The Knots Take the Title of BC’s Best Teen Band

The final two years of high school are busy and life-altering for most teens. There’s grad, provincial exams, scholarship applications and the art of balancing a social life with school work. Add in band practice, gigs and a healthy dose of press, however, and the final two years of high school become a roller-coaster ride of rock star treatment, with the occasional break for homework.

The Knots know all about this particular thrill ride. It’s been a big year for the band. They played at New Westminster’s Olympic torch relay celebration, were featured on Shaw TV, have been interviewed by a wide array of local papers – and won Youthink’s Best Teen Band contest.

Since winning the competition, the band members have found themselves busier than ever. “We won, and then there was the photo shoot the next day, and then we were in the recording studio for two days after that,” says lead singer, Jeff Huggins. “It was kind of surreal.”

Following the win, The Knots’ show schedule has been chock full. “We played at the Shadbolt Centre for Youth Week, and also we played at the Century House for a New Westminster Youth Awards Night,” says Jeff. “We played at the Hyack Festival and we’re also playing at Sapperton Days... a lot of New Westminster gigs.”

According to Jeff, the success of the band comes from their songwriting. “Jonny (our lead guitar player) apparently writes from his head and I write from my heart, someone said, so when we write together...” Jeff trails off. There is no need to finish, however. The result of the combination, recently winning the New Westminster Song Search songwriting competition, speaks for itself.

Even with all these experiences, though, the finale of BC’s Best Teen Band Contest stands out in Jeff’s mind. “That was the best show that we’ve ever played. It was amazing. It was the biggest thing we’ve won ever,” he smiles. “We played the first few chords and I turned back to Aaron (our drummer) and I was just like, ‘Yes, this is so great.’”

The evidence of The Knots’ year of achievements is pinned to a bulletin board in Jeff’s garage – various newspaper clippings, business cards from industry professionals and an anime-style drawing of the band that a fan presented to them after a show one night. Above, scribbles on a whiteboard detail their songs in progress, set lists, focus areas and goals.

“As a band, I think that we need to start adding harmonies to our music, and also we’re hopefully working towards getting one of our songs on the radio,” says Jeff. “We have the recording from Juicemix Productions with Jay Evjen coming up and we’ll see how that turns out. We’re working on that mostly. And writing more songs!”
He also adds, “I’ve talked to Brendan from Split the Silence and agreed to play another show together hopefully soon. We’re excited; hopefully we can go on a road trip to Kelowna this summer.”

As for where they’re headed after this year, “We’re just gonna keep doing what we do. I’m not graduating this year... I’ll still be in school, so it doesn’t really matter for me. But David and Aaron [are graduating]... I think they’re still interested in the band. I mean, we just won BC’s Best Teen Band Contest so they should be!”

If the past 12 months are any indication, The Knots are in for a wild and exciting ride.

To learn more about this talented band, check out The Knots’ brand new website!

Watch for our other finalists this summer!

2nd Place: Split the Silence

“In June, we want to hit the road and play more live shows. We want to play as many gigs as we can this summer. So with that in mind, email or call us if you’ve got a gig or need an opener. We want to play! We also want to say that we are extremely grateful for all the friends, family and fans who have supported us throughout this contest.” —Tim Hirtz, vocals, guitar, keys

3rd Place: High Life Scenery

“You can expect something big soon. We hope to release new, radio-quality songs sometime in June, perhaps in the form of an EP. As well, on June 19th, we will be participating in the finals of Supernova Battle of the Bands along with the nine other BC finalists. To all our fans, we really cannot thank you enough! It’s you who support us, come out to our shows and give us the feedback we need to improve. We couldn’t do it without you! We’ll see you soon!” —Adam Seckel, bass