College Times

Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Music

Media Credit: Adrian Cowin

One thing Davy Knowles has learned in the last year: Things usually don't happen this quickly for a blues-rock band from the Isle of Man.

In 2007, Knowles, then 19, and a "terrified" Back Door Slam turned up in Austin, Texas, one of 1,400 bands showcasing their wares over four nights at the South By Southwest Music Conference.

"We were out of our comfort zone," says the guitarist-singer-songwriter. "We had been gigging on the Isle of Man for a long time, and now we were in Austin at South By Southwest competing for an audience. It was quite amazing - and nerve wracking.

"Our first gig was in a little Irish pub (B.D. Riley's) that was absolutely packed. We went on after (California country-roots band) Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, and had to cart our gear through this packed place."

Back Door Slam was a big hit, playing Knowles' zesty originals and covering Jimi Hendrix's "Red House" and John Hiatt's "Ridin' With the King," and the enthusiastic reaction proved a harbinger. The power trio, which includes 21-year-old drummer Ross Doyle and 20-year-old bassist Adam Jones, has since opened for the likes of Styx, Don McLean, REO Speedwagon, The Who and Corinne Bailey Rae.

"It's unbelievable how far we've come," says Knowles, a day after playing at this year's SxSW. "It feels so great. Actually, we're relieved that after a year, we're still doing it."

Back Door Slam (named for the Robert Cray song) has built its U.S. fan base largely through extensive touring, and on its latest trek is unveiling a new song, a "really, really happy gospelly blues thing," called "Tear Down the Walls." But the group's debut, "Roll Away," released last June, also has contributed to a surge in popularity.

"We wanted to try to get that live sound we developed after two years of playing and songwriting," says Knowles. "It was (intended as) a snapshot of what we were about."

Knowles was born and raised on the Isle of Man, a 32-mile-long and 8-to-15-mile wide territory off the northwest coast of England, opposite Liverpool, and the northeast coast of Ireland, near Belfast, at the geographical center of the British Isles.

Knowles first determined to become a musician when he was about 12. He was riding in a car with his father, a deep-sea diver who did everything from archaeological exploration to undersea welding on oil rigs in the Middle East in the 1970s and 1980s, when he heard Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing." "I said to myself, `I gotta learn to play guitar,'" recalls Knowles. (Has Knowles met Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler? "Not yet," he replies. "I'd be like a giddy schoolgirl if I did.")

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