the Guitar Knives.com

The Guitar Knives - Live from MIT

The Guitar Knives - New Song!

via youtube.com

This is a song that we are very proud of. The video is of us playing it at the MIT student center for the MIT Live Music Connection's final show of the 2009-2010 concert series.

This song represents a style transition for the Guitar Knives. We've taken more of a light feel to this while incorporating some interesting vocals on the breakdown 2/3 of the way through.

With Alex Arambula creating new tones on vocals and guitar, the blend is uniquely soft but powerful.

We're really proud of the simplicity of the design of this song as well as the integration of deep chordal strumming with a higher guitar part that sings in time with a strong backbeat from the drums and the bass.

It was good to rock out for our friends with the semester drawing to a close.

Enjoy!

GK Recorded, and to Play Battle of the Bands!

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Music:  Newly recorded, original songs from the Guitar Knives, Featured on the MIT Live Music Connection's (LMC) new Compilation Album, Like Never Before

The Guitar Knives upcoming gigs:

 - Jamming out for the MIT LMC Info Session - that's next Friday at 8 PM, both are at MIT's Student Center.
 -  MIT's Battle of the Bands on next Saturday (show starts at 7 PM), at MIT's Campus Preview Weekend, also at MIT's Student Center. 

We are very excited to be a part of this, as we'll playing along side MIT's other bands.  Also, as we were part of the concert series that the MIT LMC held this past year.  We really appreciate their help in getting connected with the music scene on campus.

Again, we will have these songs available on the MIT LMC 09-10 CD, Like Never Before.

For Battle of the Bands... - We'll be having a Brand New Song.  Noone has heard this except for the 3 of us, and we can't wait to debut it.  We feel that this song has a more arena-rock type of feel.

Hope to see you there!

 

New Logo + Recording a Demo

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Logo: The new GK logo - Inspired by a design from Vincent Lee, we just put the finishing touches on this one.  The green and black on white depict what a CD might look like.

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Music: Three originals from The Guitar Knives - Some of our first songs, these are near and dear to our hearts - soon we hope to add some vocal tracks.

The Guitar Knives is currently in the process of recording a demo as we renew our hunt for a vocalist. Mixing and mastering on home studio software is a lot of fun.  We've really tried to bring out what our sound is here.

We've been doing the demo in house (ie. not a recording studio) just to be able to get something that sounds fairly accurate to show to prospective singers and live venues.

These songs are the product of our 1st year as a band.  We'll be posting the last couple of the demo as well as some new stuff soon.

 

 

New Music from the Guitar Knives - Improvisational Session

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Music: An original improvisational piece (from today's practice)

We are back from winter break and getting ready for the coming year!  The Guitar Knives, are really excited to be performing several shows this semester and have begun writing new material.  We hope to improve and add upon our current original 6 song repertoire in good measure.

Enjoy this improv piece from today, and look forward to new songs coming up.  We can't wait.

Live Premiere of New Song by The Guitar Knives

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Photos: Opening a New Concert Series - LIve! at the Coffeehouse - The Guitar Knives - Me on Drums/Vocals, Tom Cervantes on Bass/Vocals/Piano, Alex Arambula on Guitar/Vocals,  Our friends swaying to a slower song of ours

Music: The Premiere of our new original, Get Away - this one's a bit rough but we feel gets to the root of the rock that we're about in an edgy way.

Here's an excerpt from the MIT band, The Guitar Knives' show on October 16th.

The event was a huge success - over 75 people came out to watch us play!  We're very committed to creating great music and it was a very powerful feeling seeing people enjoy it.

The song above is still undergoing minor edits and we deemed it ready for the show.  It's a harder rock that gets more at an AC/DC feel - part of the new area of our music we are exploring.

We are always striving to better at what we do.

Thanks again to everyone for coming out - we're so glad that you enjoy our music as much as we do.

Enjoy this new tune from The Guitar Knives!

More Photos from The Concert Series!

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The Guitar Knives opening up for a new concert series on campus!

Kevin Rustagi - Drums/Vocals
Alex Arambula - Guitar/Vocals/Harmonica
Tom Cervantes - Bass/Vocals/Piano

More Music and Videos to be posted soon!

Thanks to Jessica Lin for shooting these for us!

1st Show of the Year!

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Photos: The Flyer, Solo artist Levi Schmidt  (fellow performing artist)

The Guitar Knives are playing for the premiere of a new concert series!

The Facebook Event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179200850574

Friday October 16th at 8 PM, 3rd Floor Coffeehouse - MIT Student Center

Solo Artist Levi Schmidt www.myspace.com/levischmidtmusic and The Guitar Knives are both performing.

Be there!

Upcoming Show + New Song SNEAK PREVIEW

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Still in development - See what you think of our latest song!

This is an arrangement workout, we're very close on this one.

Listen on for the buildup...  It's worth the wait.

Also, Join us for our Debut Concert of the School Year!

OCTOBER 16, 2009 8 PM at MIT STUDENT CENTER Coffeehouse (3rd Floor)

We hope to see all of you there!

-The Guitar Knives

Some Jams from The Guitar Knives

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Music: The 1st take of an idea to go into our new songs and sound, a guitar/drums impromptu warmup session that evolved a bit

**For information on trying out, please read entries that follow as well and listen to our originals at the bottom of the page.

The Guitar Knives have been hard at work developing music as well as searching for a singer.  The search has been tough and we have as of yet to find someone who is a great fit for the band.

We have talked a lot about what we're looking for and this has been a really defining experience.  We thought about what makes us unique and why our current fans like our sound.  We're looking forward to holding more tryouts and finding someone with whom we can truly identify with musically.

On the music development side, we've been getting back to basics and seeing what really makes our sound.  We realized that its more than just strong rhythmic tendencies and gratifying progressions.  It's really about having a message that is well arranged and articulated while being pleasant and powerful to listen to.  We like the blues and we like rock and roll.

We'll definitely have photos from our upcoming gigs and a schedule on that.

We are very passionate about what we do and are ever striving towards a greater music experience.

Want to be a Rock Star?

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Now's your chance.  You could be up on stage here.

We are holding Tryouts for Frontman (or Woman) of The Guitar Knives.

So as many of you have heard, The Guitar Knives, one of MIT's premier Rock and Roll Bands, is looking for a singer/frontman.

Background: 

We are currently an MIT power trio that performs and creates original music in addition to performing a few originals. 

Our sound was best described as Jet meets U2, but scroll down and see what you think for yourself.  Make sure you check out multiple songs as we have a diverse sound.

We currently have a bassist, drums, and guitar and have been splitting the vocals up.  So now, we're looking for a frontman who can help by having a lot of stage presence and a powerful voice.

Range is not a big factor and we are not just looking for tenors.

Enthusiasm is key.  We are a tight-knit fast moving group that likes to get a lot done quickly.

Time commitment: Much Less than some of the other groups on campus (ie. a capella, symphony orchestra, etc.) We meet usually once a week for a few hours on the weekend with a few extra practices before shows.  We also enjoy checking out local shows and are always into improving our musical performance skills.

So, if you feel like you're into the possiblity of being a Rock Star, give us a shout and we'll be more than happy to give you a shot.

Shows: We are going to do a few shows this semester and next semester.  Again, not too big of a time commitment.  Next semester we plan on competing in some battle of the bands

Fan Base: We have a growing loyal fan base on campus.  We've gotten a lot of momentum and plan to roll with it, expanding the awesome.

TRYOUT DETAILS: Tryouts are by appointment - Please shoot us an email at theguitarknives@mit.edu or give our drummer a call at 832-638-1208.  We'll be having something going on Monday or Tuesday, but we're very flexible.

If you feel doubtful about your singing skill or stage presence, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!  Give it a shot and see what we think.  You never know what can happen or how you'll jive.

If you know anyone who is interested is as well.  Please feel free to pass this along.

Thanks and we look forward to hearing all of you!

-The Guitar Knives