Photographed & Written by: Matthew Terry
ABOUT THIS SERIES:
Over the past year I’ve focused on the local haunts that musicians, musicals, and music fans call home and fill with the warmth of audible expression. In 2025 I will begin delving into the musicians who fill those haunts and leave memories like ghosts in the structures that represent the local scene. Much like these venues, each musician possesses their own personality and motivation, and I think it’s important to speak of that motivation because artistic expression allows us to explain ourselves in ways that extend beyond our own subjective experiences.
As a creative person who often unearths inspiration from outside of the medium I am utilizing at the time, I have always been intrigued by what causes someone to tick. What moves their mind? What must be torn down to rebuild something beautiful? And what keeps us progressing forward when so much of our reality seems set in old habits? Expression seems easy in the days of the social media blitz, but to truly connect with others in a world run on separation – especially when that connection is formed from something that only exists because of an artist’s hand, mind, and the electric space between the two – it’s nearly worth worshipping…or at the very least is worth attempting to understand better.
For the first installment of this interview series, I met up with Lady Igraine at Raccoon Motel for their album release show. Though they are relatively new to the local scene, you’ll surely be seeing these guys more. They possess an undeniably powerful sound that is hard to pin to a single description. At The Raccoon last Friday, the crowd was eating it up. It’s refreshing to find a new local group with a vibe all their own, and to see a crowd come out to support local acts with such engagement. I have a feeling you’ll be hearing and seeing Lady Igraine far more frequently moving into 2025. With a new album out – and another about to start recording – they have plenty of ammunition to fulfill that feeling.
Let’s start off with some introductions. Who/What makes up the band known as Lady Igraine and how long have you been playing together?
J: Cheers! Thanks again for doing this, Matthew! We’ve been playing together for just over a year now. Which is crazy because it feels like no time at all, and yet I feel like I’ve been playing with these guys my whole life. I’m John Sorensen by the way, drums and percussion.
C: I’m Clay Knutson, and I’m the guitarist and vocalist for Lady Igraine. And I second the notion that it feels like we’ve been playing together for much longer. There was just such a natural chemistry right off the bat.
G: Lightning in a bottle baby! I am Graham the bassist. Crash landed into something beautiful here.
We’ve all heard stories of classic bands finding members via newspaper/street ads, as well as through meeting at an open jam. So, what brought you together? Were you friends prior to the band?
J: We met at a small open jam in the back of a clothing store called Hilltop Closet. A mutual friend J Wolfskill introduced us. He also played with us for a while until branching off to focus on Wolfskill and the Wild. Graham and Clay had met previously and have a pretty amazing story.
C: Graham and I had met very briefly in rehab before Graham was pulled out due to a medical emergency. It wasn’t until about a month or so later that I ran into him again on the street in downtown Davenport and discovered that he played the bass. I remember the night we met Johnny he brought a pair of bongos to an open jam, which he absolutely murdered, so naturally we assumed he’d be a monster behind the kit. On our first night we wrote the song that became ‘Tempest’ and at that point it felt as if fate had a hand in bringing us all together. Serendipitous.
Of course, one can assume where the name came from, but for clarity, where does the name originate from? What caused this choice? Is it a name you feel is fitting for your sound/energy as a band?
J: It was clear right away that Clay was very into Arthurian lore. He talked often of chalices and grails and slaying dragons with rock, etc. We all got on board with it. It gave us a theme to grab onto right away. I had a John Steinbeck book about King Arthur that I picked up for inspiration when we were looking for a band name, and front & center on the first page mentioned Lady Igraine, who is King Arthur’s mother and a royal bad ass in her own right. Her name jumped off the page at me. The boys concurred and that was that. Luckily it came right away because naming a band is usually unnecessarily difficult. So it was nice to pick one and run with it early. I think musically we align with that theme. Some parts are somber, some inspiring, some epic and monstrous. And if you listen to Clay’s lyrics, you’ll find themes of love and love lost, weathering storms, battling, defending honor, family, uncertainty, overcoming the odds…all things that make up a good epic saga.
C: I think it was when I saw ‘Excalibur,’ the 1981 film, for the first time that I became sort of obsessed with the history/mythology of King Arthur. It’s a story that’s been told countless times through the centuries and I think I wanted our name to have that kind of weight to it. To speak on our love of stories.
Speaking of sound, I know genres can be limiting/a bit unnecessary, and art is often better experienced than explained, but how would you describe the music you make?
J: “Better experienced than explained…” – very well said. I think we’re kind of tough to pin down even when experienced, which hopefully is a good thing. A friend Stephen Baril told us after one of our first shows that we were “ambient tech funk rockabilly punk soul.” But for now, we’re going with prog rock because we like to stretch our legs out within the rock genre, often times within the same song. We sneak a lot of psych elements in there too.
C: I’d probably describe our music as free-spirited. I think it’s kind of a ‘yes, and’ situation where one of us might come in with a song that has its roots in folk, and someone might lay something down on top that completely elevates it to where you’d have to dig a little deeper to hear those folk elements, and then that now paves the way for where we can go next in the song with no destination in mind. On our song ‘A Thousand Armies’ when it goes to the verse, I’m essentially playing a southern rock open chord riff buried in reverb while Graham and Johnny have this almost funk-ish groove tightened all the way to the right.
Why did you become a musician, and/or what or who initially got you passionate about music? Who are your biggest inspirations currently?
C: Originally escapism and boredom. All my friends were doing it, and I wanted to be able to communicate with them in that way, and to this day I think that’s still the case, only now we can articulate a tad better.
J: My best friend growing up started playing guitar when we were like 13, so it made sense to play the drums. Dave Grohl hooked me originally. He made the drums look so big and loud and fun. Heart Shaped Box was the first song I ever learned.
G: Hard to say. Just kind of happened. Thought it sounded cool. Inspired by Max Gerl, Bubby Lewis, and Jojo Faught of Lola Young
What inspires you outside of the world of music?
J: Anything worth paying attention to, which can be everything if you so choose. To me, inspiration is like a well – you have to do some digging before you can pull from it. So I try to dig into as many styles and genres as I can. Digging also means appreciating the little things. Admiring the qualities of a leaf or a rock or a cloud…you can’t quantify that type of inspiration, but it’s good for the soul. The little details paint the bigger picture.
G: Redemption! Any manifestation of surrender being a step of getting back up.
C: I love being told stories, through any kind of medium, books and movies especially, hell, even the theater. I become so engrossed in the performances/portrayals of these characters and the world they inhabit that it all sticks with me as I move through my own life.
Do you feel like you try sticking to a singular sound or are you more open to an expansive sound that bends the space between genres?
J: We do our best to get out of the muse’s way and let the ideas flow at will. And we’re very into genre space bending (i.e. ambient-tech-fuck-rockabilly-punk-soul).
C: I think we try to leave all expectations at the door and just write as freely as possible, and maybe afterwards we’ll be able to identify what genres this thing we’ve created could’ve came from
I know you’ve just recently released your new album. What inspires you to create new music, and what is that process like?
C: The gears are always turning really, I think there’s a constant desire to push ourselves technically, and hopefully reach a place we haven’t been before musically while remaining open and receptive.
Your debut single was dropped in March of 2024 and recorded at Flat Black Studios. I did an interview/story with Luke/Flat Black and I know how magical of a space that is. Is this where the album was recorded?
C: We recorded the whole of our debut there and we loved it so much we’re heading back out there to begin working on LP#2. There’s nothing more Iowan than recording in a barn.
Do you enjoy the songwriting/album-making process? What would you consider your favorite/least favorite aspect of making music?
C: [My] least favorite part would be having to surrender certain ideas. You have to allow for time to experiment but there’s no time to explore every single possibility on every song when recording an album (not yet at least). Every now and then I get hit with an idea for one of the songs off our album and I’m like, “Why didn’t I think of that in the studio?” Luckily, we still get to explore some of those ideas in the live setting.
J: I agree with Clay. I think all three of us have the mentality that our next take is going to be our best one. But time is a factor in the studio, so you have a handful of chances, you pick the best one and move on. That can be emotionally taxing.
G: Agreed. My favorite part is that it sounds good. Like a conversation over some Vietnamese French press brew.
When it comes to the local scene, what do you see as the strengths of the QCA? What areas do you feel could use improvement?
J: This area has a rich music history and it’s still alive today. Some of my earliest childhood memories were being in heaven at the Blues Fest. I love the QC, and I think we’re lucky to play here. There’s a real sense of community happening. You have a huge collective of talented musicians who support each other. I think per capita you have a strong number of venues and music lovers. ‘Improvement’ is a subjective word, but from a completely biased standpoint I’d always love to see more original music. That’s not a dig at cover bands or bands who incorporate covers. But I think original music is how this place can become a musical destination on a larger scale.
C: In the QC all these local acts are such heavy hitters and each one wildly different from the next. We’ve got bands like Mountain Swallower, Cough n’ Flop, Running Man, The Textures, Mocktag, and many more, each one scratching a specific itch, instead of some scenes where you might have several bands all latching on to the same sound.
Have any of you played in bands outside the area? If so, how would you compare that experience to the Quad Cities Scene?
G: I played with Sam Soto and goodie bag out of Nashville. It’s just completely different. Nashville has bridal parties and Broadway, heavy country focus. That being said, both Nashville and QC have a varied scene from bedroom pop to classic midwest emo.
What is your favorite local venue to perform at? I know you have become somewhat regular at The Raccoon Motel, which is probably my top pick. Are there any spaces, either still going or no longer in existence, that you’d love to perform in?
C: Raccoon Motel does good work in championing us local musicians, and original music as a whole. Always very excited to see some of my current favorite artists make a stop here in Davenport at the Motel. We got to play Rozz-Tox for Halloween and we really fell in love with the space there so we’re looking forward to getting to play there again on the 25th. As for places we’d like to play Codfish Hollow is pretty high up there on the list for me.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from another musician? Is there any insight/advice you’d give to aspiring musicians, or even possibly to your younger self?
G: “You are only ever a half step away from a ‘right’ note” – Vic Wooten
C: I love that phrase of “less is more” because it’s kind of a lesson in restraint. Not every space needs to be filled but also in some instances “more is more” if it can serve the song. My advice for someone who might’ve just picked up an instrument would be to seek out folks with a little more experience, and a similar vision. Bug the hell out of ‘em to show you that one lick they played during the jam that made you go “how the fuck?”
I know you are gearing up for a few more events soon, including the 25th at Rozz-Tox. What else do you have on the horizon/would you like readers to know about?
C: Come out to Rozz tox on the 25th to get a little sneak peek at album II… Going back into the studio for album II in spring, expect a single in the coming months.
Lady Igraine
Facebook: @ladyigrainemusic
Instagram: @ladyigraine.music
Spotify: Lady Igraine
Bandcamp: ladyigraine.bandcamp.com
