What would drive a band that has been together for over seven years, with an established fan base and experience touring in different areas of the country to change their name? For Queen City Knights, formerly Fish's Eddy, the answer was pretty easy.
Hippies.
"There were a few reasons, but for one, people had a preconceived notion that we were a jam band because of the Fish/Phish connection," Queen City Knights guitarist Jon Skowron said. "That couldn't be more wrong."
The Buffalo-based quartet is celebrating both their new label, Stereo Records, and the release of their "new" EP, "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things," by headlining a show with their best friends, local stalwarts League and Wide of the Mark next Saturday.
For the band's fans, the only thing new about "Nice Things" is its release date. Queen City Knights recorded the album over a year ago with Steve Poponi of Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A-Start in New Jersey.
"Steve was a real disciplinarian in terms of bad takes," said Mark Henry, the band's lead singer and guitarist. "There was no debating it if we recorded a sub-par track. It was going to be done again."
"That and he kept the peace between Mark and I while we were recording," Skowron added. "He was like a big brother. A 30-year-old, bearded newlywed kid."
The record itself is as fine a power-pop record as Buffalo has seen. The five songs on "Nice Things" are an indictment against poor songwriting. Skowron and Henry's guitar work almost always complement each other perfectly, and bassist Steve Carveth and drummer Devin Sutherland form a very tight rhythm section.
Still, that isn't what makes Queen City Knights a band worth checking out. Henry has as fine an ear for writing hooks as Weezer's Rivers Cuomo or Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong. His are the sort of choruses that stick in the mind for days, refusing to leave. That's not to say that Henry's wit comes about naturally.
"I usually take two to three hours before I go to sleep every night to write down as many witty, urbane comments as I can," he said with a sarcastic laugh. "Other times, I'll just pay people to write them for me, then pay them off not to tell anyone. It's quite expensive."
"Nice Things" also finds Henry in a different kind of lyricism than his work in Fish's Eddy. Whereas their last EP broached topics like racism after an interracial marriage in Henry's family, "Nice Things" is a lot more centralized on the darker side of relationships.
"It wasn't a conscious change," Henry said. "It was more a product of dealing with more trivial issues in my life. I guess I had a sort of sexual awakening. I had been involved in a relationship that was very on-again, off-again, and I went from being emotional to dealing with the dirtier side of, well, different girls."
Oddly enough, the finest track of "Nice Things" comes from the bonds of band-hood carved from difficulties in relationships. "Rock 1, Love 0," besides being one of the more clever song titles of this year, is the highlight of the record, with an anthemic hook and smart lyrics.
"No way you'll ever take me from the house these brothers built/ Eight hands, four hearts and a wall that might as well be real/ No way you'll ever top the feeling that this human machine makes me feel."
That is the sort of kinship inherent in Queen City Knights's music, as well as their live performance, which they've taken to the road over the past two years. The band is looking forward to their longest tour yet, as Stereo Records sends them out later this month for more than two weeks.
"Every time we go out, we go out longer," Skowron said. "It just feels like it's what we're supposed to be doing, very natural. It's a lot more stressful at home than on the road. Sure, you are with the same three guys every day, but when you get in the van and look out the window and think, 'we're leaving,' it's all worth it."
As for the name change, there are a couple more important facts to consider.
"It was so hard to tell people our name," Skowron said. "We'd be on the phone and say, 'Fish's Eddy.' They'd say, 'What?' We'd say it again. They'd say, 'Vicious Freddy? Fishes Steady?' It was ridiculous, and it just didn't fit our sound."
For Henry, it was a lot simpler.
"It's a rededication. We're moving on, and it's the beginning of a new era," he said.
Queen City Knights will be releasing "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" on Saturday, Dec. 18 at Broadway Joe's on 3051 Main St. The cost of the show is $5.
