In a gritty industrial area of Van Nuys, California, behind a powder-coating plant, lie a dozen neatly stacked repurposed shipping containers. One of these is “home’ to The Knitts, a band with a surprisingly long history and a short fuse, ready to explode onto the music scene with the release of “RETREAT”, their much-anticipated debut full-length album. 

The Knitts’ origin story goes way back to the last years of the Knitting Factory on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. “That’s strangely how the band name came about, from Charlie’s time working the box office,’ recalls Justin Volkens of his brother, Charlie Volkens time in the box office while some early band members hung around the venue. Now The Knitts are made up of two actual brothers—Justin (Vocals), Charlie (guitar)—plus Victor Portillo (Lead Guitar), Jaime “Jimmy” Luque (Bass) and Alex Oliver (Drums). 

The Knitts, they’re not on the grid, don’t play to click tracks, don’t know how to work a sampler or program a drum machine. They don’t growl or scream, they sing. They’re not choreographed, they move. They don’t pose, they just smile and laugh. 

“A big part of being recognized is not doing the same thing-and isn’t that what rock and roll is about? It’s about adapting, bending and breaking the rules.”