8.30.2010

GUEST POST: DRUMMER KJ KNIGHT'S BOOK EXCERPT


As most of my readers already know, I am a good friend of Dennis "Machinegun" Thompson's of the MC5, The New Order, and more.. I work with MGT on his blog and other promotions. This past weekend I received an email from KJ Knight the first drummer of The New Order! Yet another piece of the puzzle! I have heard MGT, Jimmy Recca, Dee Gilbert (Dave's widow) and now we get to hear from KJ! Below is an excerpt from KJ's up coming book he generously sent to me to share with my readers. THANKS SO MUCH KJ


Written by KJ Knight:

I found out that one-of-a-kind front man Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, and bassist Jimmy Recca, of The Stooges, were living in West Hollywood at the Coronet Apartments on the Sunset Strip. When I played with Ted Nugent, our paths had crossed a few times, but I never really got to know them personally. One afternoon, I just went up to their fourth-story apartment, knocked on their door and reintroduced myself. They recognized me and remembered and invited me in.

We hit it off well, and before I left, they informed me that Doors manager, Danny Sugarman, was searching for someone to take the place of the late and great Jim Morrison, and he felt that Iggy could be Mr. Mojo Risin’s heir apparent. They added that they were going to jam with Doors keyboardist, Ray Manzarek, at Sugarman’s residence later in the week, and asked me if I wanted to come and rock out with them. Naturally, I said yes.



A few days after that, we met at Sugarman’s house, which was located on the later infamous Wonderland Avenue in Laurel Canyon . (In 1981, the gruesome murders involving pornstar John Holmes, better known as Johnny Wadd, took place at a house on this notorious street.) Iggy, who at the time was hooked on heroin and extremely undependable, never turned up, but we went ahead and jammed without him.

It was a unique honor to play with the likes of Manzarek and Asheton. These two legendary rockers each had his own recognizable and distinctive style. Ray, with his endless array of improvised melodic lines, crossed with Ron’s raw simplified driving riffs, took the music through some wondrous twists and turns.

We didn’t finish playing until after midnight and I was pretty beat, so I left my drums overnight at Sugarman’s house. The next day when I came to pick up my set, I found that someone had been playing on them, and had placed a large and heavy dirt-covered boulder inside the bass drum, evidently to prevent it from sliding.

This could have easily damaged the drum, and was a disrespectful and stupid thing to do. I demanded that Sugarman tell me who had done this, and he sheepishly admitted that it was Hunt Sales (one of Soupy Sales’ kids). I’ve never forgotten what that dumb ass did and if I ever catch up with the bastard, I’m gonna smash a shaving cream pie in his fuckin’ face!

Asheton was in the process of forming a new band, a hybrid version of The Stooges called The New Order, and he already had someone in place to manage the group. He invited me to join and I was thrilled. The band consisted of Ron, Iggy, Jimmy Recca and me. To Asheton and his manager (I can’t recall his name) this was serious business, and they had me go with them to a bank and sign a personal management agreement witnessed by a notary public.

The band rehearsed on a regular basis, but we never knew when or if Iggy was going to show up, which was extremely frustrating. We worked on three or four original numbers that Asheton had written, and I remember thinking to myself that these songs, musically speaking, were very basic and hardly a challenge to play, but I also thought that there was a genius to the simplicity of his material. One of Asheton’s songs was entitled “The Mombasa Flip.”

One day, following an early afternoon band practice that Iggy actually attended, I persuaded him to come with me to Hollywood Park . In order to do this, I promised that if I won anything I’d split it with him. Iggy had on a pair of jeans that were ripped wide open from his crotch to his knees and he wasn’t wearing any underwear. When he leaned forward you could clearly see his package.

Inside the racetrack, while I made my selections, Iggy wandered around the clubhouse drawing curious stares from those members of the betting public he encountered. We were only there for maybe three races before I lost all my money.


Ron Asheton in his New Order Shirt

On the way back to Iggy’s we stopped at my dad’s apartment to get something to eat, and I told him he could help himself. Right when Iggy was in the kitchen holding the refrigerator door open, my old man happened to walk into the room and saw him standing there, raiding the fridge with his dick hanging out. In shock, my dad blurted out, “Who the fuck are you?” Then he grabbed me and took me aside and said, “Get this fuckin’ weirdo outta here!”

Ron and Iggy

I was more than conscious of Iggy’s potential and star power, but due to his ever-present drug addiction, and erratic and unreliable behavior, I opted to bow out of the band after only a couple of short months. Asheton was fed up with Iggy as well, and made it known to me that he wanted to find a replacement. So I recommended vocalist, Dave Gilbert, with whom I had previously played in The Amboy Dukes.



I didn’t learn until many years later that Gilbert, in fact, joined The New Order and that in 1977 the band released an album on the Fun Records/Isadora Label (distributed by RCA Records) entitled Declaration of War. As for Iggy Pop, he eventually beat his heroin habit and went on to have an amazing career.





PS: This is a fantastic band I played with in 1968 based out of Cleveland. We performed at the Grande with Buddy Guy in November of '68. After I left the group Dale Peters went on to play with Joe Walsh in the James Gang. THANK YOU RICHARD FOR THE VIDEOS! 

15 comments:

Dee Gilbert said...

Enjoyed this excerpt and history from K.J and I had heard of him as I read about him in the note book my late husband Dave Gilbert wrote about his own life story prior to his passing. He wrote that K.J. had put him with "The New Order" with MGT and Ron Ashton. I also heard of him from Dave's former wife and my very close friend, Terry valdez who toured along with K.J and the Dukes.I look fwd. to reading more about all those guys! Thank you! Interesting!

K J Knight said...

Wow! You did a terrific job! I owe you big time! Thank you so much! As soon as my book is published I'll make sure you get a copy. Sincerely K J

Francis Puydebois said...

That's great Kim ...Unknown story ...

Retro Kimmer said...

Yes Francis unknown to me too!

M Savage Holland said...

Is it KJ Knight and the Knight Riders? WE started playing as they were leaving,Were they like a soul band at first(horns) I really like there music. Did you know the girl who went out with Fred Smith before he married,I think her last name was Kanarski?

Retro Kimmer said...

Not sure about KJ but Fred was married twice. Are you referring to first wife Sigrid?

KJ KNIGHT said...

Yes. The full name of my band was K J Knight and The Knightriders. We won the 1966 Michigan State Fair Battle of the Bands contest. There are a few chapters in my book about the group.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for using my video of the Amboy Dukes and K J Knight in your article. Richard.

Retro Kimmer said...

You're welcome Richard! It fits his story perfectly! Would you elaborate a little on how you made the video?

Kinks said...

"This sounds like a very cool book."

Anonymous said...

Hey Kimmer, I was a big Amboy Dukes fan and usually made it to any of their gigs near Cincy Ohio, where I lived at the time. The Dukes were playing at Wright State University in Dayton Ohio so my friend Tom and I went to get blasted by the best band out of Detroit, and I just happened to take my cheap cassette recorder to maybe get some record of the event. Well my batteries were getting low and a lot of the tape is not usable. I have worked on what was salvageable audio wise and added some pics of other concerts in the same time frame. I always wanted to be a photographer but that wasn't in the stars for me. LOL! Thanks, Richard.

Cineblax said...

Kimmer........ever since I found you and your blog, you have provided me with a continuous amazing history of Detroit Rock. Even though some days....I hate being as old as I am (and feel)..at the same time, I feel so lucky and privileged to have grown up through a time where "The Detroit Music Scene" provided me with weekend after weekend of seeing bands like "The Amboy Dukes", "SRC", "The Stooges", "Third Power", The Bob Seger System" and of course the band that made me want to play Rock and Roll..."THE MC5". I was lucky enough to play with one of Detroit's most legendary singers, "Mitch Ryder" for 13 years....and you and your site constantly remind me that DETROIT IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE "DETROIT ROCK CITY"
Billy C.

Retro Kimmer said...

Thank you so much Bill I needed that today! I try to get the un-gettable stories, photos and video for all the fans out there. I am so lucky to be able to meet all my favorite band members and share their stories with my readers. A job I don't take lightly. I appreciate the kind words and it makes it all worth while!
Kim xo

Eric Rasmussen said...

Great story. Look forward to the book coming out!

Eric Rasmussen said...

Great sory. Look forward to the book coming out.

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