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Chris Knapp
(July 2003 Issue)
Persistence Although
The Ataris' Chris "Kid" Knapp is a relatively young twenty-something,
barely scoring his first
major-label release, his musical career
already has plenty of age and wisdom to show for itself.
"I would
say never give up
hope," he says. "I've had many kids come up to me and
ask how I got to the point where I am. I always tell them that
there
were so many times when I thought this would never work out, that there
was just no way to ever make it in the music
industry. But there was
always this thing in the back of my head that would not let me give up."
It was through this
persistent attitude that Knapp came to join the
Santa Barbara, California-based pop-punk Ataris in 1997 after the band
had
lost their original drummer. The group needed an immediate
replacement for an impending national tour. Knapp's temporary
status
quickly became permanent, allowing him to build a healthy recording
history, which includes several releases with
independent label Kung Fu
Records, most of which was recorded with the assistance of
Descendants/All drummer and
producer Bill Stevenson.
"I never really had any experience in a recording studio prior to The
Ataris, Knapp admits, "and I
think Bill figured this out quite fast. He
showed me how to tune the drums properly for recording, how to use
different tape
tricks to get rid of unwanted noise, and how to muffle
various drums to get the best recording possible. He also turned me
on
to using bigger cymbals, such as 19" and 20" crashes, which I never
used before. But I ended up really liking the
consistency of sound they
produced."
Knapp was forced to engage his quick learning ability, positive
attitude, and
acquired drumming prowess for the recording of The
Ataris' new major-label disc, So Long, Astoria,
tracking with
producer Lou Giordano (Goo Goo Dolls, Sunny Day Real
Estate). Knapp explains that the process was yet another
learning
experience. "Working with Lou was amazing because he was such a
professional," Knapp says. "He knew exactly
what to do. If there was a
specific sound we needed on the drums, he knew exactly how to go about
getting it. This was also
my first opportunity to go into
pre-production with a producer. I didn't know what to expect, because
with the indie
releases I just rehearsed with the band a lot, then went
in and threw down the drum tracks as
is."
Waleed Rashidi
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