Davy Knowles believes he and many guitar players have a common ailment that he aims to avoid on his new album, What Happens Next, set for release on October 22.
“I have this affliction, as I’m sure many guitar players do, of overplaying,” Knowles tells me. “Sometimes, during a show, I’ll mutter in my own head halfway through a solo, ‘Here you go again.’ I wanted to avoid that on the new record — really narrow down and do what was best for the song, not my own ego. I’m proud of the songs and wanted them to stand on their own without trying to be flashy or overindulgent.”
Putting a check on his guitar wizardry might not be the easiest task for Knowles, whose first two albums with his band, Back Door Slam, received critical acclaim. The debut album Roll Away, released in 2007 when Knowles was 20 years old, showcased his exceptional rock and blues chops and drew comparisons to Eric Clapton and other guitar greats.
Knowles, who hails from the Isle of Man and now calls Chicago home, has since departed from Back Door Slam. What Happens Next is billed as a departure from his “fired-up, reverent take” on blues and Americana.
“I really just wanted to try something different,” he explains. “I’ve always pretended to be older musically than I really am. This album was maybe an attempt at something more my own age, my own generation.”
Some of the songs were written a few years ago and “tested” early last year during live shows with his new band before the coronavirus pandemic was in full swing.
“We were on tour in March 2020, planning to play shows leading up to the studio in Los Angeles, so we’d be nice and warmed up for recording. We were in Lincoln, Nebraska, when the NBA announced it was suspending the season due to COVID, and that was our first of many uh-oh moments. We ended up rescheduling until later in the year, when we felt we could navigate the process safely. We went from a rented house to the studio and nowhere else. It actually really helped focus us.”
Eric Corne, an award-winning producer, engineer and songwriter, was chosen to produce the album. He has recorded with John Mayall, Walter Trout, Joe Walsh, Edgar Winter, C.J. Chenier, Lucinda Williams, Joe Bonamassa and many others.
“I’m just a fan of Eric’s work,” Knowles says. “I loved what he did with Walter Trout. While Walter lives in a slightly more traditional blues world than I do, Eric’s production had a very modern and current feel to it. Eric has eclectic taste and was able to draw on some influences I hadn’t even considered. He helped open my mind to a lot of other music and also helped reign me in when I started to wander back into my old habits. He knew the mission I was on and truly helped guide me there.”
Knowles explains why he forged his own path and left Back Door Slam.
“We were young, and it was fun,” he says. “We got incredibly lucky and worked hard building on that luck. But we quickly hit a ceiling. It’s worrying when you start to feel stuck at 21 years old. It was time to part ways and go out into the big bad world to gather more influences and push myself further.”
I ask Knowles who are the best guitar players he has heard and why he regards them as the best. “You seem to shake a tree, and millions of guitar players fall down and blow your mind!” he exclaims. “I think Sonny Landreth has to be up there for me. He’s so unique, so undeniably him. I’ve been lucky enough to share the stage with Sonny and quickly found out it’s pointless to watch his fingers and figure out what he’s doing. It’s impossible. Peter Frampton produced my second album, and watching him was such an education. He is so melodic — you can sing every note he chooses. If I could play like his outtakes, I’d be a happy man.”
Knowles fell in love with the Dire Straits classic “Sultans of Swing” at age 11, and it opened the door to an exploration of his father’s music collection and then a musical career. Thus, it might not be surprising that he cites a concert by Mark Knopfler, the leader of that band, as the best show he attended.
“It was during his Shangri-La tour in Belfast (Northern Ireland) at the Odyssey Arena,” Knowles says. “He is the reason I started playing. To hear those songs by the man himself was just so emotional and spellbinding.”
Knowles says he tries “to draw a little influence” from every concert he attends.
“It’s fun to see how others have worked on their craft and what things I maybe could apply — not steal — to what I do,” he explains. “Everything from Mark Knopfler to Gerry McAvoy to Wolfmother, anything and everything.”
I challenge Knowles to choose his three favorite albums of all time. He says he’s an avid record collector, so it’s very difficult to pick only three. But there seems to be no doubt about the Top 2.
“It’s not their most successful album, but I love the laid-back feel of Dire Straits’ Communique,” Knowles says. “Knopfler’s guitar playing is so smooth and buttery.”
Knowles next points to Rory Gallagher’s 1973 album Tattoo. “I love this album for the opposite reason that I love Communique,” he explains. “It’s fiery, aggressive. His guitar is piercing and cuts you right to the bone. This is my favorite selection of his songs, too. To me, it’s a flawless rock album.”
No. 3 “could be any number of albums,” Knowles says, “but currently it’s the Black Keys’ Let’s Rock. I’m not a purist and love that the Black Keys have taken the hill country blues and rewritten it to be accessible to a whole new, young audience. All while wearing their influences on their sleeves. It’s how roots and folk music will survive in the general population’s hearts and minds. It’s a cracking sounding album with great songs. What’s not to love?”