The Knockouts

The Knockouts Story

So I bump into Kevin at this birthday party for Charles’ brother-in-law, and we start talking

about music and it’s obvious after about five minutes that we need to get a band going

and that it’s going to be all about energy. So fast-forward a week or two, and Kevin’s

playing drums and we’re doing a hilarious cover of Hang on sloopy, and he says "that was

fun, but don’t you know i’m really a bass player?" and went looking for a communist drummer

named Charles-with whom, over the years, he’d peacefully gone to war and jammed in the

trenches to everyone’s delight. Charles…and Charles and I went way back… set up shop in

my living room and we soon became one of the top trios on Nacoochee avenue. it was such

a good vibe that we said to ourselves… “this is such a good vibe”…and then decided that

said vibe must never be destroyed, and that any further additions to the trio, now known

either as “Burl Ives goes to Berkley” or “Sleeping with Buck Rodgers” or… yes, as I was saying,

anybody new must contribute to said vibe. Kevin Sims and Charles Greenleaf….yeah, now

that’s a way to start a band.

So Kevin knows Bill and Alliene, and here they are and there’s still more stagger than swagger,

but everyone decides to keep showing up to see what’s going to happen with this thing…

Bill and Allie are great, by the way…..really, really great…. Bill closes his eyes and sight-reads

his soul (and is king of the cow-bourine)…and Allie "whaddya need? Trumpet?..check…any

percussion instrument?…check….killer harmonies?…check….guitar?....check!" and it starts

to become something bigger and the vibe is a white elephant now. Then my brother

Kai sends Ned our way and whoom! We’re approaching cosmic alignment and everyone is

ready to embark on a mission to play happy happy joy now!!! music. Ned….taking it all over

the top and fulfilling his destiny to be banjo-punk-god Ned of the Congo…man, you should

have seen him dancing in the crowd at Little Kings…he…. is… a punk rocker.

So the villagers are saying “yes….yes….crazy joy…yes, I get it…yes, dance like that girl over

there” (and beautiful Lou is bouncing in 20 different directions and her hair in another 30)

and everybody’s feeling the sunshine at night…and it couldn’t get any better... until Bill brings

his puzzle kit to practice one night and he pulls out the final piece and all of the sudden we

discover that we had a long-lost brother that we didn’t even know we had. Johnny

James plays one warm-up note and he’s in the band. I don’t have any words to describe

Johnny’s playing…all I can do is shake my head…(like I’m doing now). I call him Brother

Love but Brother Love can play you the nastiest riffs that you’ve never heard... you really need

to check out this horn section, because they’re sooooo… man, I’ll put ‘em up against anyone

so that’s what I remember about that…now, I’ve got some more Stringbean to listen to if you don’t mind…