A recently published article called “Love Conquers the Dread of the Poor: The Lenten Odyssey of Michael Knott” in Church Life Journal takes a heartfelt look at the lyrics of Michael Knott’s Rocket and a Bomb album. Unfortunately, there are also several inaccuracies in the article as well:
“In the early 90s Knott was going through a divorce and was nearly penniless, living with bandmate Brian Doidge in a dilapidated building near the corner of Sunset and Fairfax, a seedy part of West Hollywood, Los Angeles. The units were so tiny that most doors remained open most of the time. He was also in the grip of alcohol addiction, very much the cause of his lost marriage and his new poverty.”
Knott and various members lived in the apartment complex at Sunset and Fairfax in the 1980s – possibly from about 1982/83 to 1987/88. He didn’t get married until 1989, and in the early 1990s their divorce had not started yet. His alcoholism might have started during the time period that Rocket and a Bomb was recorded, but he probably wasn’t far enough into it to be in the grips of it at that time.
“Jan, it seems, has a weird monthly routine involving sandwiches. He tries now and then to join Knott’s band (the Aunt Bettys) as a percussionist…”
When living at Sunset and Fairfax, Knott’s main band was Idle Lovell (1981 or 1983 to 1986). Other possibilities were Bomb Bay Babies (1987 to 1988) or L.S.U. (Lifesavers became L.S.U. about December 1986). Knott mentioned once that L.S.U. was still living in that apartment in 1987. Aunt Betty’s Ford was formed about 1992, well after Knott moved out of that apartment complex.
“‘Kitty,’ a spunky lady who accidentally kills her husband and then does something nauseating and horrific…”
I don’t think they never knew how or why Kitty killed her husband (or even if she really did or not), so there is no telling if it was accidental or not.
“(Knott) went to jail for impersonating a police officer”
Knott has told several stories of when he went to jail, but never mentions it was because of impersonating a police officer. It was usually from too many parking tickets. But I think this was just a misunderstanding of one trip to jail: he often wore a military jacket he got at a thrift store. Police were always pulling him over because of it and giving him tickets. Those tickets turned into warrants and he went to jail.
“‘Skinny Skins,’ about a fellow musician that Michael is hiding from because he owes him money. This last one is fascinating because Michael now seems to have made the full transition from suburb to slum…”
When Rocket and a Bomb was recorded, Knott had actually moved the other direction. From the early 1980s to 1987-ish, Knott and various bandmates lived at Sunset and Fairfax. L.S.U. was still living there in 1987. Some where around 1987 or 1988, Knott moved into “The Flats” (he had probably lived there on and off before this as well). “The Flats” were in downtown Orange. It was an old dormitory for Chapman College, with 20 rooms down a hall. Local Christian band members lived there, like a band frat house. Brian Doidge and Chris Brigandi lived there, for example. Knott rented a closet for $100 a month at one point. In 1989, Knott got married. They lived in “The Flats” for about two months, until Windy had enough of the conditions there and they moved to the suburbs in Orange County. They were probably still living there in 1993-94 (FYI, 1989 was also the year when the events of The Grape Prophet happened, while Knott was leading a Bible study for bands with the Anaheim Vineyard churches).
“a dawning realization of alcohol-induced alienation (‘Make Me Feel Good’)”
In 1993-94, Knott was a very popular and in-demand musician, producer, and mentor to many bands. He may or may not have been alcoholic at this time, but he was not very alienated. He might have felt separated from friends that he had a falling out with, and he also might have been writing about people he knew that felt alienated. But the lyrics seem to be talking more about feeling down like we all do from time to time, and how others appear to avoid us at those times.
Please see the Unofficial Timeline of Knott’s life for details about these evets, as well as citations for the sources of the claims. Most of these sources are Knott’s own words in various interviews, but he has been known to get details wrong from time to time.