Hotknives

Hot Knives possessed a strong roster of skilled players and notable connections yet found themselves mismatched with the prevailing musical climate, delivering lively power pop and folk-rock laced with faint psychedelic touches that might have thrived in San Francisco but instead arrived after the Ballroom era had faded, clashed with the dominance of stadium rock in the mid-'70s, and preceded the harder new wave and punk sounds then approaching. The group originated with siblings Michael Houpt, who supplied lead vocals and guitar, and Debra Houpt on lead vocals; the pair had first performed together as teenagers in Pennsylvania, interpreting folk material in the vein of Peter, Paul and Mary. Michael settled in Northern California by 1969 and joined a political improvisational theater troupe in San Francisco, where the Flamin' Groovies occasionally rehearsed; through that connection he became friendly with the band's Tim Lynch on lead guitar and Danny Mihm on drums. By 1972 Debra had also reached San Francisco, just as Lynch and Mihm sought a fresh venture after the Flamin' Groovies' first lineup dissolved. Bassist Ed Wilson completed the quintet with Michael, Debra, Tim, and Danny, and they named themselves Hot Knives after Michael's preferred method of smoking hashish. Steady Bay Area gigs slowly attracted listeners who responded to the band's memorable melodies, the guitar dialogue between Michael and Tim, and the Houpts' expansive vocal harmonies. Remaining outside mainstream tastes, however, meant labels showed no interest, so in 1976 the band self-issued the single "Lovin' You" backed with "Around the World," produced by Cyril Jordan of the Groovies. A second 7-inch appeared later that year, pairing "I Hear the Wind Blow" with a cover of Moby Grape's "Hey Grandma." The releases drew favorable notices, among them Greg Shaw's assessment in Bomp! that they were "the best thing happening in San Francisco these days," yet failed to secure a deal. Although the group enjoyed the backing of patron Casper Weinberger, Jr., whose father served as Secretary of Defense under Ronald Reagan, Tim Lynch's exit ended the original configuration. Hot Knives continued briefly with guitarist Bob Kinney before quietly disbanding by the close of the decade. In 2011 the Australian label Grown Up Wrong issued a Hot Knives anthology containing both sides of the two singles plus ten previously unreleased tracks.