Photo courtesy of Sacks and Co. Nashville
Hit single from Knox Hamilton’s 2013 EP The Great Hall, called “Work it Out” couldn’t be more indicative of the band’s persona. A three-piece group that got its start in church, they simply know how to "work it out," writing and performing music by blending their various musical styles and keeping up a “go-with-the-flow” vibe.
Lead singer Boots Copeland says, “People always ask me what they can expect from our shows or festival performances and basically I say, ‘we try to be as professional as possible, but there’s no way to really know what to expect'—it might rain or it might be blazing hot, but we’ll try to make the process the least painful as possible.”
As a kid, Boots played drums in his dad’s church in Sherman, Texas, switching to bass when his brother Cobo was old enough to start on the drums. When the family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, and their dad became the pastor at another church, the two brothers met Drew, who became the band’s guitarist and Brad, the group’s original keyboard player.
While volunteering one summer break during high school in the church thrift shop, Boots found a 1972 Little Rock High School yearbook. Flipping through the pages, he came across a guy named Knox Hamilton.
“He just had a unique, cool, rock n’ roll look to him,” Boots explains. “We had been trying to come up with a name for the group at that point, and so we just rolled with this guy’s name.”
Knox Hamilton quickly became as unique as its namesake—it’s not just danceable indie rock music, but the product of an eclectic mix of influences ranging from Johnny Cash to Woodie Guthrie to Brandon Flowers to Paul McCartney.
Boots says, “From 70s folk pop to newly imagined 80s rock, we dig it all—really anything with a catchy melody and a good beat.”
And that’s the basis for their song creation. Boots will come up with a bass riff for a foundation, or a guitar melody, and then the group moves forward from there, often incorporating a synthesizer and drum machine.
Their songs, while generally keeping up the Knox Hamilton indie pop rock sound, are all different animals. Boots says, “We have a new song that’s very straight-up rock and it’s pretty loud, and then the next single we’re working on is very synthy and almost on the hip-hop side of things.”
On festival performances, Boots says, “The crowds are just awesome, and the festivals always treat artists really well. It can get super hot, and it’s hard to wear jackets and leather boots, but you’re supposed to get kind of dirty and hot and sweaty at these things, so we just go with it.”
Knox Hamilton is working on a new EP right now, to be released in August. For fans, Boots says the EP is mostly true to the group’s sound. They had the opportunity to work with Tim Pagnotta, notably the producer for Neon Trees, as well as Walk the Moon’s sophomore album, Talking is Hard. At LouFest, the group will play their new single from the EP, as well as a few other new songs that may not be on the EP, but will be on the album coming out in early 2016.
Boots says, “We’re really looking forward to coming back to St. Louis. We’ve built up a pretty loyal fan base there, so it’s always nice to go back somewhere where you’ll get to see some familiar faces.”
Knox Hamilton performs Saturday, September 12 at 1 p.m. For more information, go to loufest.com.
