BLACKBURN

Originally devised by Lee Knowles and consisting of himself and his brother, James Knowles, Blackburn started out as a musical duo, intent on creating a collection of catchy, melodic hard rock instrumentals. The overall goal was to introduce a vocalist capable of expanding on their music. In early 2009, a painstaking search began for a singer/lyricist. Lee and James intereviewed dozens of vocalists and, while each one had distinct vocal talent, none seemed to fit the tone the brothers were s...

Originally devised by Lee Knowles and consisting of himself and his brother, James Knowles, Blackburn started out as a musical duo, intent on creating a collection of catchy, melodic hard rock instrumentals. The overall goal was to introduce a vocalist capable of expanding on their music. In early 2009, a painstaking search began for a singer/lyricist. Lee and James intereviewed dozens of vocalists and, while each one had distinct vocal talent, none seemed to fit the tone the brothers were seeking. In October of that year, and purely by coincidence, Brent Hampton contacted the brothers, intent on writing lyrics and melodies for their tunes. Brent didn't consider himself a singer and had no intentions of singing for Blackburn. Within two weeks of collaborating with each other, however, Lee and James felt that Brent's written contributions not only fit the style of their music, but so did his voice. Unconvinced, Brent reluctantly agreed to sing for the band and the rest is history. Blackburn's debut album "All or Nothing" is essentially a playground for the group's creativity and a merging of styles. "We've all grown substantially from this experience and have fed off each other's creativity, claims Brent, "It's surreal to see how well we mesh creatively and hear skills improve and new skills emerge seemingly on a weekly basis. We're super stoked about the debut album, but we're even more stoked about projects to come because we now have more skills to work with than when we first started." The groups new goal is to share their creative process with fans by presenting songs as they are created or completed, offering listeners a stream of new material to digest. Eventually, the more popular songs will be included on subsequent albums. "We want our fans to have an ongoing listening experience," says Lee, "not have to wait a year or more between releases for music. Producing each song is a lot of work, but it's worth it to let people know we're still going strong." Be sure to explore the band's individual bios and keep checking your email for updates on new song releases.