Oskaloosa’s ‘The Knobs’ are a local rising talent
The Knobs started out as a local Oskaloosa talent, and have since been gaining regional attention.
Story by:Renee Hamburg/Derek Billick
Oskaloosa, are you ready to rock? The Knobs, an Oskaloosa based original band are gaining popularity at a rapid pace.
The Knobs began in April 2007 with Devin Houser (Derek’s older brother) on bass guitar and lead vocals, Derek Billick on guitar and backup vocals, Nathan Moody on drums, and later Jake Kilgus on rhythm guitar. The guys played together for a few months and recorded a demo of their first song Hazardous in June of that year. Then in August the band broke up until November 2008. After Derek and Moody started the band up again they soon found a new bass player/singer Justin Richardson. With this lineup a couple new songs were written and the band did a two night run playing a local talent show where they won 2nd place. In December they found the 2nd guitar player they desperately needed, another local named Nathaniel Byerly.
January 2009 found The Knobs playing their first official show in Humboldt at a battle of the bands, where they won over the crowd. Unfortunately few shows were played over the next 7 months due to the fact that nobody wanted to book the then unknown band. The Knobs were on the verge of breaking up when in early September they were introduced to Brett Sites of S&S Entertainment, who had the contacts, and knowledge the band were looking for. The Knobs were on their way!
After booking several shows Brett became the bands manager/booking agent, getting them shows the band never thought possible. By May 2010, with the help of Des Moines classic rock radio station KGGO’s manager Terry Peters, they were opening for Ratt at 7-Flags in Des Moines, and later playing a Led Zeppelin tribute show which lead to them being one of the two bands voted by fans to play KGG0’s Summer Jam on June 26th. During this period the band also got the chance to open twice for The Last Vegas, the band that won the Motley Crue contest in 2008 and have opened up for many mainstream artists since then, including AC/DC! Sadly Summer Jam would be Nathan Moodys last show with the band, as well as Nathaniel’s last show before going on a 3 month trip to Germany. The Knobs then set about finding a new drummer and guitarist. Christian Peters (Terry Peters’ son) filled in on drums for a short time and Nathaniel’s fill-in was 20 year old guitarist Erek Wright from Des Moines. With this lineup the band opened for Brian Howe (Bad Company) at 7-Flags in August. They also were booked by a California booking agency to open up for Rhino Bucket in Nebraska. Although they had to have another fill-in drummer play the show with them, due to Christian’s unavailability.
Another line-up change happened before The Knobs went on a 6 night mini-tour with New York band the Sex Slaves in late September, when the band found a permanent drummer from Waterloo Iowa named Derald Bell, otherwise known as ‘Animal.” Shortly after the tour ended Erek left and Nathaniel returned to play his last two official shows with the band in October.
The current lineup is Derek Billick on guitar/lead vocals, Justin Richardson on bass guitar/vocals, Animal on drums/vocals, and a young yet very talented guitarist named Jake Kemble, who is filling in on 2nd guitar/vocals. Although, Jake is not an official member and the decision on who the bands new guitarist will be, is to be made around the first of the year.
The Knobs released a 3-song demo called “Rough Cuts” in May of this year and it sold out within just 5 months. There may be a second pressing of this CD, but it is still unknown if they will do so since the release of their first full length album “Everyone Gets A Turn” is to be released very soon. The rest of the bands current merchandise includes multi-colored shirts and buttons, and will soon be expanded to include other items such as stickers, womens apparel, and more.
Derek, always gracious, states that The Knobs’ goals for the new year is to continue improving their craft and writing new material, as well as utilizing contacts that should result in shows in Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, Louisiana, the east coast, Europe, and more! So far in less than a year the band have managed to play all around Iowa, as well as into Illinois, Nebraska, and Missouri, and they want to branching into as many states, and countries, as possible. “This band is about having fun, while making great music, and putting on a show that makes other people enjoy themselves too” Derek says. “The band has no limit as to how far we want to go!”
You can find out much more about The Knobs, including upcoming show dates at the following links: www.theknobsrock.com, Myspace.com/theknobsofiowa, Facebook.com/pages/theknobs, Twitter.com/theknobsofiowa, ReverbNation.com/theknobsrock, and finally on their official fan page at Myspace.com/theknobsbooking.
The Knobs ROCK!
www.theknobsrock.com
THE KNOBS of Iowa are the hottest young band going in the Midwest today! Add them on your favorite social network!
Renee Hamburg/Derek Billick
*Editors Note: The Knobs will be coming home to play again at Bucks Place in Oskaloosa on December 11th with doors opening at 9:00 pm. Bucks Place is located at 607 High Ave West for those traveling to Oskaloosa to watch their upcoming show.
