Danny Knapp | SoCal Session & Touring Bass Guitarist

Danny Knapp, known on stage as The Melonhead, played bass for Toronto-based artist Apricity, for her recent Hollywood shows at the Whisky-a-Go-Go.

If you don’t know Apricity yet, here’s the quick version: alt-rock out of Toronto, the kind of music that likes to sit in the darker corners of your headspace — consciousness, dreams, mourning, the stuff most songs don’t want to touch. It’s heavy material, and it deserves a band that can actually sit inside it instead of just playing along.

Two nights, two very different bills. June 12 had Apricity opening for 80s icon Tiffany, who’s still every bit the powerhouse singer she’s always been known as. June 28 paired Apricity with fellow Canadian rockers Finger Eleven. Different crowds, different energy in the room both nights, but the band locked in and the songs hit the way they’re supposed to.

Danny shared the stage with a solid lineup of hired players across both shows — including guitarist Aviv Hadari, known for his work with Consciously Dying, and drummer Nick Mason, whose credits include Pretty Boy Floyd and Enuff Z’Nuff.

There’s something special about watching a set like Apricity’s land on a stage as storied as the Whisky — decades of rock history in the walls, and a newer artist proving she belongs right there in it. Both nights were a great couple of shows all around.

Maiden United, the Los Angeles-based Iron Maiden tribute, has been selected to perform at Lagunitas Brewing Company’s official release party for their new Trooper West Coast IPA — and honestly, it doesn’t get much more on-brand than that.

The beer is the result of a collaboration between Lagunitas Brewmaster Jeremy Marshall and Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, who met and immediately recognized a shared creative vision. The Trooper West Coast IPA comes in at 6.6% ABV and is brewed with Krush hops, delivering a bold, resinous profile that reflects both Lagunitas’ West Coast brewing identity and Iron Maiden’s 50-year legacy. The release also marks the first time the Trooper brand has been brewed outside of Robinsons Brewery in the UK — making this a genuinely historic moment for the label.

The public release party kicks off at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 6 at Lagunitas’ Petaluma taproom, with Maiden United performing live alongside a 3 p.m. Air Guitar Showdown — grand prize being a 50th anniversary Iron Maiden Fender guitar

For Danny Knapp, who holds down the bass chair for Maiden United, the gig carries a little extra weight. “Playing Steve Harris lines is always an honor. Playing them at a celebration of Iron Maiden’s own beer is something else entirely.”

Maiden United performs June 6 at Lagunitas Brewing Company, 1280 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma. The Trooper West Coast IPA will also be available at select retailers in six-packs.