People come into your life randomly, whether it’s for seconds, minutes, hours or years, and they leave imprints on your heart—memories. I met Steve Knecht walking through the doors of Nazareth Academy High School in LaGrange Park, IL in 2009. Not only do we share the same birthday, we share our love of music. I present to you the Steve Knecht Band!
In 2010, Steve Knecht came up to me and said he was starting a band—professionally. Throughout our high school years, watching Steve pursue his dreams, I became a dedicated Steve Knecht fan. I was one of the first people to obtain his brand new demo and then in 2014 his debut full-length album, Paradise and Nostalgia. Till this day, while he’s a full-time student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, we keep in contact and I’m happy to share the talented Steve Knecht Band with our nation.
Like all wondering, it’s human nature to understand the origin of things. I asked lead singer, Steve Knecht, in an interview, why he wanted to write and perform music—what the point of all the madness was—and he told me that, “Our mission, as a band, is to bring heartfelt songs to the masses. To distract from the negativity of the world and help you get lost in the universal concepts of both emotional music and love. The love for music and the love for each other as human beings. We will eliminate all of your fears and anxieties and cope together. We want to create a raw, organic, eclectic, electric, and powerful punk soaked pop-rock 'n' roll sound. To make you dance. To vibe out and connect with you and live in the moment.”
Being a singer/song-writer, or a writer in general, means that you have the artistic ability to publically express the feelings human beings experience on a day-to-day basis. The Steve Knecht Band speaks about those every-day emotions through heart-ache induced songs. Paradise and Nostalgia starts with hope and ends in despair; being young and reckless, falling in love, surrounded by darkness and how to emerge out of that darkness are themes interwoven in the musical notes of each song on his album.
They sure do live up to their promises, with Steve Knecht as lead singer and guitarist, Gary Zucker the drummer, and Antonio Macomber the bass player making up the Steve Knecht Band. At a concert, there’s an atmosphere of sheer adrenaline, energy, and happiness between the Steve Knecht Band and their fans. Steve Knecht describes his experience performing onstage as “a coping mechanism,” he said, “you work out those feelings that are painful, together.”
It has been a long journey—full of ups and downs—and musicians who have gone through the struggle of following their dreams know all about the ups and downs. Steve Knecht advises, “don’t let one bad day, a week, or a month sway you. You know, shows that don’t go so well or the show that doesn’t go the way you wanted it to, the songs that didn’t resonate the way you wanted them to really knocks you down. But at the end of the day you have to push forward and remember that this is what you want to do. You have to support yourself. You have to remember that the struggle is all worth it. If it’s truly your passion and you really enjoy doing it—it’s all you ever wanted to do—the lows (I know how cliché that sounds) will eventually turn into a high. It takes a lot of time, practice, effort, and patience so strive for success and try to live in the moment while you’re doing it.”
Exciting future plans are in the works for the Steve Knecht Band!
Currently, they have been doing shows primarily on the east coast, Massachusetts-based, and plan on doing many more shows this coming summer. Also, this coming summer, they are going to Baltimore to do a week of recording with Paul Leavitt, he produced bands such as Dangerous Summer, All Time Low, Have Mercy. Presently, the band is in the process of scheduling a couple Midwest and east-coast shows this summer as well. So follow his Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for more information on upcoming concert dates! His excitement during the interview was strong because he said he sees how serious this music experience is and that if he had a choice he would be going out every single day doing a show.
“It doesn’t burn me out or make me tired, it makes me more excited to do it. We are excited for the future! *insert rock ‘n roll hand-gesture*”Check 'em out! #StayKnechted with the links below:
www.facebook.com/steveknechtmusic
Instagram: @steveknecht
Twitter: @steve_knecht
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