A Conversation With Knox on His New Single "Love Letter"
Photo by Acacia Evans
[UNPUBLISHED]: Did you love music from an early age? How did growing up in Ohio affect your musical influences and who you listened to?
[KNOX]: I always really loved music but it didn’t hit me until I was 16 or 17 how much it was a part of my life, more so than my friends. All my friends were getting into the rap scene in 7th grade, and I was still listening to Camp Rock and High School Musical. That’s when I realized I think I loved music more than the average person. And growing up in Ohio, it felt like there was nothing to do, I lived in the middle of a cornfield. My parents’ house looks like Courage the Cowardly Dog’s house! If I wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have picked up the guitar. I didn't realize how much music came from Ohio until recently.
[UNPUBLISHED]: These days, who are artists you love?
[KNOX]: Band Camino, Nightly and Valley are my dudes always. Looking at my Spotify right now, Sam MacPherson, Amelia Moore is amazing. “i feel everything” is the craziest song I’ve heard. I worked with Ori Rose in LA and he’s super sick. And BLU EYES, we made a song together that I'm stoked about.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You first realized you wanted to create music in your freshman year of college. Can you talk more about what that revelation and journey was like?
[KNOX]: I was in school at Ohio University to be a teacher, and I spent my entire time watching videos of people making music like Jon Bellion and Ed Sheeran. I was fascinated with watching people make music. Music comes out of thin air and I was always obsessed with it. After being in school for 2 years, I knew I had one chance to pursue music and I’d hate myself if I didn't. So when I turned 20, I moved to Nashville. I couldn't see myself working a normal job. I knew I could figure it out if I put my mind to it.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You’ve since written songs for a wide range of artists. How did you find yourself growing and developing not only as a songwriter for other people but also for yourself?
[KNOX]: That was such a weird time in my life. I remember writing with John Harvie, and he really opened the floodgates for me and my friends. We have this thing going on in Nashville now and John was the first to put us on. That’s when Spencer Jordan and I first felt buzz around our names. Now I get to write with some of the Band Camino guys, and once you’re around people that believe in you it’s easy to build the confidence up. I don't have to feel insecure or nervous anymore as a songwriter. I’m definitely still learning and growing too.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Talk me through your songwriting process! Do you have a general practice (starting with a theme, image, line, etc.) or does it change with every song?
[KNOX]: It changes with every song. Inspiration can come from anything. One song I have coming soon started with a sentence. There are other times when my producer Cam finds a piano loop and it speaks to us.
[UNPUBLISHED]: From there, how does it transform into a polished song? Do you work with other musicians and producers?
[KNOX]: I write demos with a lot of people, so we’ll start with a blueprint. Cam is a huge part of how Knox music should sound, so we take it to him to produce. A really good friend of mine, Chandler Eggleston, is a great guitar player and if he has any ideas, he’ll lay them down. Same with my guitar player John Townsend. It’s a really collaborative setting. My friends and I all get a stamp of approval.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You recently released your debut EP How to Lose a Girl in 7 Songs, which features songs that went hugely viral on TikTok. Did you ever expect that kind of success/response?
[KNOX]: No, not at all. The songs were all supposed to be pitch songs to other artists. I showed them to my publishing company and my very good friend Lynn Oliver who signed me for my publishing deal told me to make a TikTok and put these songs out. Thank god she made me do that because life could look a lot different if I hadn’t.
[UNPUBLISHED]: I’m guessing that title is a reference to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Is that a movie you personally love and what were you hoping to say by referencing it?
[KNOX]: I’ve only seen that movie one time when I was like 8 years old actually! My friends Zach Smith and Leah Giordano and I were all coming up with rom-com titles and throwing out ideas. She said How to Lose a Girl in 10 Songs and I was like wait there are 7 songs, which then became How to Lose a Girl in 7 Songs. And it rolled off the tongue.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Turning now to your latest single, “Love Letter,” what is a lyric or production element you love or are proud of?
[KNOX]: Probably the concept in general. It’s about a girl’s redemption arc, she doesn’t need this guy and she’ll be ok. The song sounds deep and depressing but also has a hopeful feel of moving on and being ok. There’s some positivity you can find in it. I wrote it with Sarah Troy, and she’s written some straight-up bangers like “growing up can go to hell” by Marisa Maino. She also wrote on the Hastings EP, she has some fire cuts. It was my first time writing with her and I was really stoked. I told her about the song, of burning the love letters and love letting her down. I remember the look on her face and we were like, “Let’s go.”
[UNPUBLISHED]: How would you say it compares to your previous work?
[KNOX]: It’s definitely more rock-sounding. I love stepping out of my comfort zone to push the boundaries. Another song I have coming out is more pop-sounding than I’ve done before. I love getting out of my zone and want to show people I can do anything. Every day we’re just writing better and better songs, stepping out of our comfort zones, and pushing things as far as we can. I think diversity and not sticking to one thing is really important.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What future projects can fans look forward to hearing from you next?
[KNOX]: We have a bunch of songs coming up, features, and tours soon. So much coming, that’s what I can say! Our whole thing since day one has been go, go, go and we’re not pumping the breaks any time soon.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What do you love about performing live?
[KNOX]: Just seeing people connect with the songs. Seeing them singing every word with tears in their eyes is wild because we touched that person and it’s really cool. I look at songs as timestamps in my life that take me to another time, and it’s cool to be a chapter in someone else's life too.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What has been a special memory or memorable moment from tour so far?
[KNOX]: My first show ever was opening for Band Camino at Georgia Theater. It blows my mind saying that. Night 1 was crazy. A funny and wild memory was playing at Moroccan Lounge in LA where the woman who was on The Bachelorette, Katie from about two seasons ago, was singing every word in the front row.
