{"id":102,"date":"2015-12-24T05:18:17","date_gmt":"2015-12-24T05:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/?page_id=102"},"modified":"2024-03-18T16:38:33","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T16:38:33","slug":"volume-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/music\/volume-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Shine A Light: A Tribute To Michael Knott Volume 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The second volume of the 2015 Michael Knott Tribute album was more focused on the artists with professional recording experience (with the exception of a few that submitted two songs that were included on both compilations). <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/music\/volume-1\/\">Volume 1<\/a><\/strong> was designated as a collection of the more independent artists. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/music\/volume-0\/\">Volume 0<\/a><\/strong> is the ever evolving extra volume of tribute and cover songs from those that released their songs elsewhere and did not submit them for the tribute. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/595820330624862\/permalink\/1441955552677998\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Submissions for Volume 3 are being accepted now<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You can listen to the album below, or read the extended liner notes for various songs.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"1254\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 600px; height: 1254px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/album=308667658\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\" style=\"margin-top: 20px;\">Extended Liner Notes<\/h1>\n<p>Click on the song title to read what each artist had to say about Knott or the song they recorded.<\/p>\n<p>01) Glower &#8211; English Interpeter Of English<br \/>\n02) Black And White World &#8211; Tattoo<br \/>\n03) The Electrics &#8211; All Fall Down<br \/>\n04) the Bloody Strummers &#8211; Blame<br \/>\n05) the b-attitudes &#8211; Never Forsaken<br \/>\n06) Barefoot Journeymen &#8211; Christ Saves<br \/>\n07) David The Good &#8211; Rock And Roll<br \/>\n08) Destroy Nate Allen &#8211; Kitty<br \/>\n09) Jesse Sprinkle &#8211; John Barrymore Jr.<br \/>\n10) Deni Gauthier &#8211; Chameleon<br \/>\n11) While Rome Is Burning &#8211; Shoegazer (Instrumental)<br \/>\n12) Leper &#8211; Miracle<br \/>\n13) Dead Artist Syndrome &#8211; Drone<br \/>\n14) Angus McKinney &#8211; This Is The Healing<br \/>\n<strong><a class=\"fancybox-inline\" href=\"#volume215\">15) Marcus Larson &#8211; Jordan River<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n16) Sean Doty, Ric Alba, and Gym Nicholson &#8211; Shaded Pain<br \/>\n17) Jeff Elbel + Ping &#8211; English Interpreter Of English\/the Grape Prophet Speaks<\/p>\n<div class=\"fancybox-hidden\" style=\"display: none;\">\n<div id=\"volume215\" class=\"hentry\" style=\"width: 1000px; height: 1650px;\">\n<p><strong>Marcus Larson &#8211; Jordan River<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This one comes with a story. Growing up in Huntington Beach California, my life strangely intersected the Lifesavers and Mike Knott too many times to recount here. <i>Dream Life<\/i> gripped me in &#8217;84 as did <i>Kiss of Life<\/i> in &#8217;86. But I&#8217;ll never forget stumbling across L.S.U.&#8217;s debut <i>Shaded Pain<\/i> one night in the summer of &#8217;88. I was out with some mates and we&#8217;d been at the beach all day but were hunting down some music from the thriving Orange County Christian alternative scene. I&#8217;d heard rumor of a band called L.S.U., but had been unaware it was Lifesavers-affiliated until seeing the full name on the cassette tape.<\/p>\n<p>We popped it into the car stereo and drove. Once through the first side, I turned to my friends and said &#8220;Is it just me, or is this awesome?&#8221; The dark, gritty, driving tunes still contained Knott&#8217;s knack for a catching melody, yet possessed a visceral quality that suspended our disbelief and transported us to Knott&#8217;s otherworldly venue. With songs addressing temptation, death, daggers, idolatry, betrayal \u2014 and a plague of flies to boot, <i>Shaded Pain<\/i> quite simply blew my mind. It was dark but not without hope; blistering, yet still poignant. We were young and impressionable. What an impression it made.<\/p>\n<p><i>Shaded Pain<\/i> was a game-changer \u2014 a paradigm shift. And it took a long time for the rest of the world to catch up \u2014 if it ever truly did. The production was savvy and artistic, but not overdone. The flavor and feel as an end product far exceeded the sum of its musical parts. It stands the test of time today and remains one of the greatest under-appreciated albums of the last 30 years.<\/p>\n<p>Aside from playing the cassette to death, I spread the word and I watched patiently for evidence of live dates. Again, in those days we were catching local gigs every weekend (Uthanda, Altar Boys, Violet Burning, Black and White World, among many others) but it wasn\u2019t February of 1989 I finally found a listing for L.S.U. \u2014 Playing the Church of the New Order, an underground punk outfit that was filling a needed niche.<\/p>\n<p>I showed up early decked in black leather, and I staked out a spot front and center. L.S.U. came charging out as a 3-piece and opened with &#8220;Jordan River&#8221; \u2014 Mike\u2019s hair was long and wild, beside a clean-cut and smiling Michael Sauerbrey. I recall Joey Taylor of Undercover was in the audience. Between songs I shouted out \u201cI\u2019m Torn,\u201d a tune on the second side of <i>Shaded Pain<\/i>. Mike nodded, announced &#8220;we&#8217;ve had a request for &#8216;I&#8217;m Torn'&#8221; and started playing it. He then proceeded to wander around the stage plunking an improvised guitar solo. This was puzzling to all\u2014including his band mates. He\u2019d forgotten the words.<\/p>\n<p>He caught my eye, and then pointed to his abandoned microphone. I thought to myself &#8220;he did NOT just do that!&#8221; Although I looked older, I was only 17. While I played guitar in my own budding band and wrote songs, I didn\u2019t really fancy myself a singer. And yet Mike Knott had just invited me on stage. He pointed at the mic a second time. I knew there wouldn\u2019t be a third. I recall thinking to myself &#8220;there\u2019s no way I&#8217;m not doing this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I climbed up and took the mic and started singing the verses. Yes, my stomach was awash in butterflies \u2014 and all the more so because I knew these people were there to hear Knott, not me, and seeing Joey Taylor staring up at me made me all the more nervous. Lucky for me (and for Knott), I knew the verses and could sing them alright. Mike Knott instantly remembered once he heard it, and he&#8217;d lean in and share the mic with me on the choruses \u2014 with me sticking strictly to the recorded version and Knott improvising upward into his signature banshee-like wail. I don&#8217;t recall the ending of the song, or getting down off the stage. But standing up there singing with Mike Knott at age 17 is permanently seared into my memory.<\/p>\n<p>After the show I introduced myself and Mike shook my hand and good naturedly said &#8220;hey thanks for helping us out tonight.&#8221; And I said &#8220;I can&#8217;t believe you did that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I can\u2019t believe it either&#8221; chimed in LSU\u2019s drummer Kevin Lee Annis, less good-naturedly I&#8217;ll note. (A couple weeks later at another L.S.U. gig, Mike pulled me on stage to sing &#8220;She&#8217;s On Fire&#8221; with him \u2014 this time not because he needed help, but because he was being his whimsical self.)<\/p>\n<p>In that time and place this was all a huge confidence building shot in the arm. I looked up to Mike Knott as a songwriter, innovator and vocalist. He was absolutely insane to grab me and pull me on stage without knowing me from Adam or knowing if I could carry a tune. By divine providence, generosity of spirit, or mere chance, it was the push I needed right when I needed it. Within a few weeks, I made the decision to take over the job of vocals in my budding band 2nd Generation and to learn that part of the craft. I saw dozens of L.S.U. gigs afterward and was present for the release party for the follow-up album <i>Waking Up The Dead<\/i>. But there was nothing quite like that first <i>Shaded Pain<\/i> show.<\/p>\n<p>For those reasons, I felt very compelled to be a part of this tribute album when I got wind (late in the game) that Josh Lory was putting it together. And it was just as self-evident that I had to record something off of <i>Shaded Pain<\/i>. While, yes, I did toy with doing &#8220;I&#8217;m Torn&#8221; (the poetic choice under the circumstances), &#8220;Jordan River&#8221; simply flowed into what I was trying to do with it musically. And it&#8217;s always stuck with me as a favorite.<\/p>\n<p>My version of &#8220;Jordan River&#8221; was conceived in late 2014, and is an entirely acoustic affair: acoustic bass, 6-string, 12-string, and my great grandfather\u2019s 1917 Gibson A1 mandolin. I had literally just gotten it fully restored when I began this project. Hence, instead of searing electric guitars (which L.S.U. already ably provided), I\u2019m proud to feature the vintage mando of the late Vittorio Cicinelli.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m pleased with the result \u2014 though it is markedly different from the sound of my current band RetroPanic. As divergent as the instrumentation is, I tried to stay true to the melody for the most part, as it\u2019s hard to improve upon perfection. The true Knott fan should appreciate the snippet of Idle Lovell&#8217;s &#8220;Shallow&#8221; that serves as the outro of the recording. Marrying that bit to &#8220;Jordan River&#8221; simply felt right. (Idle Lovell was Knott\u2019s other pre-L.S.U. band, which released an amazing but hard-to-find vinyl E.P. in 1984.)<\/p>\n<p>In parting, I&#8217;m reminded of something often said about Lou Reed: not very many people saw the Velvet Underground&#8217;s first tour, but all of them that did started bands of their own.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Knott, through his various bands and projects, had an analogous impact on a couple generations of emerging artists &#8211; alternative, punk, indie, goth, Christian, and otherwise. He may not have physically invited all us on stage with him, but his musical boundary-smashing inspired and beckoned us all the same. This two volume tribute album is a fitting testament to that. I\u2019m proud to be a part of it, and am grateful those that made it possible.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/retropanic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Find Marcus Larson&#8217;s band RetroPanic on Facebook<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The second volume of the 2015 Michael Knott Tribute album was more focused on the artists with professional recording experience (with the exception of a few that submitted two songs that were included on both compilations). Volume 1 was designated &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/music\/volume-2\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"sidebar-page.php","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-102","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P61BvV-1E","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":581,"href":"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/102\/revisions\/581"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/knottheads.com\/tribute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}