Fort Collins quartet brings ‘loud, fast and heavy music’ to recordings, gigs

By David Young

One of Fort Collins' loudest bands is getting louder with the scheduled Jan. 19 release of a new EP, “Bloodlines.”

Knife Knife is composed of Craig Powell on vocals, Bob Wessner playing the guitar, John Napier keeping time on the bass, and Jaydon Kershner rocking the drums. Together they are making a lot of noise in the Fort Collins music scene.

See them live
Knife Knife has two upcoming shows:
Lion’s Lair in Denver on Saturday, Feb 10
The Coast in Fort Collins (with Teenage Bottlerocket) on Wednesday, March 27
More details here

For anyone unfamiliar with Knife Knife’s music, Wessner describes it simply as metal crossed with hardcore that is full of thrash riffs with breakdowns. While Knife Knife’s music is distinctly their own, Wessner notes that they are fans of Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Every Time I Die, and Black Dahlia Murder, which all influence the sound of the band.

“The best way to describe it I would say is loud, fast, and heavy enough to make you wanna run around in circles slamming beers,” he said.

Knife Knife’s origin story

Knife Knife’s origins date back to 2018 when Wessner moved to Fort Collins and started working at Surfside 7 and Music City Hot Chicken. The respective bar and restaurant both introduced him to the local music scene. At that time, Craig Powell was playing drums in a different band that soon broke up.

“Craig and I were hanging out at Surfside one night when Craig asked me if I wanted to start a project. I was stoked to find some people to play with as I had been playing in bands back home in Tulsa, OK,” Wessner said. “From then on Craig and I started hammering out long hours of riffs and writing sessions. Once we had a few songs, we started to add other members to fill out the project.”

After some lineup changes in the early years of the band, Powell switched to vocals and Napier and Kershner joined the group, solidifying the killer lineup fans see today on stage.

“Bloodlines” EP out this week

Knife Knife finished recording “Bloodlines” last year. The songs were written around the pandemic, and were influenced by the major political events around that period.

“The music was written about events that I had strong feelings towards and pushed me to create riffs to represent my emotions,” Wessner said. “I would send Craig the song and tell him what it was that made me write it and he would use his own experience of the events to tell his side of the story.”

Wessner said the recording process was a great experience that went smoothly. Knife Knife tracked everything at Moredoor Studios with Andrew Waltman and then sent it over to the Blasting Room, where they worked with Grammy Award-winning producer Jason Livermore for mixing and mastering.

FoCo music scene

The Fort Collins music scene has been integral to Knife Knife’s trajectory. Wessner described the local live music scene as “rad,” noting there are many amazing musicians and bands in the surrounding area.

One of Knife Knife’s favorite places to perform in Fort Collins is the outdoor stage for Music City Hot Chicken.

Also big in Fort Collins is the craft beer scene. The Knife Knife crew said they enjoy a solid IPA to start the night and then a smooth pilsner. They specifically noted Juicy Bits by Weldworks, offerings from Mythmaker Brewing, and anything from Telluride Brewing Co.

The EP will be available on all streaming platforms on Friday. The band has released several singles from the EP that can be found on their Facebook page.

David Young is a freelance writer based in Fort Collins. He specializes in beer, whiskey, and outdoor writing. David has been published in SKI Magazine, GearJunkie, 5280 Magazine, USA Today, and The Denver Post. Learn more at davidyoungcommunications.com.