Today we’d like to introduce you to David Knopf.
Hi David, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I first got a guitar from my dad in 3rd grade and pretty quickly figured out I could learn things by ear, with the riff from “Come As You Are” by Nirvana being the first thing I taught myself. This gradually grew through high school with a couple of rock bands I was in. It wasn’t until a couple years later, when I dropped out of college, that I became absolutely obsessed with songwriting. I had a few bands in my early 20’s that had fizzled out so in 2019, shortly after my daughter was born, I formed Knopf. I wanted to get to the heart of what a raw 3 piece rock band was capable of, dynamically. The sound has evolved over the last 6 years and finally feels like something that’s really unique to us. This year we’re playing 2 festivals, touring the west coast and releasing a 5 track EP. I live on a ranch on the outskirts of LA County with my family and one day hope to be only spending my time playing my music and tending to our animals and the land we live on.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a father and pursuing a full-time career in music has been a beautiful challenge. Although the balancing of sleep and productivity can be difficult, it’s really the shifting of focus from one thing another that I’ve found most challenging. Turning off the music part of my brain to be present with all of the other things in life can be frustrating, to say the least. But where there’s struggle, there’s also a lesson. Seeing my daughter grow up in this world of constant art and creativity has been the greatest joy I’ve ever known. My wife is also an artist and we’ve found a really nice flow being fully present and conscious parents, while also maintaining our artistic path.
There is also the uphill climb of being the driving force behind an independent band. There’s an ever-present sense of imposter syndrome, especially in a scene like LA. There’s also just a general intimidation in trying to stand out on the digital stage. It’s really taught me how to wear all the hats when it comes to booking, promoting, rehearsing, recording, releasing, and keeping a wide enough lens to be able to see what our next step is. Everyone has their own path forward through this thicket of uncertainty and at the end of the day, I’m just so grateful to have such amazing bandmates to keep us on track when I’m falling asleep at the wheel. It really takes a lot of trust to take a leap in to full-time artistry but so far, it’s been a better journey than I could’ve ever imagined 6 years ago.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Knopf is a psychedelic desert rock band in the outer orbits of LA. We’re known for our heavy hitting live sound, technical musicianship and well formed, original songs. The sound that’s started to form between the three of us combines the dreaminess of the 60’s, musicianship of the 70’s, heaviness of the 90’s and style of modern psychedelia. We believe the music speaks for itself and take our live sets as a chance to bring people on a journey from start to finish.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
The music scene of LA is as wide as its borders. Although there are hubs of similar bands throughout the county, there isn’t much of a unified scene. To me, that’s both a positive and a negative. Playing in the valley can feel like a totally different world than playing in Hollywood. It can feel like twice as much work keeping an even spread of shows throughout all the different sub scenes but then again, there are so many more people to connect with and learn from.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theknopf/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theknopf
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0tSYrYgl0XtkXiBuJS5F6e?si=W3pijGipROmvZEdA2SuqKA
Image Credits
#1, #2 by Riles Martinez (@photosbyriles on IG)
#3, #4 by Queen Skittles Photography (@queenskittlesphotography on IG)
#5 by Andrew LaRochelle (@andrewlarochelle on IG)
Riles Martinez @photobyriles
