knotworking celebrates 20 years of The Garden Below

Twenty years ago, the band knotworking released their third and final album, The Garden Below.  The local roots rock folksters will reunite to celebrate with an anniversary performance along with special guests, The Pine Hills Band, at McGeary’s Irish Pub in Albany’s Clinton Square on Saturday, July 29.

knotworking was the brainchild of singer/songwriter Edward Gorch. Originating out of Kingston, NY, in the late ’90s, the band had a flexible lineup, with guitarist Mike Hotter remaining a consistent member throughout.  They released their self-titled debut in 2000 and relocated to Albany.  In 2001 they recorded their second album, Notes Left Out, in the “knot house,” the blazing hot attic of Gorchand Hotter’s apartment, with a revolving cast of Albany area musicians, including members of The Orange, Kamikaze Hearts, North Againand Stephen Orsini and John Brodeur.   They were named the best new band of 2001 by Metroland magazine.  The band’s 2002 lineup included Dan Winchester, Megan Prokorym, and Scott Sinclair Smith.

The Garden Below, released in 2003, has been praised for its bittersweet storytelling, graceful melodic appeal, literate lyrics, contemplative vocals, and fine acoustic guitar work.  Ed Gorch, now a Westchester County resident, will be joined by Mike Hotter, Nick Matulis (of Swamp Baby), Megan Prokorym (of BattleaXXX), and Dan Sorenson (of The Scurves) for Saturday’s show.

Mike Hotter and some friends and fellow musicians share some remembrances of roots music-making in Albany at the turn of the 21st century:

Andy Sink (The Sifters and solo artist):  That era was pretty extraordinary, and it had everything to do with the music community.  The Sifters/knotworking double bill is a forever fav.  Nights at the Larkin talking about all of it, the epic open mics, those early old Lionheart shows up in the window, the utter mayhem, and big feels… Love and miss you all!  Looking back is cool, but it’s even better to know we’re all still making music. 

Mike Hotter: While the songs sound fine on the streaming services, I always thought knotworking did most of its best work live.  We found a home and a community of like-minded fellow travelers, primarily through the Open Mic hosted by the late Caroline “Motherjudge” Isachsen.

Laura Boggs (singer/songwriter):  How spoiled we were that we could all play at each other’s houses, on each other’s albums, and stumble down the road after work to each other’s shows. We were so lucky to have each other and our community we still do, but it was different.

Thomas Helmick:  I first saw knotworking in Troy on the Riverfront, and I was so moved by the band’s music.  I talked to Mike and Ed and was surprised at how approachable they both were. I was at a period in my life where I was listening to intense punk rock or alternative rock and needed some balance in my routine, so I was already heavily listening to musicians such as Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Wilco, Whiskytown, and Gillian Welch.  knotworking’s music was exactly the type of music I was looking for more of, and the fact that the band was local to Albany and I could see them live often and frequently was too good to be true. Honestly, unless the band were complete dicks, I still would have caught every show I could have!  The fact that I made some of the best friends I’ve ever been fortunate enough to have was a blessing I will forever be grateful for.  I also loved the supportive ecosystem of artists such as The Sifters, Laura Boggs, and the NoHellers.  When I think about the music and friends of this time period, it fills me with the love of the music and the warmth of many beautiful friendships I had at that time.

Seamus McNulty (The Sifters, guitarist and recording engineer):  Mike, if I was you, I would mostly concentrate on your obsession with a band called The Sifters and how they influenced everything you did!  Not only in music but also in life.  Honestly, though, I remember that time period as one of the best in my life, and that was certainly attributed to the general family vibes that our class/scene emitted.  So, that’s cool.

Dan Johnson (singer/songwriter):  My first thoughts about this era were: a stolen election, 9/11, and a general sense that the ground was sliding. But that might all be because I was just getting sober and was pretty lost. I remember there was still a bookstore on Lark Street, and the old guard was very much alive and on the scene. I think they were putting in cobblestones around this time. There were a hundred poets, and there was a bookstore.  I haven’t spent any time onLark Street in about a decade, so can’t speak to where it is now, but I imagine a river running under the streets of center square like in Ghostbusters 2, but instead of a malevolent spirit, it is something inspired and insistent and beautiful and that’s what knotworking seemed to tap into and distill.  The Garden Below is just a killer record. It has the right levels of sweetness and sharpness. It’s poetic and concrete. And the production is super clean.  You all should be proud of that one for sure.

Mike Hotter: A year or so after we released The Garden Below, knotworking had, by and large, dissipated, Ed had moved downstate. We core members who remained in the Capital District formed the band Swamp Baby.  Occasional small-scale knotworking reunions would happen, perhaps for a benefit show or every now and then a clutch slot as an opener. Most memorable of those was opening for the then-unknown The Tallest Man on Earth at The Parting Glass in June 2008 – it was like a swift kick in the ass from a new crop of indie-folkers for us to get out of the way for a while! Twenty years is a long time to sit and take stock of something. While I had by and large, processed the whole knotworking experience, the songs themselves seemed to stand up very well and have even grown in some instances.   I felt it would not be a frivolous exercise to revisit some of these tunes in a more serious manner than just a standard, cursory run-through. And our rehearsals now have revealed that returning to these songs that were written in our youthful days and delivering them through voices and hands with some semblance of maturity – well, it should be a treat for everyone that wants to revisit that time or to hear them for the very first time perhaps.