NYC punk, ska and metal label knifetwister records are working hard at raising the voices of indie musicians and bands across the local scene. Their devotion to talent, originality, passion and focus is unwavering, and their commitment to elevating the small but substantial names of our time is second to none.
We were blessed with the chance to interview the founders of knifetwister records, to find out more about their journey to launching, their inspiration, and their ambitions as a label. Here’s how it went.
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Hey – great to connect with you, and huge congrats for the rising success of the label. For those unfamiliar – how did knifetwister records first come about, and what was your intention with the venture?
Thanks very much! knifetwister records has been in the planning for a long time, and last month we simply decided it was time to pull the trigger. We love the local hardcore, metal, punk and ska scene and want to support it.
Believe me, this is not a money-making venture – there is absolutely no financial remuneration in representing small bands that are playing for free 95% of the time, and in some cases paying to play larger venues. This is being done to give back to a community that has given us so much over the last 40 or so years. So, the general idea was to have sort of a hybrid digital magazine and record label. These do dovetail with each other nicely, and so far as we can tell, nobody else is doing it.
And we want to do it the right way. So, for instance, we are in the process of forming as an LLC. We have a P. O. Box so you’re not sending correspondence to a home address, which doesn’t look very professional. We have a phone number, and it’s a 212 area code.
If you’re not familiar with the city (and locals generally just refer to to NYC as “the city”), this is the original New York City area code, they stopped giving these out in the late 1980’s. They have since overlaid new area codes over the city multiple times, but a 212 number still does turn some heads. It’s a very simple concept – do you want to look professional or not? That’s a no-brainer.
What do you offer to bands and artists as an independent label?
The music business today is more DIY (do it yourself) than ever before. A band doesn’t need a record label now to distribute music, they can very easily do it themselves. For small acts, a record label isn’t going to book shows, the artist does that themselves. Sure, if you’re Metallica, you have an entire management team handling your stadium tours and opening acts and everything. But those aren’t the artists we’re interested in.
However, many bands do need direction. For instance – any band can get their music onto Spotify, but can they get their lyrics synced below the song, have their shows listed on their artist profile, have creative background canvases and so forth? There are about two dozen ways to make a band look professional and expand their reach, and we’ve done them all.
Does anyone really look at a band’s website any more? Ehh, not really. But let’s say you are trying to get signed to a label. The first thing they are going to do is stick your name into a search engine. Would you rather have a professionally designed website be the first thing that pops up, or some Instagram post from two years ago? You want to look like you’ve got your act together, and the for the bands we’ve managed, we’ve done this and many other things for all of them. It’s not really “fake it until you make it”, that’s an awful cliché, but a label is going to appreciate an artist who looks like they know what they’re doing, are serious and isn’t just phoning it in.
What’s your personal background in ska, punk and metal, and what have been the main changes you’ve witnessed in the scene over the years?
We’ve witnessed a significant evolution in the punk, metal, and ska scenes over the years, moving from raw, underground roots to a more accessible and diversified presence. That’s not always a good thing, frankly, we prefer the bands that still do it old-school.
Early on, these genres were defined by their distinct subcultures – there was very little crossover between the genres, metalheads really didn’t associate with punks, it was even a bit of a rivalry. Today there are a lot of bands that a hybrid of both.
Take CHAKA, a hardcore/thrash metal act out of Queens, New York that we’ve worked with. They are able to blend the two seamlessly – that didn’t happen in the 1980’s. Or take one of our absolute favorite genres, ska-punk. There were a lot of early bands combining elements of the two – take Bad Brains and Fishbone as two examples, but these bands incorporated elements of lots of genres, they kind of threw the kitchen sink at you, which was great.
Starting in the 90’s, primarily out in Orange County but spreading out everywhere were dedicated ska-punk bands – Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, Less Than Jake, just to name a few, and then amazing smaller bands like Perfect Thyroid out of Kingston, NY – we still listen to the killer stuff they put out 30 years ago. So that’s really been a very positive direction for the music scene.
Your ethos is “Either love what you do, or don’t do it.” How did this come about?
I turned 50 during the start of the pandemic. It really set the stage for a lot of time to think, and some serious re-examination of things, and – it was sort of an epiphany – I realized that there were way too many things in my life that I did just because they were socially acceptable and everyone else did them. That’s not a good enough reason to do things.
“Take fireworks. I fucking hate fireworks, always have. And yet I went every year with my kids. That was it, have never gone again. Why did I wear a wristwatch? Had never really thought about that. Got rid of them. Socks – goodbye. Swimming – hated swimming, adios. And so forth.”
So, it’s really a matter of self examination and deciding what you really enjoy, and then giving those things a higher priority in your life or cutting out what you don’t enjoy. That’s what this project is predicated on. If we didn’t love doing it, we wouldn’t be doing it.
There are many things in your life that you don’t really want to do but have to do them – dealing with your boss, going to weddings that you’re kind of obligated to go to, getting your oil changed, and so forth. Why voluntarily add to that list?
What is it about the NYC music scene that sets it apart right now?
The fact that it’s so tight-knit. Everyone knows everyone, it’s really a community. Also, just the sheer number of venues that are available. If you’re a band in, let’s say, Southeastern Kentucky – you’ve got one venue tops that you can play in, and people will probably have one eye on the college football game on TV. Here, you could literally catch 12 bands on a Saturday night with some ambition, a subway card and maybe a few amphetamines.
Also, the fans here are absolutely rabid; they go nuts at shows. I was filming a show last month and got slammed into – broken finger. It was great!
You mention that it’s more than just music that makes an artist connect – you also look at their energy, dedication, and fan response. Can you tell us a bit more about how you assess this, and how important social media presence is alongside live performance ability?
Yeah, a band we might be interested in can’t have members with one foot out the door. You have to be in this for the long haul and show some dedication. That’s not to say you need to have the name of the band tattooed on your back, but your band really has to be your first priority. Sure, everyone has lives, families, jobs. We do too – we get it. But this can’t be a hobby for you, because not only does it show in the music, it’s a general detriment and kind of a disservice to what you are trying to create.
Social media presence really isn’t a barometer of much. You can create an account, start following other bands, 90% of the time they’ll follow you back, and you’ve got 1200 followers two months later. I guess it at least shows that you’re serious about putting in the work on one level, but it’s not real engagement. That needs to be done in person, not on dehumanizing, manipulative social media platforms.
That said, we do have social media accounts. Would prefer not to, but most bands only promote their shows, as an example, on social media. Not only is the toothpaste out of the tube on that, it’s all over the bathroom floor. So it’s unfortunately kind of necessity.
“As a tech guy, I generally advise my clients to turn off most notifications on their phones, just as a matter of digital mental hygiene. It’s not healthy to have your phone dinging 25 times a day – most people can’t resist the dopamine rush of seeing who gave you a fire emoji on something.”
Turn off your notifications, open the app every so often and check if you need to, the way you go down the driveway and check your mail. These companies care about short term profits, not the betterment of society or what these platforms do to your brain, and that needs to be pushed back against.
At a time when AI music is overloading the streaming and media space, it’s more important than ever to platform genuine, organic talent. How do you plan to amplify the voices of real artists and bands amidst such a tsunami of computer-made music?
Interesting question, as we’re in tech and have worked in AI. So, could go off on a 10 page discussion about the ramifications for society at large, but we’ll just limit it to music for the sake of your readers.
When the Suno 4 AI model came out, the music was pretty good, although was detectable by a few things – mainly instruments that don’t really exist, kind like guitar/synthesizer hybrids, and the horns were pretty off. Still, most people still couldn’t detect that it was AI by ear. Then the 4.5 model came out a few months ago, and it was damn near flawless – way more creativity, less formulaic, didn’t repeat lyrical passages like the previous model. Nearly no mistakes, other than the tendency for the vocalist to mispronounce words here and there. The best indicator that it was AI was that it was too perfect.
In real music, you’ll hear guitar players scraping the strings, you’ll hear much lower production value. It’s a bit of a cat and mouse game right now between AI music creators and AI music detectors, which are pretty accurate at this point.
“Our prediction – down the road, bands will start using AI to write the songs and then the band will perform them themselves. Yeah, it’s a shortcut and doesn’t really express human creativity, but the time and effort saved will prove to be too irresistible to many bands.”
You also advise people in the industry to not be dicks – is this based on a common occurrence, or something that can simply ruin the good vibes or even the best music?
The latter. Most bands are pretty cool. But our real ethos, other than the aforementioned maxim of doing what you love, is just to be nice to other people. It’s not hard. Please and thank you go along way, and don’t cost you a dime.
What’s the best way for musicians and bands to reach out to you?
We love getting an e-mail from someone, because it’s a bit more of an investment of time than an Instagram message, and an investment of time with us is an investment in your own band. We love to see bands that go the extra mile.
You can visit our website, which is chock full of information, interview/profiles and shows we’ve filmed, at www.knifetwisterrecords.com or reach out at info@knifetwisterrecords.com. Our Instagram handle, not surprisingly, is @knifetwisterrecords.
How do you stay up to date with the changes and new directions that the music industry is heading in?
Ear to the ground. Pounding the pavement. Attending shows. That’s the only way.
Is there anything else we should know?
As mentioned, we’re doing this to support the scene we love. If we interview or promo you, simply pay it forward.
We appreciate the interview, thanks!
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Find knifetwister records on Instagram, YouTube & their Website.
“Is a small hardcore band going to become the next Taylor Swift and put everyone on easy street? No. This is not a moneymaking venture, this is to support the scene.” – knifetwister records.
