The Black Knights

Amongst a sea of overtly patriotic Mancunian bands, clinging to their indie forefathers legacie in a desperate bid for comparable notoriety, The Black Knights emerge as a local band with integrity.

Hankering not after the city streets filled with soot and working class sweat, or the acidic Madchester, disco biscuit era of two decades ago, The Black Knights are intent on breeding music that is true to themselves, not their surroundings.

Having played together since school, drummer Thomas Richard Pickford III and guitarist Gary L Hope seem to have finally found a formula that they are comfortable with, creating music veracious to their own ethos.

Not so long back, the Salford natives were part of another duo, Deodates – a band that was receiving some serious attention and looked to be going in the right direction. So, what happened?

"We were just creating pop songs for the radio," says Gary of his previous band. "We just played what we thought people wanted to hear. We just want to have it now. We don't care if people like us or not."

Don't be fooled; this is not arrogance. Neither is it lethargy in the way of seeking fans and notoriety.

Tom and Gary have clearly learned from past attempts to mould themselves into a product to be snapped up by the cheque wielding record label boss and radio DJs. The Black Knights now have a virolent and rare attitude which balances the necessity to work with the industry while at the same time, writing material that primarily appeals to themselves.

"It's a double edged-sword, coming from Manchester – as soon as people know you're from here, there's an instant expectation to create a certain sound," Tom says.

The Black Knights have not fallen into this trap though, and as Tom suggests: "We don't fit in anywhere; people either love us or hate and that's what we want. No grey area."

If not Manchester heroes then, who do influence The Black Knights?

"I'm not embarrassed to admit that yeah, I like The White Stripes and The Black Keys," says Gary. "We're good at something and we're not ashamed to produce that sound. Loads of bands try and do unnatural things with their music, and I think people can see right through it."

"There's nothing to suss out about us," adds Tom.

I bring up Gary's stage attire – a vibrant purple suit with matching tie and eyeliner. It seems somewhat incompatible with his 'no-nonsense' attitude. "I'm not sure whether I wear this just because I enjoy looking like it, or because I like to antagonise people," he says. Regardless, it's a creation that is not overly contrived and somehow comes across as completely natural.

It's refreshing talking to guys like Tom and Gary; genuine guys who are coy in their approach of seeking goals. They don't sugar-coat anything and as a result, you very quickly get an idea of who they are what they want and what their beliefs are. For this reason, they seem easy to connect with and come across as perfectly human in a world of packaged, faceless indie bands.

I ask them what they want from the band. Tom replies, "I want a legacy. It's never been about monetary things for me. I mean we've never made money out of this."

Glancing over to Gary, dressed in a purple suit and eyeliner, Tom answers for him: "Not for him though! He wants the gold Lamborghini and the massive house."

It seems like much of the time, Gary and Tom find themselves at loggerheads, not with the music but with their own ideologies. Gary is the flamboyant, glam front man with a brooding undercurrent of kinky violence and Bowie-esque showmanship. Tom is paining over a future career that includes both artistic freedom and business acumen.

It seems like a frightening combination, they just need the chance to put this approach to work. And they are in know doubt that given to opportunity, audiences would be denied the chance to ignore them. "We'd love to play Manchester Academy 1, and you know if we did, we'd leave blood on the stage..." says Tom.

Their live shows are never without incident and Gary informs me that, "they've left the stage a mess at their last couple of gigs." Their feisty relationship has become something of common knowledge to followers but this undoubtedly makes for a bristly live show, full of unexpectedness and anticipation.

Tom says of their live performances, "We don't fuck around with niceties. If he's [Gary] out of time, I won't say, 'next time could you do you best to play that better', we'll fucking growl at each other. We sometimes get into this situation where we're both going at each other. And if the sound guy intervenes, the stage is going." Having watched Tom hurl drumsticks across the room and spit and cuss onstage before, you would second-guess him either.

After an enthralling conversation, the boys take to the stage in the humble setting of The Sir Ralph Abercrombie and, despite a painfully undersized crowd, explode into their brilliantly distinctive raw trash-blues.

Tom is seemingly fidgety with excitement behind the kit and between the occasional unnerving glares in his band mate's direction, creates the perfect foundation for Gary's squalls and strident guitar hooks. Collectively, the two-piece create something many larger ensembles struggle with; well balanced, well written and well-performed songs.

True to form, Tom stops midway through LA Hayfever to educate an ignorant roaming musician who desperately needed his cymbals from the stage. "Wait till we've fucking finished, show a bit of respect," suggests Tom. The roamer goes red, the onlookers stir uncomfortably, Tom's wife informs me of the regularity of Tom's etiquette training, then straight back into it, forgotten about.

Before Tom and Gary take to the stage, I was joined my Tom's wife and father-in-law who does some of the artwork for the band. Entertaining the DIY culture but with a firm grasp on corporate necessity, Gary and Tom seem to be well place to stake their much deserved claim in the industry. Having mastered their raw, garage-blues sound and consistently providing note worthy live performances, The Black Knights seem to be a small band waiting to be discovered.

It's very refreshing to encounter such artistic talent who are still firmly grounded and flying the flag of musical integrity high. Hopefully their philosophy and approach to a complex and trepid industry will act as a blue print to other worthy bands.

The Black Knights are set to record an EP in the near future but for the time being, check out the demo and for a guaranteed evening's entertainment, get down and watch them live.

Interview by Simon S Wright

www.myspace.com/theblackknightsuk