Barely Controlled Chaos is Their Secret to Success
Queenadilla’s front man Chase McKnight picked up guitar only three years ago. A lot of practice and natural talent, combined with dumb luck, have led to unexpected success. He got his first electric guitar only a month before jamming with his second cousin, guitarist Nick Mayberry. They then brought on drummer Stacey Fleischer and bassist Andrew McCord, and formed Queenadilla.
“At no point did I even think we’d be recording an album. It didn’t occur to me that anybody would like the music,” admits Chase. Yet they’ve spent the past fifteen months working on their highly anticipated debut album.
“A lot of people have been pestering us for it,” Andrew explains. “We mixed and recorded the record so it does not sound like any other album in your collection,” boldly proclaims audio engineer Mike “Wiz” Wisland.
With influences ranging from Jack White, to Led Zepplin and really old Delta Blues, Queenadilla puts forth a unique blues rock sound that touches you deep down in your soul. “It’s very human,” says Chase. “We put a lot of soul in to it and hope that a lot of people will pick up on it.”
People are definitely picking up on it, despite the band’s self-proclaimed lack of social media expertise. “We want people to know about us, but we don’t want to shove it down their throats,” says Nick. “It’s important to us that our fans are really invested and involved and that they keep track of us because they really want to,” adds Chase.
With contagious energy, their sound is spreading organically. Queenadilla recently won the X96 Battle for the BASH and had the honor to open the X96 Big Ass Show at USANA Amphitheater. Chase relates the experience to a runaway train saying, “It was like a total accident.”
They signed up an hour before the contest deadline and didn’t expect to get in. But destiny had her way, and the day before the show, when another band dropped out, Queenadilla got the call to compete.
Their drummer was out of town, so they scrambled to get things together. A friend filled in on drums, learning the songs in less than a day.
On the night of the Battle, the wind was blowing and a rainout seemed inevitable, but that didn’t keep Queenadilla from putting on a killer show with some pretty intense crowd interaction.
The next week they were on the big stage, opening for well knowns such as 311, Rise Against and Panic! at the Disco.
Chase declares, “It’s the perfect metaphor for the entire Queenadilla experience so far. It’s just really confusing and basically everything we do is chaos. It’s always a disaster. Nothing is in our control.”
Yet it seems to be working. This barely controlled chaos truly is the secret to their success.
Queenadilla will be performing at the Timpanogos Music Festival in Orem on July 25th. Admission is free.
