The road to Sweet Knive’s formation is a long one, full of highs and lows fitting for a Hollywood movie. From tragic to inspirational, Sweet Knives has it all. And as a Memphis musical group, Sweet Knives is unique in that it doesn’t rely specifically on soul or blues or country. Instead, it very much is its own style (although you’d classify it as a black-wave synth-punk band). If you’re heading out to a show, just heard them perform live, or are considering the purchase of an album, here’s what you need to know about the group.
The early forming
The earliest foundation of Sweet Knives dates back to the early 2000s, when a group called Lost Sounds roamed the streets of Memphis, performing in clubs and sharing their music. The group recorded four albums together, but band member Jay Reatard decided to turn to Matador Records to work on his own music, which left the other members looking for different musical outlets.
Rich Crook, the former drummer, created Lover! and Thing while Alicja Trout, one of the songwriters from Lost Sounds, toured with a number of groups including Black Sunday, Mouserocket and River City Tanlines.
Sorrow hit the former band mates when Jay died in 2010. As the remaining performers of Lost Sounds mourned the loss of their friend, their music styles started to mend back together. Eventually, Alicja and Rich Crook, along with John Garland (another original member) brought on bass player Johnny Valiant to start the group Sweet Knives (named after a Lost Sounds song from 2004).
New group, old vibes
The formation of Sweet Knives eventually went on to record several new records, including its most recent in 2017. Now, the act is touring not only the city of Memphis but it is venturing outside of the familiar confines of home. This includes hitting locations in Europe.
If you are interested in checking out music from the group you’ll want to head over to the Sweet Knives Facebook page. Here you can listen to tracks from the group (you’ll also find a Sound Cloud link provided on the Facebook page). You can also find links to order music from the band, including its latest release “I Don’t Wanna Die” pressed in vinyl (of course you can always order it on CD or download a digital file of it as well).
Should you want to check out Sweet Knives during one of the band’s live performances you’ll want to visit the “Upcoming Events” page listed on the group’s Facebook profile. Here you’ll find all of the times and acts that have been scheduled. And don’t worry, while there are some bands out there who neglect to update their Facebook touring information Sweet Knives is one of the best at this, often providing insightful blog posts and other additional information you’ll find useful when following the band.
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You may also be interested in: Live Music Memphis Tonight | Memphis Live Music Calendar
