NEW SINGLE WALLACE OUT NOW

Who are ‘Bad Knees’?

We formed at the beginning of 2024, initially as a trio. Our drummer left in autumn 2024, which led us to recruit a new drummer and bring in an extra guitarist.
The band now consists of four members: Michael Jewitt (vocals and guitar), Matthew McGarry (bass), Rodrigo Fernandez (lead guitar), and Seb Cherry (drums). Since then, we’ve become a really tight-knit group, which I think is reflected in our music.

For someone yet to discover you, how would you describe your music?

I usually describe it as indie rock – it can be quite melodic and poppy, but it also features heavy breakdowns and instrumental sections.
What our genre actually is might be best left for someone else to decide – it’s been a subject of great debate within the band, but I think we’ve settled on indie rock. There are definitely elements of grunge, punk rock, and pop punk in there too.

What inspired you as a band?

I went through a long period of not making music, especially during COVID. When everything opened up again, it took me a while to stop doubting what I was writing and get back out there. I’ve always been a Nirvana fan, but reading Heavier Than Heaven, the biography of Kurt Cobain, reminded me that music can be as simple as expressing your emotions with the help of a distortion pedal. That basically formed the foundation of our sound. Although our style is different, bands like Viagra Boys, IDLES, and Amyl and the Sniffers inspired me to be authentic and not hold anything back.

What’s your pre-show routine? Who’s the diva in the band?

I don’t think there are any divas in the band – which probably means I’m the diva. The others are usually much more relaxed, enjoying a couple of drinks and hanging out. I tend to get pretty flustered before we go on and have a bad habit of taking up smoking again about an hour before we start. We don’t really have a set pre-show routine. Honestly, we hate the hour or two before a gig – there’s a lot of waiting around and nervous energy. You just want to get on stage and play.

Where do you feel you fit into the music landscape?

We try to bring a DIY ethos and make our music as accessible as possible. We’ve taken to busking on the streets of Edinburgh, which is a great way for people to engage with the music whether they can afford to pay or not.
We also put on quarterly donation-based gigs at Banshee Labyrinth – mainly to cover venue hire and pay the support bands.
There’s a big appetite for alternative music, but people might not want to buy a ticket for bands they’ve never heard of. We’re flipping that – here are some great bands, and if you enjoyed yourself, please chuck us some coin. These nights, and the busking, have been really positive for us.

What are your favourite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?

We all grew up on punk rock, thanks to Kerrang! and the Tony Hawk video game franchise. Within the group, we listen to a lot of rock, punk, pop punk, hip-hop – anything really. Being in Edinburgh, it’s hard to overlook folk music too. I think we all have an appreciation for any kind of music – which I believe (perhaps mistakenly) most musicians do. Every genre has its merits. Even commercial stuff that’s easy to criticise can be pretty good – I’m not into tearing down other artists.

Is there a story behind the band’s name?

My dad fell off scaffolding at work – several stories high – and basically crushed both of his ankles. He spent ages recovering, and due to the imbalance in his walk, he developed pretty bad knees.
I was always talking to him about it at the time, and when it came to naming the band, the idea just popped into my head.

What would you say is your greatest strength as a band?

We’re a super tight support network and have become good friends. It sounds obvious, but getting along makes everything easier – no big egos or bad eggs. We always hype each other up and look after one another outside of music, which helps us stay relaxed and grounded.

What would you say is your greatest weakness as a band?

Time constraints – we all have to work and do this in our spare time, because there’s just no money in it. We’d love to play more, write more, rehearse more, be better on social media, market better – all the things a band needs to do. But we’ve got jobs, partners, lives. The dream is to reach a point where this is our full-time job and we can give it our all –maybe one day.

What can fans expect from your new single, Wallace?

The song is super catchy, and it’s got a really sick breakdown. It’s about a stray dog I found wandering near where I live. I managed to coax it into my garden and keep it safe while I looked for its owner. In the meantime, the dog dug up and chewed through my garden – the place was a pit. Eventually, we got him to a dog home, who later told us his name was Wallace and that his owner had collected him. The song imagines that Wallace wandered off because he was bored and lonely – and how I often feel like doing the same.

What music artists have influenced your work?

As I mentioned earlier, Nirvana is the obvious one. But I’ve also been really inspired by bands we’ve seen locally – Versaints, OILER, LIVID, Palejoy, and Low Level Monk.
We’ve played with them and I’ve been blown away by how good they are. Honestly, I find it more inspiring to see other small bands like us putting on shows worthy of much bigger stages.

Who would you most like to collaborate with artistically?

In a dream world, I’d love to do something with Viagra Boys. They’re so surreal and completely different from anything else – almost like the perfect band for the insane world we live in right now.

What was your worst performance?

We played at a venue that I’d rather leave unnamed, but basically, we did a gig in a town while a festival was happening in the next town over. As a result, we ended up playing to just the support bands and the sound tech—no actual audience. It was super demoralising, but I’d say any musician worth their salt has probably had a similar experience at some point.

What’s the most difficult obstacle you’ve ever faced, and how did you overcome it?

Probably getting this single out. With our last release, we used a studio and had someone else handle the mastering. This time around, our guitarist Rodrigo recorded, mixed, and mastered everything himself. It took a lot of time, trial, and error to get it to a standard we were all happy with. Financial constraints made it tempting to skip recording altogether, but if you want to overcome obstacles, sometimes you’ve just got to do it yourself—or find someone like Rodrigo who can.

What is your creative process when making music? Do you work with others, or is it just you?

It usually starts with a riff that pops into my head—I’ll record it on my phone so I don’t forget it. Then I forget it anyway, and months later I’ll go back through my recordings. Maybe 20% of those ideas get turned into demos I record at home, and less than half of those get sent to the band for rehearsal. At that point, the others pitch in with ideas to improve the songs. It really takes playing them live a bunch of times before a song feels “done.” That’s when it’s been properly stress-tested.

Where do you see your musical career in 10 years?

It’s hard to say—I’m not even sure what I’m doing tomorrow, to be honest. In the next few years, I’d love for us to become well-known in Scotland through our gigs and busking. We’ve got the gear and setup to busk anywhere in the UK, so looking further ahead, it would be amazing to do UK tours that combine busking and live shows.

Instagram – @badkneestunes Facebook – @badkneestunes Bandcamp – https://badkneesband.bandcamp.com/