Knockout Drops - ProfilesArchive

About Me

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Chris Campion, Tom Licameli and Phil Mastrangelo first met in the bars of Huntington, Long Island. With a shared passion for books like A Confederacy of Dunces, old Who and Replacements records, and an overall gift for misadventure, the boys soon found themselves in a band and writing their own compositions. They moved into downtown Manhattan and began cutting their teeth with shows at CBGB's and Brownies. Almost instantly the group garnered a large following and a reputation for forceful live, anything goes-style performances.
After establishing themselves playing around New York and putting out EPs chock-full of catchy tunes, the band released their full-length debut, Killed By The Lights in 2003. Well received by both critics and fans, the record is a sweet mixture of all the best elements of indie and roots rock, with a few secret ingredients thrown in. To support the album, the Drops acquired drummer, Vinny Cimino, and began touring on the East Coast and Europe. With each tour, the boys win over more and more fans with their incendiary live shows.
In December of 2005, the Drops unveiled their interactive, rock 'n' roll theatre show, Escape from Bellevue and Other Stories at The Paradise Factory Theater, located in New York's East Village. EFB was written by lead singer, Chris Campion, and is comprised of autobiographical monologues (Campion actually escaped from Bellevue), Knockout Drops songs (played live with the band onstage), and multimedia vignettes. The pioneering show was critically lauded and a bona fide hit, enjoying a run of nothing but sold-out houses for 3 months. The soundtrack of the same name was produced by KOD guitarist Tom Licameli and is now available on iTunes and other online outlets.
As a result of the show's success Campion has signed a book deal with Penguin Publishers to write the full length EFB novel and the show is now being produced by Westbeth Entertainment (Eddie Izzard, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) in association with R and P Productions, and is being helmed by Obie winning director, Alex Timbers (A Very Merry and Unauthorized Scientology Pageant). Timbers and Knockout Drops have been put together an even bigger blitz of the senses, and great reviews have been pouring in!! Escape From Bellevue is playing Wednesday - Saturday nights at The Village Theatre on Bleecker Street and tickets are available at Ticketmaster. GET YOURS TODAY!!!!!!

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 11/13/2004
Band Website: knockoutdrops.com
Band Members: Chris Campion.....vocals
Tom Licameli......guitars
Phil Mastrangelo....bass
Vinny Cimino........drums
....and Paulie the G as the Beav, on percussion.

Video Gallery:
Click a photo below to open the video player. Videos directed by Chris Cassidy .

"Bright Room"
NEW!

"Wrong Side of Love"

"Killed By the Lights"

Influences: The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beatles, Guided By Voices, The Replacements, The Clash, U2, The Stone Roses, Echo and the Bunnymen, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, David Bowie, Tom Waits, The Velvet Underground, The Jam, Jesus and Mary Chain, Wilco, Violent Femmes, Television, Soul Asylum.
Sounds Like: The above got together and had a smiley little baby.
Record Label: Circus Clone
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

New York Times - EFB Review

Detox Survivor, Check Your Straitjacket at the Door and Get Ready to RockBy ANNE MIDGETTEThe rock musical has become the live-performance equivalent of the road movie: a ubiquitous convention turned r...
Posted by Knockout Drops on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:18:00 PST

New Theater Corps - EFB Review

Rocking music and a heartfelt autobiographical confession about a rocker who falls prey to drug and alcohol addiction and finds a way back from the abyss, Escape from Bellevue is one not to miss.Revie...
Posted by Knockout Drops on Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:10:00 PST

Show Business Weekly - EFB Review

Escape from BellevueWritten and Performed by Christopher John CampionWith Live Music by The Knockout DropsReview by Samantha Tucker Escape from Bellevue, currently rockin' out at The Village Theatre, ...
Posted by Knockout Drops on Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:04:00 PST

The Villager - EFB Review

From rock bottom to rock musical By Lee Ann WestoverLast Thursday night, The Village Theater took on a character more like the Back Fence at happy hour than that of an off-Broadway venue. Men in pleat...
Posted by Knockout Drops on Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:01:00 PST

Newsday Interview with Chris Campion/EFB Preview

COOL @ NIGHT: One-Man Show This rocker loves to act out A sober singer distills laughs from his life in a bandBY RAFER GUZMÁ[email protected] May 31, 2007 Generally speaking, be...
Posted by Knockout Drops on Sat, 02 Jun 2007 12:35:00 PST

Escape From Bellevue - Official Press Release

"ESCAPE FROM BELLEVUE" PERFORMANCES BEGIN THURSDAY, MAY 31 at THE VILLAGE THEATRE A ROCK 'N' ROLL ODYSSEY WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY CHRISTOPHER JOHN CAMPION, WITH LIVE MUSIC BY KNOCKOUT DROPS DIRECT...
Posted by Knockout Drops on Sun, 06 May 2007 12:43:00 PST

Escape from Bellevue... tickets now on sale!!

Escape from Bellevue begins May 31, 2007at the Village Theatre, 158 Bleecker Street, NYC Tickets available at: - the Village Theatre box office- or call 212.307.7171...
Posted by Knockout Drops on Sun, 06 May 2007 08:02:00 PST

Campy on WFUV - Wednesday 2/1

Hello Dropouts,For those of you early birds (or those that are still up) I'm being interviewed on WFUV (90.7 FM) at 6:45 am this Wednesday (2/1) by Julianne Welby. We'll be talkin' Bellevue, the recor...
Posted by Knockout Drops on Tue, 31 Jan 2006 09:48:00 PST

Off Off Online's review of Escape From Bellevue...

Strung-Out Knockout by Mitch Montgomery Escape From Bellevue and Other Stories reviewed December 16, 2005 "They haven't built a mental institution that can hold me," Christopher John Campion decla...
Posted by Knockout Drops on Wed, 18 Jan 2006 04:22:00 PST

Escape From Bellevue....run extended!

Due to the instant and ongoing success of our off-Broadway production, ESCAPE FROM BELLEVUE AND OTHER STORIES, the producers and theater have decided to extend the original 7-week special engagement b...
Posted by Knockout Drops on Thu, 05 Jan 2006 04:13:00 PST