What are your names?
Hi, I’m Max Trinz (guitar, vocals). The other 3/4s of Knifey are Phil Linton (lead guitar), Kyle Marcovecchio (bass), Ammar Karam (drums).
What is your genre of music?
We’re led to believe we’re a ‘surf punk’ band, but in reality we’re probably less surf and less punk than we think. I like to tell people we’re rock and roll, as there’s a large rock ‘n roll and pop influence in our music.
How did you come up with the bands name?
Phil loves the Simpsons and named the band after the national sport of Australia, Knifey Spoony.
Give us a little bio about you as a band and individuals.
We all live and work in Toronto, Canada. The city and the area are awesome in the summer and then super cold and dreary in the winter – I think that’s reflected in our music. We came together over the course of a year or so and have been playing gigs in the city for about a year. Our debut LP, ‘Beached’ comes out at the end of September, and we’re so excited to get our music our there!
Are you a signed?
Not yet 😉
You just released your new song ‘Rio’, tell us what its about.
Rio is about a town that doesn’t exist. I was in this kind of American Graffiti headspace when I wrote the lyrics for this song and couple others on the album (like, Beach Lightning). I was thinking about greasers cruising around in their cars in this fictional town. It’s something I haven’t done before, but it’s kind of the only way I could relate those abstract feelings of being on summer break from school as a kid and feeling like you rule your town, to the music we wrote.
What message are you trying to tell your fans?
I don’t know if we have a single message for our fans. I think our music is more a reflection of everyday life in Toronto than anything else. If anything it might be something like: appreciate the life you’ve got and make the best of every day. There’s a theme of longing for the seashore and warm weather that keeps reappearing in our songs; it might have something to do with the mundane troubles you run into living in a major city, dating, and working full time. Basically, we just want to have fun playing music and help people escape from those tedious everyday stresses.
Describe the track in two words.
Fun. 😀
What was the writing process like?
Basically, Phil came to us with the instrumental music done, and I threw some words and melodies overtop. The instruments/rhythm were so fun and lighthearted that I felt I needed some cheerful lyrics to match that vibe. This was definitely a song that came together quickly, and without a ton of modification.
What was the recording process like?
We recorded with Adam Bently and Jordan Mitchell in Hamilton and had this song and a bunch of others from the upcoming album, Beached, done in 2 days. We love those guys and had an awesome time recording with them.
Who did you show the single to first?
I can’t speak for the other guys, but I think I showed it to my half-brother first.
What was their first reaction?
I think he said ‘it’s not my style of music, but it sounds great’ hahaha!
Do you have any gigs or festivals coming up?
We had a couple big shows in Toronto this summer and have kind of taken a little break in setting stuff up the last couple weeks. We’re playing a house party in Burlington, ON in September. We love the house party vibe so we’re super excited for that. We’re also currently setting up an album release in September, and then hope to get on a bunch of shows in the fall. Ideally we want to be playing as much as we can this fall!
What made you go in to music?
The passion we have for playing and writing it. There’s so much beauty and emotion that can be conveyed through music that to me it always seemed so worthwhile to get into. Ever since I was a kid I remember thinking it would be such an amazing life to live. Hopefully we get to play and write for a while yet!
Do you play any instruments?
I play guitar mostly. Personally, I was really into mandolin for a while and was playing a lot of bluegrass and classical, but got back into guitar pretty heavily when the band started rolling.
Who are your influences?
Personally, I’m a huge fan of Blink, CCR, The Police, Wavves, FIDLAR. I know as a band we drew a lot of influence from FIDLAR and Wavves, but we’ve all got pretty diverse music backgrounds, and have collectively listened to music in almost every genre. It’s tough to pinpoint where the band’s influences come from sometimes because you end up including such small aspects of stuff you love in your own music until it turns into a tapestry of various influences. That being said, we’re also into a bunch of local Toronto bands like PUP, Fade Awaays, Goodbye Honolulu, Passport Radio etc. I’m sure I’m missing a ton of others, but you should all check ’em out if you get a chance!
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Phil and I simply love writing music. It’s so easy now with all the recording technology you can have on your laptop – when we have ideas we just record them and work around that initial idea. I usually hear something, or get into a specific band or genre for a couple weeks and write stuff that’s in the vein.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Hopefully not working in an office! All of us work full time, but I think we’d all love to be playing music instead. Personally, that’s been my dream ever since I was a kid. I hear a lot of people talking about how hard touring is, and I’m sure it’s not easy, but it’s what I want to do more than anything.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
We all have full time jobs, so that’s a huge part of everyday life unfortunately. I read a lot of history, and do some historical/fiction writing outside music.
If you could collaborate with one UK Artist or band who would it be and why?
I’d love to work with Catfish and the Bottlemen or Noel Gallagher – I think that guy is absolutely hilarious and super chill. I’m sure Phil would love to work with Radiohead. Can’t speak for the other guys, but we do listen a lot of UK music collectively.
if you could collaborate with one US artist or band who would it be?
I’d love to do something with any of the guys from Blink, or John Fogerty, just cause I idolized those guys when I was growing up. I think we could do something pretty cool with Wavves or FIDLAR too. We love those bands so it would be a real dream to work with them.
What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
Again, I can’t speak for the other guys, but I remember being at a grade 6 school dance and hearing All The Small Things, and that’s what really did it for me. I thought the chorus was the coolest thing ever. It’s actually a tough question because I’ve gone through so much different music over the years that there’s been so many revitalizations for me. I could probably toss Hendrix’ ‘Fire’, CCR’s ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’, Chris Thile playing Bach’s E Major Prelude on mandolin, and FIDLAR’s ‘Cheap Beer’ into the mix.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
‘Don’t be an idiot’ – Michael Scott
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
I would say: forget about being loyal to a genre; listen to everything. Chris Thile, who I mentioned above, always says ‘there’s two genre’s of music: good and bad’. It’s true. The more instruments you can learn, the more genres you listen to, the more flexible you become as an artist, the more successful you’ll be. It all contributes to making you better and more interesting as a musician.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
‘A small crop is enough’. It’s from a Roman poem, and basically means that you don’t need a lot of material possessions to make you happy if you have someone you love and do something that feels rewarding to you.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Phil, Kyle, Ammar, manners, and my gear.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
We’d all love it if you gave us a follow at
Instagram or Facebook
You can also check out our music at Soundcloud or on Spotify!
Thanks so much for inviting us to do this interview! It’s been a blast!
