The Knuckle Sandwiches

The Knuckle Sandwiches began when Stephen Pitalo and Andy Slater, former classmates at Louisiana State University in the 1980s, found themselves living in New York at the turn of the millennium. With Pitalo on vocals and harmonica and Slater on bass, they recruited Jon Laprade, drummer for Billbones (now with the Young Things) and guitarist Ed Henderzak (another LSU graduate).Henderzak left to pursue other interests and was replaced by another LSU grad Will St. Paul.

The band harvested its sound out of members' love of two particular genres: 1960's garage rock and 1970's punk. Sprinkle in some homage to New Orleans' soul sounds, and the Knuckle Sandwiches' “garage soul” sound was born. Originals like "Chinese Bus," "Vertigo Whirlwind," "Spend The Night With Me," "700 Pieces," and "Granny Is A Crackhead" shared the set list with nuggets like The Rare Breed's "Beg Borrow & Steal," Little Richard's "Get Down and Get With It," crowd favorite "Do You See My Love" by the Dirtbombs and a smattering of Ramones' hits.

The band played 20 gigs in 2004-2005, including a legendary show at CBGB's and a one-night only performance of the Ramones' "Leave Home" album at Arlene's Grocery. But alas, 2005 spelled the end of the band, and all members moved on. Four years later, Pitalo was revisiting the masters of the band's original demo songs and hatched an idea: since the Knuckle Sandwiches never released an album, he proposed to the members that they produce an EP. Only two songs made the cut, so Pitalo convinced all five original members to enter the studio and record new songs.

Between studios in NY and New Orleans, members recorded the songs "Radio Smash" and "Hubert Humphrey". The result is "The Little Phil EP," with guest appearances by funk keyboardist Jason Yudoff on piano, Jupiter One's Pat Dougherty on background vocals, and Narcissy's Anthony Danado on guitar.