When we last left our friend, the affable Brit and the most ardent Arsenal supporter since Nick Hornby, Will Knox, he was playing a gig at the Hotel Café in Hollywood before heading back to New York to begin work on his latest project. In the interim, we caught up with Knox somewhere in North Carolina, where he is opening for singer/songwriters Brendan James and Matt White. Here, Knox fills Bestnewbands.com in what’s been going on with him since we last wrote about him.

 

Daniel Kohn: How did you get on this tour? Have you been interacting with Brendan and Matt?

Will Knox: Luck played a big part. My manager & Brendan’s manager are friends, and I’ve been following both his & Matt’s careers for a little while. They needed a support act so my manager pitched me, and thankfully it all worked out.

Brendan and Matt are a lot of fun on the road, and incredibly supportive. There’s 7 of us traveling for hours a day in a passenger van, so we’ve all got to know each other pretty quickly.

DK: What you have you learned from watching Brendan and Matt’s stage show that can be adapted to your show?

WK: They’re great at interacting with their fans & the audience (on and off the stage). I’ve always thought I was shy and awkward on stage, but playing every night and watching them has helped me get away from hiding behind the microphone and mumbling!

 

DK: Have the crowds been receptive to you? What song do they seem to be responding to the most?

WK: I wrote a bit of a joke song called ‘Kill You in Your Sleep’ about a troublesome subletter I once had. People seem to be able to relate! The only problem is I have no plans to ever release it on a record, so you’ll have to come to a show to hear it!

 

DK: What’s next after this tour? Any more gigs set up?

WK: Yes! Very exciting one’s too. I’m playing a full band show to release my new EP on March 25^th at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City. I’m also coming out to California for a couple of release shows in L.A., though they’re still being booked.

 

DK: When’s the new album going to be ready? Have you been testing out the new material on the road?

WK: The new EP is ready. I’ve been selling pre-sale copies on this tour and thankfully it’s been really well received so far. The neat thing about it is it’s a comic book – no CD, no record, no cassette, just a comic book with a digital download code on the inside. You can follow the lyrics as captions and speech bubbles through the book with the illustrations.

Take a peek at Will’s website to check out exclusive pictures from the tour and what really goes on backstage and on the road with these three troubadours.