[2] His music has sometimes been controversial in Christian circles, particularly due to the use of profanity in the song "Rocket and a Bomb" (from the self-titled release of his former band Aunt Bettys) and original artwork on the album showing Jesus Christ as a bartender.
[1] Career highlights include LSU's Cornerstone appearance in 1993 when the band dressed in costumes, Aunt Bettys record-label bidding war and eventual signing with Elektra in 1995, and a Jed the Fish "Catch of the Day" spin on KROQ for the Strung Gurus' "Sun-Eyed Girl".
Members of Cush and Aunt Bettys joined Knott on stage for a Dennis Danell benefit concert at Verizon Wireless with a line-up that also included Pennywise, The Offspring, X, and Social Distortion.
Aunt Bettys' "Feel" and several Mike Knott songs from Strip Cycle are prominently featured in the 1998 indie film Boogie Boy (Imperial), exec-produced by Academy Award-winning Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary.
Knott, who knew Ebel from his time at Frontline Records, was primarily involved to help get the label started and ultimately bowed out of the collaboration.
[4] In 1995, the Aunt Bettys were signed by Lara Noel Hill (Better Than Ezra) and Seymour Stein (Madonna, Talking Heads, the Ramones) at Elektra and co-managed by Cahn-Man (Green Day), and the band was given total creative control.
Longtime collaborator Brian Doidge was eventually replaced by Sean Humeston (Value_Pac) and Shawn Tubbs (Violet Burning) on bass.
The band quit by the decade's end, and Knott started Strung Gurus with Social Distortion founding-guitarist Dennis Danell.
When Danell died in early 2000, Knott began self-releasing several albums (many of which featured previously unreleased tracks) to coincide with a number of solo acoustic tours.
"[6] On September 7, 2014, Knottheads.com, the Michael Knott tribute site and his former label Blonde Vinyl, announced that a Kickstarter campaign to mark the 20th anniversary of Rocket and a Bomb was live.
[8] A recording of the 2014 "Rocket and a Bomb" live performance as well as a new studio EP, Songs From The Feather River Highway, was digitally distributed to Kickstarter backers by May 2016.