No Knife

No Knife
Left to right: Mitch Wilson, Brian Desjean, Chris Prescott, Ryan Ferguson
Left to right: Mitch Wilson, Brian Desjean, Chris Prescott, Ryan Ferguson
Background information
OriginSan Diego, California, U.S.
GenresExperimental rock, indie rock, emo
Years active
  • 1993–2003
  • 2009
  • 2014–2015
  • 2019
  • 2024
Labels
Past members
Websitehttp://www.noknife.net/

No Knife was a band from San Diego, California.[1][2] They played an innovative form of rock that combined aspects of post-punk, post-hardcore, indie rock, and many other genres, influenced by a wide variety of acts, including Pitchfork, Pixies, the Cure, Erik Satie, Steel Pulse, Édith Piaf, and aMiniature.[3] No Knife once won the San Diego Music Award for "Best Punk Rock Band."[4]

The band's original lineup was Mitch Wilson (vocals/guitar), Brian Desjean (bass), Aaron Mancini (guitar/vocals), and Ike Zaremba (drums). Prior to their second full-length, the band replaced Mancini with Ryan Ferguson (guitar/vocals). After their first and second full-lengths, Drunk on the Moon (1996)[5] and Hit Man Dreams (1997),[6] Chris Prescott was enlisted to play drums.[7] The group went on to release two more full-lengths: Fire in the City of Automatons (1999)[8] and Riot for Romance! (2002).[9][10]

No Knife often toured with Jimmy Eat World.[11] After hinting on their website in March 2008 that they might reunite in late 2008 or early 2009, the band was announced as the opening act for three west coast dates on Jimmy Eat World's "Clarity x 10" tour. No Knife played their final show Thursday, June 18, 2009, at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, Ca. The last song performed was "Mission Control".

The band reunited to play shows in 2014, 2015, 2019, and 2024 mostly at The Casbah in San Diego. On July 15, 2019, they ended their set with "The Red Bedroom" [12]

  1. ^ Faulkner, Mark (May 26, 1999). "Resourceful No Knife is slicing through traditional rock", The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  2. ^ Nixon, Chris (October 3, 2002). "No Knife cuts a path in music world", The San Diego Union-Tribune, p. N&D-10.
  3. ^ Maxwell, Tom (February 27, 2014). "Interview: No Knife". Modern Fix. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  4. ^ Stephens, Kelly (May 24, 2001). "Interview: No Knife". Daily Nexus. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  5. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Drunk on the Moon (review)". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  6. ^ Verna, Paul (August 9, 1997). "No Knife: Hit Man Dreams", Billboard 109 (32): 53. Convenience link.
  7. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (October 13, 1999). "Call them 'emo-core,' but not to their faces: Record companies are quietly talking about a new rock trend while the bands involved don't want anything to do with the tag", The Orange County Register, p. F4.
  8. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Fire in the City of Automatons (Review)". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  9. ^ Spano, Charles. "Riot for Romance! (Review)". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  10. ^ Wallace, Brian (November 4, 2002). "No Knife Finish Jimmy Eat World Tour, Romance! Larger Audience: Band rides emo wave without creative compromise", MTV News. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  11. ^ Nixon, Chris (May 12, 2005). "Investing in 'Futures': Jimmy Eat World changed producers for new work, new approach", The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  12. ^ "No Knife Gigography, Tour History & Past Concerts – Songkick".