Music
Press
Behind a trap kit with the Rockhouse Ramblers, Danny Kathriner precisely thwacked the ones and modestly guided the shuffles. He never sang, never said a word, never wrote a song with that defunct honky-tonk band. Alt-country heads knew he'd contributed to the elusive Wagon, but no one could have predicted the gorgeous, country-folk chamber music of The Half-Knots. Featuring fellow Wagoneer Chris Peterson on fiddle and former Nadine soundscaper Todd Schnitzer on everything else, Kathriner's new band may not be a band at all (the members will likely collaborate long-distance in perpetuity), but its self-titled debut is an acoustic soul classic, somewhere between Bill Withers' Just As I Am and the Jayhawks' Blue Earth. Is it really that good? With luck, a label bigger than Schnitzer's CD burner will give it a proper release, and you'll hear for yourself.
- Riverfront Times
n the how-to manual of contemporary rock music, modesty and maturity don't merit a footnote. Narcissism and bravado guide the way, even if all the cooler-than-thou poses are just overwrought signs pointing toward a vacuum. In contrast, the Half Knots, an intra-continental collaboration between Danny Kathriner (St. Louis), Chris Peterson (Austin) and Todd Schnitzer (San Diego) are so self-effacing that they threaten not to exist at all. They don't even do MySpace. Instead they patiently craft lush, acoustic pop songs, which surge unexpectedly into organ and fuzz-guitar climaxes, and then cross-fade into mandola- and fiddle-lit laments. They have enough sweep and twang to merit the Americana tag, but they sound more like soul music for the morning after — and all the mid-day reveries after that. - Riverfront Times
Discography
"Half Knots" (LP) - 2003
"Color Them Blue" (LP) - 2006
New Perspective (forthcoming album 2009)
"Half Knots" and "Color Them Blue" available on iTunes, Amazon and other online retailers.
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Bio
In the mid 1990s a closely-knit St. Louis music community brought together a collective of talented musicians rendering such bands as Wagon and Nadine. Danny Kathriner, Chris Peterson (both of Wagon), and Todd Schnitzer (formerly of Nadine) have worked together since the inception of these bands and have now joined in a refined effort called Half Knots. Danny and Todd began to collaborate musically after Todd co-engineered and co-produced Wagon’s first release “Soon” in 1993 (he also co-engineered and co-produced Wagon’s fourth release “Beauty Angel Queen” in 1999). Todd co-founded Nadine in 1997 and has since worked on a variety of musical projects that have brought him international acclaim for production and performance. Wagon has released three records through Hightone and Glitterhouse Records that have received critical praise across the U.S.A. and Europe. Wagon’s personal lives have put restraints on touring and recordings, but Danny has kept with his prolific song-writing pace. In late 2000 he pitched the idea to put a collection of his songs together as a side project, and Chris and Todd enthusiastically agreed. Chris began making frequent trips from Austin to St. Louis and thus their creative process began. Recorded mostly in Todd’s basement studio in St. Louis, this collection of songs is often ambient and melancholy and yet at times purely driving. Danny's introspective lyrics weave effortlessly in rich layers of dulcimer, mandola, guitar, electric piano, organ and strings.
Half Knots has since released two records, with a new set to be released in early 2010.
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