The Top 10 (Plus 1): #6 - Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam

It's been some time since we've ventured into the Top 10 (Plus 1) series, but we are back today with #6 on our list: Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam.

Everything I need to say about Davy, I've already written. So the next bit is a series of pieces I wrote over at my other blogs, and after, I'll wrap up with a bit on the band.

#1 - My roommate runs into my room and tells me to turn on Jimmy Kimmel immediately, he was randomly watching. We proceed to see a little white kid from Isle of Man, England singing in a deep black man's blues voice and shredding a guitar in every perfect way possible. This led to a night of Youtube searches on him and the band. I was immediately hooked. So, I email my dad right away since he is a blues nut and tell him to check it out. He is immediately hooked. He emails his friends that are blues fans and they are immediately hooked. So, I'm thinking, if all these people love them, what about people who aren't blues fans. And I go off and tell some of them, and they love it. And now I'm thinking to myself, Back Door Slam is going to be huge. If it's not them, then it's going to be Davy Knowles, because the kid is absolutely amazing. Just tremendous. Their website's opening page has various quotes from critics who have seen them. Some of the quotes are, "I heard the spirit of Jimi Hendrix...it was a group called Back Door Slam." Or, "A guitar god in training." Other people have recognized, now it's time for the rest of the world to do so.

So, in tradition with tonight's post. Here's the kid shredding a couple great covers, and the last one is his own.

"Red House"
"Almost Cut My Hair"
"Come Home"

#2 - Now on the flip side of this, I recently met one of my favorite artists, Davy Knowles. Knowles was gracious enough to talk to us, and even go as far as get my younger brother into a bar to see his band (the outdoor show was cancelled after our 3 hour drive), and even talk guitar with him after the show. It was truly unbelievable. He is a genuinely nice guy, and he plays great music. So, the result of this interaction was Davy becoming one of my TOP musicians. I love his tunes, and he is a great person. So he moves up.

#3 - So, world, try to check out Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam. He's a young bluesman who has been compared to everyone from Clapton to Hendrix to Rory Gallagher. He is a tremendous guitarist who just released his 2nd album, Coming Up for Air. The album is currently coming in at #8 on the Billboard Blues charts, and it peaked at #2. I've personally seen him 3 times live, and only a few weeks ago, he graciously allowed my brother and I to join him in bringing equipment in so my brother could get into a bar. He's a great young kid with a tremendous future and even better guitar work.


Three bits focused entirely on Davy. Yeah, he's that good. I've seen him live 4 times, 3 of which I was 3 feet from him, and once where he graciously allowed my underage brother to see him in a bar (due to outdoor issues, just read above). He's released two albums, Roll Away and Coming up for Air and is known for his phenomenal live shows. So, give him a shot. I've never found anyone disappointed when they see the greatest living guitarist in action.

Come back next week for another guitar virtuoso at #5.