The Saturday Knights

by Cyril Cordor
As a dynamic hip-hop scene began to surface in Seattle during the late 2000s, it was practically inevitable that a rap group like the Saturday Knights would rise to local prominence, basing their musical approach in sync with Seattle's internationally recognized hotbed of alternative/indie rock. Inspired by a diversity of rap and rock subgenres, including '60s psychedelia, power pop, '80s hip-hop, and indie rock, this lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek band -- comprised of MCs Tilson and Barfly (of Seattle underground rap crew Oldominion) plus producer DJ Suspence (Spencer Manio) and guitarist/keyboardist B-Web (aka Brian Weber, formerly of Dub Narcotic Sound System) -- began as an inside joke. Just for fun, Tilson and Barfly used to come up with drunkenly freestyle rhymes to mix with melodies from '60s pop, doo wop, and barbershop quartet music.
However, one day DJ Suspence challenged them to perform in front of a crowd and booked the (at the time) nonexistent group as the opening act for Rjd2 in 2005. On-stage that night, the Saturday Knights were born. Through their popular live shows, the underground rap-rockers developed a sizable following in Seattle, performing next to acts such as Harvey Danger, Death Cab for Cutie, Chromeo, and Lady Sovereign. In 2006, a four-song demo garnered the attention of the Seattle press, which began running tons of features on the Saturday Knights and their shows early the following year. In these 2007 performances, Weber played a reduced a role in the group as the Cops' guitarist Michael Jaworski supported the other three on-stage. The Saturday Knights' demo was eventually picked up by local indie rock label Light in the Attic, and was then remastered into their self-titled debut EP for a spring 2007 release.