TK & The Holy Know-Nothings
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ARTIST PROFILE | TK & the Holy Know-Nothings
Rejecting the influence of fleeting scenes and encroaching developers; the Laurelthirst Public House has always stayed in tune with its generations of muddy patrons carving out lives as blue-collar artists. "The Thirst" -- Portland, Oregon's oldest independent venue -- has always been a sort of misfit stronghold -- a sanctuary for the same kind of spirit that sustained local punk legends Dead Moon and outsider folk hero Michael Hurley. It's also become a lifeblood for working-class musicians like Taylor Kingman. Most nights, you'll likely find the TK & The Holy Know-Nothings songwriter and lead vocalist on stage (or at the bar). Ask around the place and you'll quickly uncover Kingman's reputation as the sort of songwriter who makes other songwriters jealous, even angry. You'll also hear about his hustle as both a player and writer, as those same songwriters line up to play with him. It's led to countless projects, exploring myriad concepts and styles, and making the sort of honest music that stands starkly, alongside the Laurelthirst, against the backdrop of a city quickly fading under the lacquer of gentrification.
TK & The Holy Know-Nothings is perhaps Kingman's most beloved project. Half-dutifully and half-facetiously self-dubbed "psychedelic doom boogie," the group was born out of Kingman's desire to create a loose, groove-heavy bar band that never sacrifices the importance of good, honest songwriting. Doing so required pulling together a local supergroup of friends, neighbors, and fellow Laurelthirst royalty, including drummer Tyler Thompson and multi-instrumentalists Jay Cobb Anderson (lead guitar, harmonica), Lewi Longmire (bass, guitar, pedal steel, flugelhorn, mellotron, lap steel) and Sydney Nash (keys, bass, slide guitar, cornet). It's a band of deeply contrasting styles buoyed by a sincere and palpable mutual trust -- one that allows them to find and lose the groove with the same ease. They build graceful, spaced-out landscapes around Kingman's storytelling -- his voice ragged and broken one moment and raging the next -- only to deconstruct them through a fit of manic and often dissonant rabbit holes. And Kingman's equally irreverent, delicate, and cerebral first-person narratives somehow merge seamlessly with it all.
The Incredible Heat Machine, the band's forthcoming album, is an album of growth. It doesn't diverge all that much from 2019's Arguably OK (and 2020's B-sides EP Pickled Heat). Its story is simply that of a working band coming off the road and going right back to work, intent on capturing the growth and wear amassed in the meantime. Both albums were recorded in just a few mid-winter days (two years apart) in Enterprise, Oregon, a quiet cowboy town at the foot of the snow-capped Wallowa Mountains. They were both made live, with no overdubs, on stage at the historic OK Theatre, where much of their budget was again spent on keeping the heat on. And again, Thompson engineered on the fly with the help of old buddy and local theater resident Bart Budwig. While Arguably OK introduced listeners to the band's distinct brand of unbound rock & roll infused with the strange, wide-open, outsider nature of Western country; The Incredible Heat Machine just goes stranger, wider, and further out. Lyrically, Kingman delves deeper into the struggles of the working-class musician with themes of substance abuse and redemption, companionship as salvation, and the ever-present shadow of disillusionment. His lyrics are again intensely honest, full of all the lessons learned and ignored, while always tempered with mystery and room for the listener.
"I like to alternate between plain-spoken truth and fragmented visions of painfully vivid dreamscapes," Kingman notes. "Songs need a listener to be complete. And I don't want to tell the listener what to think or do. It's our job to present honesty, good or bad: an unfinished song from an unfinished life. And everybody hearing it gets a co-write because each moment is unique."
This is apparent from the start, as album opener "Frankenstein" comes to life with deceptive lyrical hooks, coupling the pieced-together aesthetic of the famous resurrected corpse with generous metaphorical roundabouts. Its psychedelic wormholes envelop the song in warm, trippy veils, transcending the confines of its Western country roots to an altogether more experimentally robust misfit anthem.
"Serenity Prayer" follows with the Sisyphean journey of a working musician who makes good for a few hours each evening playing at the local tavern before finding themselves inevitably drawn to a seat at the bar again. It's an entreaty to oneself to find the strength to change tomorrow, as Kingman writes, "Grant me the serenity to pay for this in change," and "Grant me the wisdom to know I owe the difference," before always returning to, "But a friend behind the bar is a mighty fine deal."
Kingman's songwriting vacillates between the specter of longing and the levity of self-awareness. "The trick is to be honest," Kingman says. "And there are many ways to be honest." It comes in songs as crushing as "Hell of a Time" and "I Don't Need Anybody"; in irreverent tracks like "I Lost My Beer," a love letter to a misplaced libation that is already a favorite among Laurelthirst patrons; and in the rattling regret of hangover lament, "Bottom of the Bottle." And then there's the title track and its "Preprise," a two-part roadhouse opus that splits The Incredible Heat Machine, comprising a formidable showcase of TK & The Holy Know-Nothings' divergent styles, both sonically and lyrically. "I want a line to fill me with golden light and then leave me alone in the pale desert with just the wind and my heartbeat," Kingman shares.
Finally, the album closer "Just the Right Amount" ties the album's themes together as Kingman places himself on stage, staring at the mic and the crowd, reflecting on the experiences and decisions that led to these songs. "I think he liked the way it sounded / Drunk and bleeding on a borrowed mic / I've never seen a bar so crowded / Dead quiet on a Saturday night / Maybe one to get them crying / Maybe one to help them fight / You gotta do a little wrong, kid / To get that kind of right."
"At our core, we are working musicians. And that's why we will always be a bar band no matter where we play. We are players and that's all we wanna do. We live for songs and we take them very seriously. Even the stupidest ones. It's all sacred and that's why it should be mangled by children."
TK & The Holy Know-Nothings' new album is above all things true to the moment it was created, full of lessons unheeded and questions unanswered. In the end, it will always exist in that moment and whatever moment it shares with its listeners. Kingman sums it up best: "The Incredible Heat Machine is a haunted jukebox on wheels and God's own check engine light. It's a locomotive composed of living parts linked by some buck-toothed telepathy allowing it to make it down the tracks where there is no final answer or destination, just movement and feeling."
READ MORE >>Supporting Acts
SHOW BY SIMILAR ARTISTS
About HI-FI | Indianapolis, IN
HI-FI is located inside the historic Murphy Arts Center in the heart of Fountain Square. HI-FI shows virtually every night of the week and is known for finding new artists on the rise. The venue is acoustically one of the best sounding venues in the Midwest. The entrance is located at the front of the building on Virginia Ave and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.
Getting Around the Venue
Frequently Asked Questions About HI-FI | Indianapolis, IN
What are the age restrictions at this venue?
Most of our gigs are open to those 18 years and older, though there are a few exceptions. We’re also rolling out more all-ages shows to accommodate younger fans, but double-check our website for specific age requirements before getting your tickets. We’ve made it super easy to spot the age restrictions on each event listing.
If you are going to indulge in a seating upgrade in our VIP area, all guests must be 21 years of age or older.
HI-FI requires a valid ID for admission. For guests who will be consuming alcoholic beverages, a valid state or government issues ID is required. Everyone will be carded during check-in. Expired and temporary ID’s are not accepted.
Can I upgrade my to VIP seating?
HI-FI proudly offers our VIP Deck, situated at the rear of the venue. This elevated section features table seating and provides convenient access to the bar. Please be advised that all guests in this area must be 21 years of age or older. For seating upgrade inquiries, please contact the box office at boxoffice@hifiindy.com
What items are permitted or prohibited at this venue?
At our venues, we strive to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all guests. While specific rules may vary slightly depending on the event location, the following list generally applies across all venues.
Any illegal items found will be confiscated immediately. Guests discovered with prohibited items inside the venue may face ejection, and those attempting to enter with such items may be denied entry.
We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these guidelines to ensure everyone’s safety and enjoyment during our events.
Permitted Items Include:
- All bags and possessions are subject to search and may be subject to metal detection. No backpacks are permitted at any of our venues.
- Clear tote or bag made from plastic, vinyl or PVC that does not exceed 14” x 14” in size.
- Personal purse, fanny pack or handbag so long as it does not exceed 14” x 14” in size
- A warm heart and smiles
Prohibited items include:
- Weapons of any kind: Firearms (with or without permit), knives (any size), multi-tools
- Pepper Spray or Mace
- Flares or Fireworks
- Oversized bags (Bag larger than 12” x 12”, including all backpacks, briefcases, luggage, or duffle bags)
- Illegal Substances
- Outside Beverages
- Laser Pointers
- Removable lens cameras or flash photography, tripods, monopods, selfie-sticks (unless pre-approved by Event Manager)
- Audio or Video recording devices (unless pre-approved by Event Manager)
- Signs larger than 11” x 17” or any sign attached to a stick or pole
- Skateboards, hoverboards, rollerblades, scooters, or bicycles
- Hula hoops, spray paint, silly string
- Noise Making devices (i.e. Air Horns, drums, whistles)
- Coolers or Ice Chests
- Animals/Pets (Except Service Animals)
HI-FI reserves the right to prohibit any item, including items not listed above, from entering the premises if deemed hazardous or disruptive to the event.
Can I bring a bag into the show?
Yes! You’re welcome to bring personal purse, fanny pack or handbag so long as it does not exceed 14” x 14” in size. No backpacks are permitted at any time.
What’s the parking situation like?
Depending on the day and time, finding a spot can be tricky. On busy show days we advise arriving early to ensure you get a good spot.
Parking is free on all of the surrounding streets in Fountain Square and most parking lots.
The LAZ pay lot directly across from the Murphy Arts Building (on Prospect St) offers paid parking by the hour and is the closest public parking to the venue.
We advise against traveling down St. Patrick St on show days, as it can become congested one-way with traffic coming from both directions.
Bike parking is available at any of the bike racks on Virginia Ave in front of HI-FI.
What is the camera/photo policy for this venue?
Our photo policy varies for each event and is at the discretion of the artist performing that night. This policy can change from night to night.
As a general guideline, we typically do not permit professional photography unless it has been pre-approved by either HI-FI or the Artist Management.
For approved photographers, you’re welcome to snap photos during the first three songs of the performance. However, please refrain from using flash.
Media personnel and professional photographers interested in covering our events can reach out to us at marketing@hifiindy.com to request media credentials.
Is there food and drink at this venue?
Absolutely! We’ve got you covered for some tasty bites to fuel your night.
Our very own Easy Rider Diner is your go-to spot on most show nights, serving up mouthwatering dishes right next door to HI-FI. With a convenient connection door open for most shows, you can easily hop back and forth without missing a beat. We highly recommend making a reservation in advance, as show nights tend to get busy. Please note that Easy Rider is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but fear not – you can still grab some chips, candy, or snacks at HI-FI’s bar.
View seating maps for this venue
Check your show listing for information on the show’s seating configuration. The majority of HI-FI shows are general admission, standing-room-only. Depending on the show, there are a handful of tables available to those who arrive early. There is a limited amount of seating upgrades available on the VIP deck. Contact the box office to secure a seating upgrade for your show at boxoffice@hifiindy.com. Shows that are reserved or partially reserved seating configurations will have information or purchase options directly on the event listing.
Can I leave and re-enter the venue?
Re-entry is allowed for HI-FI shows once you’ve been stamped or wristbanded by a member of our staff.
Do you offer ADA, handicap or special needs options?
There are 2 handicapped parking spots in the lot located across Prospect St. closest to El Arado Mexican Grill. The box office handles any special needs or ADA seating requests at boxoffice@hifiindy.com.
Where is the box office located?
Getting tickets to our shows is super easy! You have a few options, depending on how you like to roll:
Online: Grab your tickets in advance from our official websites, hifiindy.com and mokbpresents.com, or through our trusted ticketing partners tixr.com and seetickets.us.
In Person: Swing by one of our convenient box office locations around the Murphy Arts Center building and grab tickets with no service fees:
Main Box Office at Virginia Ave Mercantile: Located at 1043 Virginia Ave Suite 2 (between Easy Rider and La Margarita). Open Monday through Friday from 10 am to 6 pm and Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm.
HI-FI Box Office: Found at 1043 Virginia Ave Suite 4 (at the main entrance to HI-FI). Open only on show nights, starting 1 hour before published show times until 10 pm.
I lost something at the show. Who do I contact?
Have you misplaced something during one of our events? Don’t worry, we’re here to help reunite you with your belongings! While we can’t take responsibility for lost or stolen items, we’re committed to assisting you in any way we can.
Found items are securely stored at our Virginia Ave Mercantile & Box Office until they’re claimed. Please note that items lost during late-night events might take until the next morning to reach our lost and found. We know you might be eager to retrieve your belongings (like that phone you’re pinging outside our door at 6 am), but our team typically wraps up late-night events and may not be available until later in the morning.
For lost items, please follow the outlined process rather than popping into Easy Rider in the early hours. They’re open early, but our restaurant team is busy during weekends and can’t assist with lost items during busy service hours.
To inquire about lost items, shoot us an email at boxoffice@hifiindy.com. Mercantile hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 6 pm, and Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm.
Let’s work together to get your goods back to you as quickly as possible!
What is your refund policy?
What’s Your Refund Policy for Postponed Shows?
If a show gets postponed, don’t sweat it! We’ll shoot you an email to let you know about the change, and if you’re cool with the new date, no further action is needed on your part.We’ll be working diligently to find a new date for the show, and we’ll keep you updated every step of the way. But if you can’t make it to the rescheduled gig, we’ve got your back. You’ll have a generous 30-day window following the announcement of the new date to request a refund.
For those who paid with cash at our box office, just drop us a line at boxoffice@hifiindy.com for further instructions on processing your refund.
Please bear with us as we explore rescheduling options with the tour. Your patience is much appreciated as we work to present the best possible show experience for you.
What’s the Refund Policy for Canceled Shows?
In the unfortunate event of a canceled show, don’t fret! If you purchased your tickets online, your refund will be processed automatically. Just sit tight and allow 3-5 business days for the refund to appear in your bank account.
No need to lift a finger! However, there are a few scenarios where you might need to reach out to our box office:
- If you paid cash at our box office.
- If you’ve received a new or different card since your original purchase.
- If you haven’t seen the refund in your account after 5 business days.
What Happens if a Show Gets Rescheduled?
No worries! If a show you’ve already grabbed tickets for gets rescheduled, your tickets will still be valid for the new date. We’ll shoot you an email to let you know about the change, and if you’re good to go for the new date, no further action is needed on your part.
However, if you can’t make it to the rescheduled gig, we’ve got you covered. You’ll have a generous 30 days from the announcement of the new date to request a refund. Just reach out directly to our box office to kickstart the process.
Beware of counterfeit tickets. How do I tell if my ticket is valid?
It’s crucial for all buyers to exercise caution when purchasing tickets from unauthorized sites and ticket resellers. Tixr and SeeTickets are the only two ticket vendors supported at our venues. Unfortunately, this is a widespread issue affecting venues nationwide, and true fans often find themselves at a loss. Regrettably, there’s little we can do in such situations. Since the original transaction didn’t occur through our authorized ticketing partners, we lack the necessary information to assist. It’s disheartening to witness fans being taken advantage of, especially on platforms like Craigslist, Facebook, StubHub, VividSeats, SeatGeek, and others. We are only obligated to honor valid tickets purchased through our approved channels.
Can I purchase tickets in person without fees?
Yes. HI-FI box office is located at the main entrance off of Virginia Avenue. The box office is open 1 hour prior to the published door time. Additionally, our new and primary box office is located two doors down from HI-FI in Suite 2. This box office is open Monday through Friday 10 am to 6 pm and Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm for fee-free ticket purchases. HI-FI accepts cash as well as all major credit cards for ticket purchases.
Do you have free WI-FI?
Yes. HI-FI offers free WI-FI during all shows. Simply select the HI-FI Free WI-FI network and you are all set!
TK & The Holy Know-Nothings
Start Time: 9:00 pm
NO HEALTH CHECK
Buy Tickets
ARTIST PROFILE | TK & the Holy Know-Nothings
Rejecting the influence of fleeting scenes and encroaching developers; the Laurelthirst Public House has always stayed in tune with its generations of muddy patrons carving out lives as blue-collar artists. "The Thirst" -- Portland, Oregon's oldest independent venue -- has always been a sort of misfit stronghold -- a sanctuary for the same kind of spirit that sustained local punk legends Dead Moon and outsider folk hero Michael Hurley. It's also become a lifeblood for working-class musicians like Taylor Kingman. Most nights, you'll likely find the TK & The Holy Know-Nothings songwriter and lead vocalist on stage (or at the bar). Ask around the place and you'll quickly uncover Kingman's reputation as the sort of songwriter who makes other songwriters jealous, even angry. You'll also hear about his hustle as both a player and writer, as those same songwriters line up to play with him. It's led to countless projects, exploring myriad concepts and styles, and making the sort of honest music that stands starkly, alongside the Laurelthirst, against the backdrop of a city quickly fading under the lacquer of gentrification.
TK & The Holy Know-Nothings is perhaps Kingman's most beloved project. Half-dutifully and half-facetiously self-dubbed "psychedelic doom boogie," the group was born out of Kingman's desire to create a loose, groove-heavy bar band that never sacrifices the importance of good, honest songwriting. Doing so required pulling together a local supergroup of friends, neighbors, and fellow Laurelthirst royalty, including drummer Tyler Thompson and multi-instrumentalists Jay Cobb Anderson (lead guitar, harmonica), Lewi Longmire (bass, guitar, pedal steel, flugelhorn, mellotron, lap steel) and Sydney Nash (keys, bass, slide guitar, cornet). It's a band of deeply contrasting styles buoyed by a sincere and palpable mutual trust -- one that allows them to find and lose the groove with the same ease. They build graceful, spaced-out landscapes around Kingman's storytelling -- his voice ragged and broken one moment and raging the next -- only to deconstruct them through a fit of manic and often dissonant rabbit holes. And Kingman's equally irreverent, delicate, and cerebral first-person narratives somehow merge seamlessly with it all.
The Incredible Heat Machine, the band's forthcoming album, is an album of growth. It doesn't diverge all that much from 2019's Arguably OK (and 2020's B-sides EP Pickled Heat). Its story is simply that of a working band coming off the road and going right back to work, intent on capturing the growth and wear amassed in the meantime. Both albums were recorded in just a few mid-winter days (two years apart) in Enterprise, Oregon, a quiet cowboy town at the foot of the snow-capped Wallowa Mountains. They were both made live, with no overdubs, on stage at the historic OK Theatre, where much of their budget was again spent on keeping the heat on. And again, Thompson engineered on the fly with the help of old buddy and local theater resident Bart Budwig. While Arguably OK introduced listeners to the band's distinct brand of unbound rock & roll infused with the strange, wide-open, outsider nature of Western country; The Incredible Heat Machine just goes stranger, wider, and further out. Lyrically, Kingman delves deeper into the struggles of the working-class musician with themes of substance abuse and redemption, companionship as salvation, and the ever-present shadow of disillusionment. His lyrics are again intensely honest, full of all the lessons learned and ignored, while always tempered with mystery and room for the listener.
"I like to alternate between plain-spoken truth and fragmented visions of painfully vivid dreamscapes," Kingman notes. "Songs need a listener to be complete. And I don't want to tell the listener what to think or do. It's our job to present honesty, good or bad: an unfinished song from an unfinished life. And everybody hearing it gets a co-write because each moment is unique."
This is apparent from the start, as album opener "Frankenstein" comes to life with deceptive lyrical hooks, coupling the pieced-together aesthetic of the famous resurrected corpse with generous metaphorical roundabouts. Its psychedelic wormholes envelop the song in warm, trippy veils, transcending the confines of its Western country roots to an altogether more experimentally robust misfit anthem.
"Serenity Prayer" follows with the Sisyphean journey of a working musician who makes good for a few hours each evening playing at the local tavern before finding themselves inevitably drawn to a seat at the bar again. It's an entreaty to oneself to find the strength to change tomorrow, as Kingman writes, "Grant me the serenity to pay for this in change," and "Grant me the wisdom to know I owe the difference," before always returning to, "But a friend behind the bar is a mighty fine deal."
Kingman's songwriting vacillates between the specter of longing and the levity of self-awareness. "The trick is to be honest," Kingman says. "And there are many ways to be honest." It comes in songs as crushing as "Hell of a Time" and "I Don't Need Anybody"; in irreverent tracks like "I Lost My Beer," a love letter to a misplaced libation that is already a favorite among Laurelthirst patrons; and in the rattling regret of hangover lament, "Bottom of the Bottle." And then there's the title track and its "Preprise," a two-part roadhouse opus that splits The Incredible Heat Machine, comprising a formidable showcase of TK & The Holy Know-Nothings' divergent styles, both sonically and lyrically. "I want a line to fill me with golden light and then leave me alone in the pale desert with just the wind and my heartbeat," Kingman shares.
Finally, the album closer "Just the Right Amount" ties the album's themes together as Kingman places himself on stage, staring at the mic and the crowd, reflecting on the experiences and decisions that led to these songs. "I think he liked the way it sounded / Drunk and bleeding on a borrowed mic / I've never seen a bar so crowded / Dead quiet on a Saturday night / Maybe one to get them crying / Maybe one to help them fight / You gotta do a little wrong, kid / To get that kind of right."
"At our core, we are working musicians. And that's why we will always be a bar band no matter where we play. We are players and that's all we wanna do. We live for songs and we take them very seriously. Even the stupidest ones. It's all sacred and that's why it should be mangled by children."
TK & The Holy Know-Nothings' new album is above all things true to the moment it was created, full of lessons unheeded and questions unanswered. In the end, it will always exist in that moment and whatever moment it shares with its listeners. Kingman sums it up best: "The Incredible Heat Machine is a haunted jukebox on wheels and God's own check engine light. It's a locomotive composed of living parts linked by some buck-toothed telepathy allowing it to make it down the tracks where there is no final answer or destination, just movement and feeling."
READ MORE >>Supporting Acts
About the Venue
Upgrades: A limited amount of VIP seating upgrades (21+) are available for select shows. Contact the box office to purchase or check availability: boxoffice@hifiindy.com.
Ticket Support: Box Office opens 1 hour before published door time. For ticket related questions please email boxoffice@hifiindy.com.
Parking: Street Parking, Bike Parking
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