, we all want to be 100% happy with the final product.

Regarding local radio… the biggest thing that needs to change is… Cognition…
Taunt and Tether on Radio is a prime example… it’s not one of our heavier tracks by any means, but it made it onto one of SA's biggest stations and did extremely well. But further submission of other tracks, even lighter ones; have proven uneventful, with the response being 'too heavy for their format'.

One would assume that a rock track doing so well would show that people out there want to hear more rock music on our airwaves. There are so so so many amazing rock and metal bands in this country of ours, and the people who are in a position to make these artists known on a national scale, just don't come to the party…

CHRIS: We did discuss which song was going to be our radio friendly song and we started off trying to write some radio friendly stuff, it just didn’t work, don’t ask me how but by doing this we somehow became heavier. I think also this time round with Jean (guitar) unfortunately always working his ass off in video editing, he opened the door for Myself and Louis (bass) to contribute towards the song writing which also added to the diversity.

There are two tracks titled “The abandoned ballet” and “Phenomenon” that I personally wrote and Knave moulded the songs into what they are on the album but I think these two tracks are probably the most radio friendly tracks we have, I think it’s because I have a more rock style of writing. This time I also worked hard at bringing a better balance between the actual music and vocals in Cognition. My opinion on local radio is that they need to catch a wake up call and realise that there is a lot of talented music right here in SA. They are making an effort to play local stuff but it’s not where it should be. Knave was also lucky to get the support of DJ Fresh and Catherine from 5fm.

MIKE: It’s called “Phenomenon” and has that radio friendly feel but on the whole I think it’s a bit heavier than Polarity but also has something for everyone… we write what we’re feeling on the day and I think it shows in our diversity.

Local radio is catering more and more for local content… a hell of a lot more than before.

LOUIS: Yes and no in regards to writing a radio song. I thought we needed a radio track, but we never ended up writing one. One of the tracks (called “Phenomenon”) came from a very sincere place in Chris’ soul, and even though the song is pleasant on the ears – it is based on a topic that could only be approached from a considerate view. Some things you can be angry about – others need to be approached with a bit more sonic tact.

YOU ALSO POSTED A FEW “IN STUDIO” VIDEOS ONLINE THAT WAS REALLY FUN TO WATCH. ANY OTHER VISUAL THINGS LIKE MUSIC VIDEOS PLANNED IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

JEAN: When I have a spare moment, I will post some more video footage of Knave goofing around in studio whilst trying to meet deadline on album release so that Duncan doesn't beat us with our own instruments stuff..............breathe.....but thanks for saying they are entertaining :)

CHRIS: Most definitely but these things do unfortunately take time and money.

MIKE: Definitely more music videos planned, a live DVD as well (shot at Seasons Wither 3) and I’m sure much more silly behind the scenes antics…

LOUIS: Yes – nothing (according to my knowledge) has been cast in stone. We do have some killer live footage that might materialise in something soon.

ANY LAST COMMENTS / ADVICE OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

JEAN: Just be nice... we are all in the same boat here, trying to make it as individual bands… jealousy rears its ugly head, musical endeavours and friendships can be lost in a second. Special thanks needs to go to our lovely Knave ladies for putting up with us over the past few months of late nights at studio.

Anton and Jacques at Music Connection, arguably the two most handsome and awesome guys in the universe! Our Sponsor Jagermeister for always bringing the party! Mr Gunston for being so incredibly talented and sexy. Our Super Hero - Dunc Man for taking Knave further than we could have hoped on our own :) and to you Neil, for wanting to interview us!

CHRIS: Thanks to everyone that’s given Knave a fighting chance and supported us along the way.

MIKE: Thank you for the interview, thanks to all who read this, to our existing friends who follow our music and shows and to the friends who we are about to meet.

Also, always big admiration to our various endorsements, companies and sponsors who make it possible: Music connection, Turning Tricks, Electromode, Gunston Studios, Jagermeister, Handstyle Tattoo’s.

LOUIS: Stay humble – there is no room for rock stars in this country. I’d like to thank the other chaps in the band. Duncan Bell and Jared Gunston deserve some special praise for this effort. And of course our respective significant others for putting up with the dream and the fans for making it a reality.