The Knuckleheads- Rising Band & Musicians

Edition Sixty-Seven- Week Sixty-Seven:

Written by: Mercedes Barreto

What began The Knuckleheads? Is there a story to the name?

“I had been playing lead and slide guitar with some of the bigger names singer/ guitar players including Drew Simone, Carrie Zazz, Ariana Dingman, Vinny Piazza, John & Jo of Carbon, Geoff Hartwell of Soulshine, as a sort of duo residency every Friday at the Mahopac Inn as the pandemic subsided. I started to work more regularly with my friend, Drew Simone, who moved back from Austin, Texas. Of course, my thoughts were “Let’s start a band!” I’ve played with probably a couple of dozen bands with unusual and sometimes just simply bad names. One day, I happened to be channel surfing and stopped on watching The Three Stooges. Hearing Moe say “You Knuckleheads” smacked the idea of a band name into my head. Then I came up with the tag line “Party Like a Stooge!” I guess since I shave my head, that makes me “Curly!” I thought of bringing Mike Seminara, on bass and vocals, in and he and Drew’s harmonies turned out to be amazing. Tyler Galasso on drums is a prodigy. I’ve told him, “I’m a guitar player, but I can watch you play drums all day!” He does this amazing double bass pedal speed part on our extended “Alive” outro jam we kind of sync up on that is phenomenal. He is a clock with timing, too, and very dynamic on all of our songs. So now, we have a Knuckleheads duo, trio and full band!”

What are some recent advances for 2024?

“We affectionately call our recent year as “The Route 6 Tour.” We like to play locally and conveniently at places like Argonne Rose Brewing Company, Gleason’s, The old Putnam Steakhouse, La Famiglia and the Mahopac Inn. We also play places like The Wicked Wolf North in Westchester and upcoming at the Sail House in Tarrytown as well as the Bronx. This past year we played a regional Grilled Cheese Festival and would like to do more. Unfortunately, due to scheduling issues, we’ve had to turn down gigs at Daryl’s House and the Mid- Hudson Civic Center. Definitely want to play those venues this year!”

Who are 3 top music industry executives who the band would be honored to work with?

Kevin Huvane, CAA. We went to grade school together at St. Nicholas of Tolentine in the Bronx and I’m still friends with his brother who lives locally. Rick Beato is a brilliant musician, teacher and producer I’d really enjoy learning from. Rick Rubin would be insane to work with, too. Local producer, Alex Salzman, would also be a true pleasure to record originals with in the area. Legends all. Drew has an amazing collection of terrific original tunes that would be awesome to professionally produce.”

Which two songs performed by the band are considered to resonate best with the listening audience? Why and how so?

“We are blessed to receive great response to everything we do. The best responses are probably from covering Prince’s “Purple Rain,” our mashup of “Jeremy & Alive” by Pearl Jam and another dance mashup of “Funky Music,” “Rapper’s Delight” “Superstition” and “Seven Nation’s Army.” It’s always very gratifying to play for people that appreciate good, live music.”

Why will the band be successful for years to come? How do you measure your success so far?

“We’re all good friends with no ego issues unlike other bands that come and go. We play songs from great singers and bands like Chris Stapleton, Chris Issak, The Eagles, Rob Thomas and Santana, Luke Combs, the Allman Brothers, Stone Temple Pilots, and many other pop, country, rock, blues and dance music.”

Where can we find your music, and why should we? What makes The Knuckleheads iconic?

“You can find our music online at Facebook.com/knuckleheadsmusic.com. What makes us iconic is we put our own “Knuckleheads” spin on tunes and combine songs in unique mashups that can innovatively create on the fly. We have two lead singers in Drew Simone and Mike Seminara. Drew competed for The Voice and has a wide range from country, to pop, to rock songs as does Mike, who’s a music teacher at Putnam Music. You never know what can happen at one of our gigs!” 

Questions For The Photographer-

What theme or vibe stood out to you in this photoshoot? Why and how so?

“I saw immediately that this band was very professional, everyone knew their parts, the guitarist Tom is one of the BEST guitarists I have worked with since I have been doing music photography. The combination of an acoustic guitar on Rhythm and the hot electric on Lead was a nice contrast. Later I learned the band doesn’t rehearse together, they agree on what songs to play then get together at the show and play it, that’s professionalism.”

Would you be recommending The Knuckleheads further along for future opportunities?

“I highly recommend this band to any venue what wants to hire a band doing covers, I understand they are also working on originals, very good band.”