The Shadows of Knight is a name that, if you have even the most passing interest in garage rock, is very familiar. Having cut many energetic, hook-laden tunes in the ‘60s, it’s no mystery why, 50 years after a group of high school kids started making it, the band’s music continues to be loved. Bandleader and singer Jimy Sohns has fronted some permutation of the band, with an occasional interruption, since 1964, and makes it clear that rock and roll is his life.
“Music is what I love,” confirmed Sohns, talking to Garagerocktopia by telephone from his home near Chicago. “It’s also all I know. I’ve worked at some other things -- I’ve been a painter, an electrician, but even then, my life has always revolved around music.”
And last week, Sohns not only added yet another chapter to the SOK legacy, but even called in an old bud to do it.
Reuniting with original guitarist Jerry McGeorge, Sohns has uncorked a brand-new Shadows of Knight song, the aptly named “Wild Man,” which is already garnering lots of attention despite a public unveiling that’s not even a week old.
“I think it’s perfect,” said Sohns, “it’s just what we envisioned.”
Driven by a hook well-worthy of SOK’s best work, expert vibrato and an ever present hammond organ riff, the song is very much in the traditional ‘60s garage rock mold, yet with a spirit powerful enough to head off staleness, familiar enough to be immediately likable yet different enough to not sound boring.
Also playing a huge role in making the song rock is current SOK member Michael Weber, who, though still in his 20’s, seems to have given the song some of its best touches.
“I started with Michael Weber when he was 17 and he has become an amazing guitarist and songwriter,” said Sohns.
Added McGeorge, who spoke by phone to Garagerocktopia his Colorado home: “his work is magnificent. He’s in his ‘20s, but between the 12-string riff he put on it and the vibrato he did with his fingers, he really captured that ‘60s vibe.”
A quick Shadows of Knight primer: The band formed in 1964 in the Chicago suburb of Prospect, IL, calling itself simply ‘The Shadows,’ but shortly thereafter changed to ‘Shadows of Knight,’ partly to distinguish themselves from the British band of the same name, and, it is speculated, because the team nickname the high school they attended (remember, at the time rock and roll was mostly a teen phenomenon) was ‘the Knights.’” McGeorge joined the band after original guitarist Norm Gotsch was drafted.
The band would largely forge their reputation locally thanks to regular gigs at the Cellar, a club which changed locations a few times -- the basement of a church and a converted warehouse, amongst other places -- and would later become famous for hosting the likes of Cream, Buffalo Springfield and The Who, to name just a few.
The band’s major break came in 1965 as it became the first American band to cover Them’s much-coveted song, “Gloria.” Scores of bands at the time were scrambling to record the song, and some, such as The Gants, have claimed they actually had the first recorded version, but The Shadows of Knight got theirs -- which featured slightly cleaned up lyrics -- out first and with it scored a huge regional hit.
Along the way, The Shadows of Knight would chisel out hard-edged originals that would seem just ageless, such as “Bad Little Woman,” “Oh Yeah” and “Shake.” The band would also find audiences far beyond Chicago, playing many dates in New York and other cities.
Perhaps The Shadow of Knight’s best-known song, call it proto-metal, or proto-punk, or whatever
you want to call it, which has stood the test of time is “I’m Gonna Make You Mine.” Never as big a hit as “Gloria,” for music geeks it’s probably more important. It has been covered by myriad other bands, including fellow Chicagoans The American Breed, as well as British bands such as Primal Scream and Thee Headcoatees. And, it’s a gatekeeper song. Any garage rock band that can’t play it well should perhaps reconsider their style of music.
And, it’s the song that perhaps best illustrates what The Shadows of Knight were all about.
“We were doing a session at the old Chess studios, right there on 2120 South Michigan Boulevard,” recounted Sohns. “The engineer went to lunch, and we just did that song all by ourselves, and it’s my mix.”
Reuniting with original guitarist Jerry McGeorge, Sohns has uncorked a brand-new Shadows of Knight song, the aptly named “Wild Man,” which is already garnering lots of attention despite a public unveiling that’s not even a week old.
“I think it’s perfect,” said Sohns, “it’s just what we envisioned.”
Driven by a hook well-worthy of SOK’s best work, expert vibrato and an ever present hammond organ riff, the song is very much in the traditional ‘60s garage rock mold, yet with a spirit powerful enough to head off staleness, familiar enough to be immediately likable yet different enough to not sound boring.
Also playing a huge role in making the song rock is current SOK member Michael Weber, who, though still in his 20’s, seems to have given the song some of its best touches.
“I started with Michael Weber when he was 17 and he has become an amazing guitarist and songwriter,” said Sohns.
Added McGeorge, who spoke by phone to Garagerocktopia his Colorado home: “his work is magnificent. He’s in his ‘20s, but between the 12-string riff he put on it and the vibrato he did with his fingers, he really captured that ‘60s vibe.”
A quick Shadows of Knight primer: The band formed in 1964 in the Chicago suburb of Prospect, IL, calling itself simply ‘The Shadows,’ but shortly thereafter changed to ‘Shadows of Knight,’ partly to distinguish themselves from the British band of the same name, and, it is speculated, because the team nickname the high school they attended (remember, at the time rock and roll was mostly a teen phenomenon) was ‘the Knights.’” McGeorge joined the band after original guitarist Norm Gotsch was drafted.
The band would largely forge their reputation locally thanks to regular gigs at the Cellar, a club which changed locations a few times -- the basement of a church and a converted warehouse, amongst other places -- and would later become famous for hosting the likes of Cream, Buffalo Springfield and The Who, to name just a few.
The band’s major break came in 1965 as it became the first American band to cover Them’s much-coveted song, “Gloria.” Scores of bands at the time were scrambling to record the song, and some, such as The Gants, have claimed they actually had the first recorded version, but The Shadows of Knight got theirs -- which featured slightly cleaned up lyrics -- out first and with it scored a huge regional hit.
Along the way, The Shadows of Knight would chisel out hard-edged originals that would seem just ageless, such as “Bad Little Woman,” “Oh Yeah” and “Shake.” The band would also find audiences far beyond Chicago, playing many dates in New York and other cities.
Perhaps The Shadow of Knight’s best-known song, call it proto-metal, or proto-punk, or whatever
And, it’s the song that perhaps best illustrates what The Shadows of Knight were all about.
“We were doing a session at the old Chess studios, right there on 2120 South Michigan Boulevard,” recounted Sohns. “The engineer went to lunch, and we just did that song all by ourselves, and it’s my mix.”
“It’s the only song that really sounded like we did on stage,” commented McGeorge.
They have also long been considered an inspiration in the creation of metal, and especially, punk. Sohns, though he doesn’t deny the band’s influence on bands and artists who would create punk rock, isn’t completely quick to embrace the label either.
“Punk meant something very different in the ‘60s,” said Sohns, who was at one point road manager for edgy Chicago punker Skafish. “Punk is a really hard term. And garage rock was the first punk, even though it’s a little different. I always thought of ‘punk’ as something newer.”
It was during a 1978 gig at Hurrahs in New York City with Skafish that Sohns had one of his most infamous episodes.
“I punched the (blank) out of Sid Vicious,” recalled Sohns. “This guy comes in, and everybody stopped to look at him. I had no idea who he was.” Sohns recounted how Vicious’ behavior got way beyond inappropriate, and it led to him nearly putting out the eye of Todd Smith, (Patti’s brother), with a broken bottle. Smith was helping Skafish with the gig. At that point, Sohns said, he had seen enough. Sohns confronted him, and Vicious' response was something short of gentlemanly, which got a very strong response from Sohns.
“He spit at me, so I punched him and I knocked him down the stairs. The New York Post reported it with the caption ‘Old punk teaches new punk a lesson.’” It was one of the very last public appearances for Vicious, who died not too long after.
The Shadows of Knight would see no small degree of success, but as the ‘60s began to wind down, SOK would find themselves stuck in the same movie plot as so many of their contemporaries.
Flamethrower radio station WLS, on a good night heard as far away as Los Angeles, refused to play the band’s music because it was too raucous and edgy, and in those days, if the local station didn’t play your music, it was almost a kiss of death. The band lineup started getting more and more fluid, the band changed labels, and the suits started more and more sticking their noses into the bands’ music, with results at best weird but much more often, just simply boring.
Unlike most of the bands of that era, except for a brief period, Sohns has carried on with SOK, playing some fairly high-profile shows. He has endured his fair share of extremely trying times, about which Sohns has usually been quite open. We just like to stick to the music and stay positive here, but finding these less-than-happy episodes is not that difficult should you wish to.
That more than half a century on, people would still not only be listening to The Shadows of Knight’s music, but demanding that they make more, is nothing short of amazing both for Sohns and for McGeorge.
“Back in the ‘60s, I never thought I’d be alive past 30,” explained Sohns. “I was racing cars, racing motorcycles, and I never thought I would get past all of that. I thought I’d for sure be shot down in flames. When I think about it all, sometimes it seems like yesterday and sometimes it seems like a galaxy far, far away.”
McGeorge would continue for a bit longer in music, also becoming a part of the garage/psychedelic band H.P. Lovecraft. From there he would go on to a successful career in the auto industry, satisfying yet another love of his -- cars. He, too,expressed surprise at the durability of his music.
“Whodathunk people would still be into the music this many years later?,” commented McGeorge. “It's as gratifying as can be to be remembered for all of this so far down the line. And it's just amazing that we'd be putting another brick on the pile.”
Both men felt that, in part, their music has remained so relevant because they were a part of an era like no other in American music, one where continents of musical territory seemed to be conquered all the time, and an era when artists, perhaps because of their honesty, or perhaps simply out of naivete, made music that they truly believed in.
“The ‘60s as a whole was just all about great music,” said Sohns. “And anything that great usually stands the test of time. That’s because the bands of that time understood their music all goes back to words, energy and the feeling it gives to people.”
McGeorge contrasted the spontaneous, heartfelt rock music of the ‘60s with what he feels is today a market-researched, micromanaged product.
“It was magical back then,” recalled McGeorge. “Now, you read about some of the behind-the-scenes things that go on. Today the music is a manufactured product, with focus groups. I was part of the automobile industry, so I know that process very well.”
“In the ‘60’s, there was none of that. It wasn't manufactured, it was genuine. I think today, that music is still loved because people just want something that's a little more real.”
Many of the bands of that mid-’60s era, later to be dubbed “garage rock” have in fact taken issue with the label, saying it minimizes both their talent and their experience, more often than not, professional experience. Both McGeorge and Sohns seemed not yet to be entirely warmed-up to the label, though both have mostly accepted it.
“I don’t really mind it,” said Sohns. “I mean, you have to call us something. And I prefer being called
“garage rock” to being called ‘punk’ just because I think of punk as something that came along much later.”
“I used to bristle at that,” admitted McGeorge. “We never played in anyone's garage. But because of Little Steven Van Zandt and The Underground Garage, I think it's a much less negative term than it used to be. And yes, we played at the Cellar. But so did The Who and The Yardbirds and The Kinks. And, they all had other small clubs where they started playing, so I guess they're all garage rock, too.”
Both Sohns and McGeorge said in fact, they always felt SOK was a band more in the mold of The Rolling Stones, or even more, The Yardbirds. Hailing from near such an epicenter of the blues, that genre that often permeates the group’s music.
“We were definitely a bunch of punks, we had the qualifications” acknowledged McGeorge, “but really we thought of ourselves more as a blues band, kind of an extension of what The Yardbirds were doing.”
Added Sohns: “We were really more like hard rock. Bands like us, The Standells, The Music Machine, we were all making a harder style of music.”
You can count on hearing much more talk about “Wild Man.” Sohns mentioned that he had actually been discussing the song with Van Zandt not too long before our interview, so it’s reasonable to speculate that at least some airplay on The Underground Garage satellite radio station and syndicated show might happen. Sohns also mentioned there are some more songs in the can, though he stopped short of promising a whole album.
Sohns makes no secret of what he loves most in life -- fast cars, fast women and music. He says that some people may be surprised that he is a practicing Christian. He also says people are surprised to find out he has been married for 14 years. But what’s certain is that nobody will be surprised by the importance of music in Sohns’ life.
“You just can’t describe to people the feeling you get on stage,” said Sohns. “You get up on stage, you give everything you’ve got, and you and the audience become one, and nothing can ever replace that feeling.”
They have also long been considered an inspiration in the creation of metal, and especially, punk. Sohns, though he doesn’t deny the band’s influence on bands and artists who would create punk rock, isn’t completely quick to embrace the label either.
“Punk meant something very different in the ‘60s,” said Sohns, who was at one point road manager for edgy Chicago punker Skafish. “Punk is a really hard term. And garage rock was the first punk, even though it’s a little different. I always thought of ‘punk’ as something newer.”
It was during a 1978 gig at Hurrahs in New York City with Skafish that Sohns had one of his most infamous episodes.
“I punched the (blank) out of Sid Vicious,” recalled Sohns. “This guy comes in, and everybody stopped to look at him. I had no idea who he was.” Sohns recounted how Vicious’ behavior got way beyond inappropriate, and it led to him nearly putting out the eye of Todd Smith, (Patti’s brother), with a broken bottle. Smith was helping Skafish with the gig. At that point, Sohns said, he had seen enough. Sohns confronted him, and Vicious' response was something short of gentlemanly, which got a very strong response from Sohns.
“He spit at me, so I punched him and I knocked him down the stairs. The New York Post reported it with the caption ‘Old punk teaches new punk a lesson.’” It was one of the very last public appearances for Vicious, who died not too long after.
The Shadows of Knight would see no small degree of success, but as the ‘60s began to wind down, SOK would find themselves stuck in the same movie plot as so many of their contemporaries.
Flamethrower radio station WLS, on a good night heard as far away as Los Angeles, refused to play the band’s music because it was too raucous and edgy, and in those days, if the local station didn’t play your music, it was almost a kiss of death. The band lineup started getting more and more fluid, the band changed labels, and the suits started more and more sticking their noses into the bands’ music, with results at best weird but much more often, just simply boring.
Unlike most of the bands of that era, except for a brief period, Sohns has carried on with SOK, playing some fairly high-profile shows. He has endured his fair share of extremely trying times, about which Sohns has usually been quite open. We just like to stick to the music and stay positive here, but finding these less-than-happy episodes is not that difficult should you wish to.
That more than half a century on, people would still not only be listening to The Shadows of Knight’s music, but demanding that they make more, is nothing short of amazing both for Sohns and for McGeorge.
“Back in the ‘60s, I never thought I’d be alive past 30,” explained Sohns. “I was racing cars, racing motorcycles, and I never thought I would get past all of that. I thought I’d for sure be shot down in flames. When I think about it all, sometimes it seems like yesterday and sometimes it seems like a galaxy far, far away.”
McGeorge would continue for a bit longer in music, also becoming a part of the garage/psychedelic band H.P. Lovecraft. From there he would go on to a successful career in the auto industry, satisfying yet another love of his -- cars. He, too,expressed surprise at the durability of his music.
“Whodathunk people would still be into the music this many years later?,” commented McGeorge. “It's as gratifying as can be to be remembered for all of this so far down the line. And it's just amazing that we'd be putting another brick on the pile.”
Both men felt that, in part, their music has remained so relevant because they were a part of an era like no other in American music, one where continents of musical territory seemed to be conquered all the time, and an era when artists, perhaps because of their honesty, or perhaps simply out of naivete, made music that they truly believed in.
“The ‘60s as a whole was just all about great music,” said Sohns. “And anything that great usually stands the test of time. That’s because the bands of that time understood their music all goes back to words, energy and the feeling it gives to people.”
McGeorge contrasted the spontaneous, heartfelt rock music of the ‘60s with what he feels is today a market-researched, micromanaged product.
“It was magical back then,” recalled McGeorge. “Now, you read about some of the behind-the-scenes things that go on. Today the music is a manufactured product, with focus groups. I was part of the automobile industry, so I know that process very well.”
“In the ‘60’s, there was none of that. It wasn't manufactured, it was genuine. I think today, that music is still loved because people just want something that's a little more real.”
Many of the bands of that mid-’60s era, later to be dubbed “garage rock” have in fact taken issue with the label, saying it minimizes both their talent and their experience, more often than not, professional experience. Both McGeorge and Sohns seemed not yet to be entirely warmed-up to the label, though both have mostly accepted it.
“I don’t really mind it,” said Sohns. “I mean, you have to call us something. And I prefer being called
“I used to bristle at that,” admitted McGeorge. “We never played in anyone's garage. But because of Little Steven Van Zandt and The Underground Garage, I think it's a much less negative term than it used to be. And yes, we played at the Cellar. But so did The Who and The Yardbirds and The Kinks. And, they all had other small clubs where they started playing, so I guess they're all garage rock, too.”
Both Sohns and McGeorge said in fact, they always felt SOK was a band more in the mold of The Rolling Stones, or even more, The Yardbirds. Hailing from near such an epicenter of the blues, that genre that often permeates the group’s music.
“We were definitely a bunch of punks, we had the qualifications” acknowledged McGeorge, “but really we thought of ourselves more as a blues band, kind of an extension of what The Yardbirds were doing.”
Added Sohns: “We were really more like hard rock. Bands like us, The Standells, The Music Machine, we were all making a harder style of music.”
You can count on hearing much more talk about “Wild Man.” Sohns mentioned that he had actually been discussing the song with Van Zandt not too long before our interview, so it’s reasonable to speculate that at least some airplay on The Underground Garage satellite radio station and syndicated show might happen. Sohns also mentioned there are some more songs in the can, though he stopped short of promising a whole album.
Sohns makes no secret of what he loves most in life -- fast cars, fast women and music. He says that some people may be surprised that he is a practicing Christian. He also says people are surprised to find out he has been married for 14 years. But what’s certain is that nobody will be surprised by the importance of music in Sohns’ life.
“You just can’t describe to people the feeling you get on stage,” said Sohns. “You get up on stage, you give everything you’ve got, and you and the audience become one, and nothing can ever replace that feeling.”
Don't Forget to listen to Garagerocktopia Radio, alternating with Blue Mood, Tuesday nights on KUCR Radio, 88.3 FM Riverside, California, where you can hear artists like The Shadows of Knight, plus many others who have appeared on our hallowed pages and whose music has inspired us. Can't tune in live? No problem! head over to Mixcloud and catch the show there.
We have some other features already in the works here at Garagerocktopia. Artists have been sending us some very cool stuff. As always, we don’t make any guarantees in stone but we’re happy to say we’ve gotten a lot of very promising music sent to us, and we’re always happy to spread the word about about bands that are playing the way-out kinds of music we profile here. Send us a line and we’ll talk.
Also, we do have a Facebook page for this blog. We don’t put personal stuff on it – no pictures of grandkids (which we don't have anyway) or our dinners or politics or anything like that. What we do post are announcements about upcoming features, maybe extra stuff about the bands, and any cool music, movies or TV Shows we stumble across that might have even the most tangential connection with the music featured here. While we don't spend all day thinking about it, we do like "likes" and "follows" on both Facebook and Mixcloud if you're so inclined ...
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