Will Knox is not your average troubadour. The British-born Knox has spent the better half of the past decade living in the United States, which has given him a boatload of material and topics to use in his songs. Having attended Berklee College of Music and having trained under the acclaimed Lauren Passarelli, Knox brings his own unique flair to the folk music he creates. With shows scheduled in London, Los Angeles, a showcase at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York and plans to record a new album, Knox has a busy second half of 2010. Recently, Bestnewbands.com caught up with Knox to talk about his time at Berklee, why he puts so much thought into the packaging of his albums and his 2010-11 prediction for his beloved Arsenal football club.

What inspired you to attend Berklee?
Simply put I wanted to be a better musician. I loved music but intellectually and technically knew nothing about it. My favorite experiences were outside of the classrooms, hearing my friends play, sing & write and being part of this musician’s community. We used to spend the early hours of the morning at the studios experimenting with equipment, songs, sounds etc. That time was so invaluable.

Having lived in the U.S. for almost a decade, how do you compare the scene here as compared to your native London? Is it easier or harder to get ‘noticed?’
I left London before I got to know the music scene there properly. I know London is an incredibly receptive city for music, and I’d argue it’s the biggest part of the city’s culture – but that’s also true of many places in the States.

Obviously people notice you when you speak differently, sometimes it’s not a good thing! Maybe I have more of a chance of being remembered after a show in the States, but hopefully the music’s getting noticed more. I’m doing my first show in London this September for over 2 years, so maybe I’ll have a better answer for you then…

We did some ‘making of’ videos, check them out here:

The artwork and packaging of your album is very unique. Can you talk about what went into it and why you decided to do that?
Artwork is extremely important to me, I love the old 12″ record sleeves that made the effort. We’re in danger of losing artwork with MP3s.

I was sitting in my apartment with my manager talking about album covers when I looked over at a painting in my living room. My roommate had hung up this picture called ‘Second Look’ by Bruce Holwerda. The whole tone of the painting fit in so well with what we were going for, so I emailed Bruce that day and I’m so grateful he replied. I got lucky with that cover.

We also created these illustrated lyric books with my friend Abby Lichtman. She drew these stunning pictures for each song, with typewritten lyrics merged in to them, and printed them up in these wide, horizontal books – take a look here

What’s been your favorite venue and city to play and why?
I have three: Rockwood Music Hall in New York, NY, The Stronghold in Venice, CA, and Flannery’s Tavern in Mercersburg, PA. The audiences are so receptive, and the owners are true music lovers who just want to support musicians. It all comes down to good people.

When are you planning to record your next album? Will it have as personal of subject matter as your last album has?
The next EP is being recorded in September, and should be released late fall. It has a running concept/theme of purgatory, regret, faith and having a lack of it. Maybe it’s not so literal as my last record, but it’s extremely personal. We’re trying something new by releasing it as a comic book/graphic novel, using all the lyrics as a narrative to the illustrations. It’ll come with a unique download code to get the MP3s, so we’re trying to get rid of CDs and bring some artwork back in to music.

As writer, what are some of the issues or topics that you try to address in your lyrics? Do you write your music or lyrics first?
The music and lyrics usually come together, but sometimes one inspires the other more. There’s certainly no formula.

The topics for The Matador & The Acrobat are very wide ranging, from nightterrors to American immigration! But the last few songs I’ve written mostly address atheism, finding purpose, happiness…that’s mainly what this next EP is about. I want to get these songs out of my system and start writing a bit more literally again, the last tunes have been a pretty dark process.

As a noted Arsenal supporter, what are your expectations for the upcoming season?
Expectations and desires are different things! If we bolster our defense before the transfer window closes we’ve got every chance of winning something. If we don’t then we’re going to have to score a lot of goals! Chamakh looked great in the friendlies, I’m excited to see him embarrass some Liverpool defenders on Sunday.

Knox- Buckled Knees by BestNewBandscom