Introducing The Knobby Knees
The Knobby Knees in Atwater Village/Kristin Conrad Photography/Copyright 2019
The Knobby Knees at Bon Vivant/Photo by Rick Jordan/Copyright 2019
Samantha Elin has joined with long-time collaborators Bob Gothar (guitar and vocals) and Steve Sadd (saxophone and vocals) to bring their old-school sound to L.A.-area venues. Formerly with Homemade Jam, they've adopted their new moniker, The Knobby Knees, in deference to a photo Samantha saw of herself. Rotating drummers/percussionists have included Lynn Coulter and Ben Rushing.
The Knobby Knees throw in a few originals, but their main focus: vintage tunes from the '20s and '30s with a sprinkling of early rock 'n' roll and country from the '50s and '60s. Classic tunes by illustrious songwriters such as the Gershwin brothers, Irving Berlin, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry and the like. Some of the tunes are almost a century old, but they still seem fresh and relevant today.
The songwriters of the Tin Pan Alley era churned out some of the greatest melodies and lyrics in the history of American music-- catchy songs like “Bye Bye Blackbird,” “Yes Sir, That's My Baby,” "Babyface," and “Blue Skies.” Always fun and exuberant with serious musicianship and vocal chops, The Knobby Knees brings alive this period of incredible songwriting with its exciting renditions of popular hits of the time and blues of the period. The up-tempo, splashy numbers are balanced with slower, sultry, smoldering tunes, making for great dance music.
The Players
A true Valley girl, Samantha spent her teenhood riding her bike to the Sherman Oaks Galleria, burying her nose in a book, and listening and dancing to CDs and her parents' records--hundreds of them. Aside from the pop and rock on the radio at the time, she steeped herself in her grandparents' music--musicals, folk, swing. After a professional life as a writer and editor, she has returned in recent years to her musical roots, writing songs and singing old-timey tunes.
Samantha's compositions collected at such a rapid rate, she released two CDs simultaneously--Blue Plate Special, a collection of folk and country tunes, and Late Bloomer, whose songs span from ukulele old-timey to anthem rock to indie folk. Her favorite covers to sing at shows are "Bad Luck Woman," a classic tune written and recorded by Memphis Minnie in 1937, and “A Guy What Takes His Time,” a clever ditty made famous by Mae West.
BOB GOTHAR - GUITAR/VOCALS
Like so many kids growing up in the '60s, Bob Gothar saw the Beatles for the first time, picked up a guitar and never put it down. A professional guitarist and bassist since the age of 17, Bob has been a fixture of the Southern California country and roots music scene for 40 years. He's played with dozens of acts locally and around the world, and has accompanied the likes of Peter Tork, J.D. Souther, Rosanne Cash, Rascal Flatts' Joe Don Rooney, John Oates, The Cowsills, the Eagles' Don Felder and Roger McGuinn of Byrds fame.
"Bobby G" has toured the United States, playing thousands of events, with surf band Papa Doo Run Run for the last 19 years. He's also the guitarist for popular rockabilly artist James Intveld, whose tours have taken Gothar from the GreazeFest in Australia to a wedding in Romania. He plays swing dances with Intveld's other band, The Swing Sinners.
When he's not busy playing live, Bob does session work and appeared on "King for a Day," Micky Dolenz's tribute album to Carole King. He cites Larry Carlton, Albert Lee, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Chet Atkins as some of his favorite players to listen to. In the rare moments he's not playing music, he enjoys his other passion--cooking, especially Indian food.
Steve's solos are breathtaking in their intonation, clarity and tastefulness. Not surprising considering his background. L.A.-bred, he's been a professional musician much of his life. His impressive resume includes performing or recording with such legendary jazz artists as pianist/composer Tom Garvin, saxophonist/clarinetist Art Pepper, drummer Jim Keltner, guitarist Thom Rotella, Roger Neumann, guitarist Rick Zunigar, and Tom Peterson, and many blues/R&B artists including Lloyd Price and Dallas Hodge, and hip hop/funk composer and bassist Ronnie Hudson.
Playing and singing many diverse styles of music, including R&B, Jazz, Classic Rock, Latin, Country and Pop/Top 40, Steve has toured internationally. He has performed with the opening acts at various concerts featuring the likes of Crosby Stills, Jefferson Starship and The Doobie Brothers.
Steve has entertained at the Academy Awards Governor's Ball and currently works as a studio musician, playing both saxophone and electric bass. For almost 40 years, he has been a voting member of the Recording Academy (formerly the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), which picks the winners of the Grammy Awards.