Thee Saturday Knights is, simply put, a badass rock band. The Reno band’s two releases, Life of Crime and Already Dead, sound like ’70s rock with some punk influence thrown in. Any song by the band is perfect for driving really fast, running or headbanging. For more, visit theesaturdayknightsreno.bandcamp.com. Noland Magnuson is the guitarist and vocalist for the band.
What was the first concert you attended?
Garth Brooks at the Lawlor Events Center in 1992. My mom and some of her friends camped out in front of JJ’s Ear Candy in Carson City for two days to get those tickets.
What was the first album you owned?
The first album I bought with my own money was No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom in ’95 or ’96. I bought it on cassette, then on CD a few years later, and just a few years ago, I bought it on vinyl. It’s still worth a listen, even though it doesn’t grab me the way it did when I was 12 or 13.
What bands are you listening to right now?
Currently, I really like C.O.F.F.I.N., Bloodshot Bill, Chubby and the Gang, The Trash Bags, Wyldlife, Jackie Mendez, a lot of the Mango Hill and Penrose Records stuff, Jacques Le Coque, and The Barreracudas.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?
There are so many. I won’t call anything out, because everybody should enjoy what they like.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
I never got to see the Ramones, The Clash or the Shangri-Las. I’d love to see The Cramps just one more time.
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?
You shouldn’t feel guilty about what you dig, but I will say that when “Steal My Sunshine” by Len comes on the radio, the windows go up, and so does the volume! Same goes for “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass.
What’s your favorite music venue?
Discoteca Penelope in Benidorm, Spain. Every year over Halloween weekend, they throw a giant rock ’n’ roll party. The place is like an M.C. Escher painting come to life or something. There are multiple levels with multiple rooms and a swimming pool. It’s wild!
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
“You should be labeled with a skull and crossbones; you’re a jinx to my soul,” “Skull and Crossbones,” Sparkle Moore.
What band or artist changed your life? How?
The Cramps and Devo. The Cramps opened up my world to all sorts of trash culture and music. Devo showed me that punk was more than abrasive guitars; it could be abrasive synthesizers, too!
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?
I’d ask Los Shains, a Peruvian band, how they heard “The Crusher” by The Novas, a regional Minnesota band, in 1964, and how on earth they thought to play it together with “Out of Limits” by the Marketts and create “El Monstruo.”
What song would you like played at your funeral?
“Caveman Hop” by Jerry Coulston, or “Mah Mah Chicken Pot Pie” by the Leopards.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Out of This World by Gino Washington.
What song should everyone listen to right now?
“It Don’t Move Me” by Danny Dodge.
