DAVY KNOWLES & BACK DOOR SLAM: Critical Quotes 2009

The 22-year-old British guitar whiz released his critically-lauded sophomore studio album Coming Up For Air as well as Live From Bonnaroo, recorded at the band’s 2008 performance at the festival.

DAVY and BDS have also received high praise for their dynamic live show. This year, they've appeared at major U.S. festivals–including Lollapalooza, Rothbury and Mile High–and opened for Jeff Beck.  Presently, they're the support act on summer tour with rock supergroup Chickenfoot. All of this has contributed to the band’s steadily growing fanbase.

See some of what the critics are saying about Coming Up For Air and Davy’s “real brilliance (New York Post)” live…   

“…there is enough swagger, anguish and fiery chops in this Peter Frampton-produced set to qualify 22-year-old British guitarist Knowles for mainstream blues-rock cred.’”

–Jerry Shriver, USA TODAY (3 out of 4-star review), June 16, 2009

“Knowles' soulful guitar work has been compared to that of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton–no small feat for a 22-year-old. Just as impressive as Knowles' blistering guitar work are his sparse acoustic arrangements; the album offers up a satisfying mix of both.”

–David Dye, NPR “WORLD CAFÉ”, August 6, 2009

“Those of us in the know were marveling at the last album by Davy Knowles' Back Door Slam, a trio from the UK's Isle Of Man who have somehow managed to take the classic Brit-blues sound… and make it sound fresh, new and exciting… This latest album is produced by Peter Frampton…and is in every way a winner!”

–Dave DiMartino, YAHOO MUSIC “New This Week” Blog, June 16, 2009

–Dave Rubin, GUITAR EDGE, September 2009

“Back Door Slam revisits its roots on several cuts, notably the kinetic chugger ‘Tear Down The Walls’ and ‘Keep On Searching,’ a brawny, swaggering rocker that brings to mind the late, great Free… there's no question Coming Up For Air is only going to accelerate his career trajectory even further.”

–Fred Mills, BLURT MAGAZINE, June 12, 2009

“Those smart enough to see the early set performed by 22-year-old British guitar whiz Davy Knowles and his band, Back Door Slam, were treated to an incredible performance of heavy blues rock played with clarity, heart and a ton of soul — like a reincarnation of the Spencer Davis Group. Short as the opening set was, there were zero missteps and real brilliance in the band's cover of David Crosby's ‘Almost Cut My Hair.’"

–Dan Aquilante, NEW YORK POST, August 19, 2009

“If a star is to be born at this year's edition of the Rothbury it may well be Davy Knowles, the blues-rock guitar whiz from the Isle of Man who led his band, Back Door Slam, through a blistering hour-long set on the festival's Sherwood Court stage. With a husky voice and nimble fingers, Knowles delivered fierce renditions of his own songs, including ‘River Bend,’ ‘Tear Down the Walls’ and ‘Keep on Searchin',’ the latter co-written with Peter Frampton, who produced the group's new album Coming Up For Air… those who saw him were certainly telling others about the hot one they missed.”

–Gary Graff, BILLBOARD.COM, July 3, 2009

“Knowles launched into an instrumental opener that left many of the uninitiated in the crowd with their mouths agape. He followed this with the originals ‘Tear Down the Walls’ and the arena ready ‘Riverbed’ before he nodded to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and launched into an absolutely ripping version of the classic ‘Almost Cut My Hair."’ Midway through the song, Knowles took yet another solo but added a twist. He didn't touch the strings with his picking hand for nearly a minute and kept the solo going with only one hand on the fret board, tapping and sliding his way to a screaming ovation from the steadily growing audience… Back Door Slam was a phenomenal power trio…”

–Tim Dwenger, JAMBASE.COM, July 25, 2009

“…damn, the kid killed it! His soloing was outrageous and his singing was strong and heartfelt–I’ll bet Stevie Ray Vaughn (who Knowles’ playing reminded me of) wasn’t even this good at 21–and his backing band Back Door Slam was really impressive in its own right, with a battleship-tight rhythm section and a tremendous keyboard player. Based on what I witnessed this afternoon, I highly recommend checking Knowles out…”

–Michael Alan Goldberg, PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY Blog, June 15, 2009

“Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam greeted the crowd… with an instant wall of sonic energy built on screaming guitar and thunderous drums… Performing tracks from its new album Coming Up For Air early in the set, the three-piece band roused the crowd to repeated applause. ‘Tear Down the Walls’ featured a ferocious, extended, intensely intricate Knowles guitar solo.”

–Erik Ernst, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, June 30, 2009

“Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam was outstanding in its brief set of blues-based rock. Knowles, lead singer and guitarist, was impressive in both roles. They covered the CSNY song “Almost Cut My Hair” the way that the iceberg hit the Titanic – they destroyed it. Knowles played so hard and so well, the pressure seemed to be on the main act.”

–Dan Duke, VIRGINIAN PILOT, August 27, 2009

“British guitarist Davy Knowles also proved himself to be a formidable young talent with his band Back Door Slam. The 22-year-old's blistering blues-rock strains perfectly complemented his I-sound-way-older-than-I-look, Jonny Lang-like voice on the hard-driving ‘Tear Down the Walls’ from his recent Coming Up for Air CD, and his powerful cover of Crosby Stills and Nash's freak-flag anthem ‘Almost Cut My Hair.’"

— John Sinkevics, GRAND RAPIDS PRESS, August 14, 2009

“The crowd that saw Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam execute an acrobatic set at the Birchmere last night probably hadn’t seen guitar mastery like that since they were Davy Knowles’s age. The audience skewed middle-aged… But that didn’t stop Davy from turning on the electricity and sending portions of the crowd (one exuberant “young” lady in particular) to fits of hooting and flailing with his vintage blues howl and exceptionally lithe digits.”

–Steve Kolowich, WASHINGTONCITYPAPER.COM, August 26, 2009

“…he started to get standing ovations at the end of each song and a long ovation at the end of his show. Rarely have I ever seen an unfamiliar band do so well in an opening slot, but this guy’s the real deal and full of talent. His guitar work finds the fine line balancing between what guides a song along and being too flashy. As a friend put it, 22-year-old guitar players should not have that much wisdom when it comes to songwriting… Knowles is going to quickly make a name for himself and play bigger and bigger venues. He’s an incredible talent that you need to keep an eye on. After all, someone has to fill Clapton’s shoes in the future and this kid’s the one who can do it.”

–Jeff Hahne, CREATIVELOAFING.COM (Charlotte, NC), August 27, 2009

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