Danny Knapp – Bass Guitarist, also known as “The Melonhead” is a Southern California-based musician and composer, specializing in electric and fretless bass guitar. He also plays ukulele as well as frequently singing backing or lead vocals.
Danny is an energetic live performer as well as being an efficient and diverse session musician. Danny performs at least 100 gigs per year, offering his skills for a wide variety of bands and artists, including original bands, tributes, and covers, in genres ranging from reggae to rock, EDM, pop, metal, folk, latin, funk, jazz and more.
Danny has been performing and recording professionally since he was 16 years old. Early in his career, he played bass for Feedbags with Scotty Johnson (later of Gin Blossoms). In 2006-2010, Danny recorded and performed on bass, keyboards, and ukulele for Mikioi, a Hawaiian reggae band that received attention on Polynesian radio for their singles “Hawaii, My Home”, “Mikio’i Music”, and their rendition of the traditional song “Kanaka Wai Wai”. He also performed on ukulele and bass as a member of the renowned Pangean Orchestra. In 2016, Danny was a member of actress/singer/songwriter Katie Garfield’s live band.
Danny is currently the bass guitarist for the emo/alternative-rock band We’re No Gentlemen, singer/songwriter Serena Foster, and the reggae/pop/alt-rock band, The Bredren. Danny also regularly records and performs with Marlon Hoffman, For Pete’s Sake, LA Sound Machine, Prizmatic, La Vida Loca, Thank-U Drive-Thru, and several other L.A.-based projects.
Listen to the new @werenogentlemen song “Vicious Love” on the compilation ‘A Tribute to New Found Glory’ from Pacific Ridge Records, now available on all major platforms, including @spotify
https://open.spotify.com/track/0MdpD7PTVlliVcJrZijMVb?si=23ba23cf9add4dbf
VoyageLA magazine mailed me a couple of hard copies of my interview article from the November 2020 issue. Maybe I’ll find some room on the wall in my office to hang this.
Wow! It’s been a banner year for @werenogentlemen, despite some of the challenges we and the rest of the music community are facing. Much thanks to everyone listening to us on @spotify.
bts – Here’s @AmandaGabelWNG and I playing a round of “What’s this mic smell like to you?”, one of our favorite games to play at venues and rehearsal halls. 🤪
…or maybe she was just lending me her mic to answer an online question from our audience during a @WereNoGentlemen live streaming event.
Photo by @red_hareimages
Over the years, I’ve owned and played several different makes and models of basses. I’m not really a collector by any means, and I typically sell or trade any of my gear that I don’t use on a regular basis. The @ernieballmusicman Stingray 5 HH is my go-to bass for it’s versatility, and I love the way it sits in the mix. I also own a few other basses as well for specific needs. They all qualify as my ‘dream gear’ for different reasons.
What’s on your list of ‘dream gear’?
throwbackthursday to cruisin’ my beach on a boss hog with drummer buddy @mltdrumz. We put playing cards against the spokes so it sounds even more mean when we come rollin’ by. 🤪
