The Dirty Knobs

The band's story

The Dirty Knobs began as Mike Campbell's club band, a place for his own songs and favorite covers outside the Heartbreakers. Their first gig was February 23, 2001, at 14 Below in Santa Monica. The first lineup went by nicknames: Gator (Mike Campbell), Snake (Ron Blair), Tiger (Steve Ferrone) and Ape (Jason Sinay).

That lineup played small clubs up and down California, and its last show was September 3, 2002, at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley. That fall the Knobs stopped playing live: Ron Blair had rejoined the Heartbreakers, and the band said three Heartbreakers in the Knobs was never the intention. In March 2003 Mike announced the Knobs would carry on without Tiger and Snake.

By 2004 bassist Lance Morrison ("Crawdaddy") and drummer Matt Laug had joined Mike and Jason, and that band played the clubs for years, from the SOhO in Santa Barbara to Cozy's and the Joint. The records finally came with Wreckless Abandon (2020), External Combustion (2022) and Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits, with Chris Holt on guitar by then. Matt Laug left to become AC/DC's drummer as that last album was being finished.

The pink 45

Long before the albums there was a 45: "Feelin High," a Mike Campbell song the Knobs had been playing since at least October 2001. It went up for pre-order on the official site in December 2010, limited to 500 copies on pink vinyl with a picture sleeve, and all proceeds went to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. See a copy in the Fan Vault.

thedirtyknobs.com

The band's official site was built and run by Ryan, who also runs the Farm. It launched on May 1, 2004, and in December 2010 it relaunched as a blog with news from the band. Its message board is archived here as the Dirty Knobs Board, 2007–2011.

Fans kept their own records too. Knobette's fan site, wildbluegator.com/dirtyknobs, logged club dates, setlists and photos from 2001 to 2006, and many of the early shows, setlists and photos here come from its Wayback Machine copies, along with posts from the First Farm board.