Ramona Falls 'Prophet' out May 1st

Ramona Falls is less than a month away from releasing the spectacular follow up to 2009's Intuit. Ramona Falls Prophet, (a title which is a play on the phrase "False Prophet"), is a creative tour-de-force. It is a perfect elevation of the distinctive sound Knopf honed on his previous release.  Earworms like "Bodies of Water", "Brevony", "Sqworm" and "Fingerhold" are perfectly presented alongside slower, more acoustic gems like "Proof" and "if i equals u."  Plus, Prophet includes "Divide By Zero" which just might be the best song Knopf has ever composed.  From start to finish, the hours of carefully constructed layers expertly built and dismantled throughout Prophet create an atmosphere that is distinctly Knopfian.  It is a masterpiece.  

Pre-orders are available on RamonaFalls.com, including a number of deluxe bundle options which include hand drawn, one-of-a-kind goodies created by Brent Knopf himself.  There are even 3 "mystery boxes", which are sure to contain innumerable handmade treasures that any hardcore Ramona Falls fan would love to own.


Look for a full review in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Ramona Falls has 2 songs available for free download, plus a video demo-ing the UNBELIEVABLE CD packaging. Check it out via the above widget.

Ramona Falls "Going Once Going Twice" video

Here is a video I edited of Ramona Falls performing "Going Once, Going Twice" at Mississippi Studios in Portland, OR. It is introduced by none other than Mr. Toad, star of the RF video for "Russia". Enjoy!

Brent Knopf Leaves Menomena

Today Menomena finally announced that Brent Knopf will no longer be a part of the trio. After years of tirelessly fighting to reconcile the ideas of three brilliant, talented, and strong-willed artists, Brent finally threw in the towel today to pursue less heartbreaking creative endeavors. Menomena has made no secret of the tumultuous recording process that resulted in 2010's incredible Mines. Even though the push and pull of conflicting personalities and working styles translated into fiercely original music, it did not seem like a healthy or sustainable collaborative environment for any of the people involved. It is sad to see a founding member of such a unique band move on, but I hope that the personnel change will help ease the tension that has been building within the crystalline structure of Menomena over the past 10 years. I wish Brent, Danny, and Justin all the best in their individual and collective pursuits.


Fans of Brent's will be pleased to know that he has finished producing an AMAZING solo album for Ramona Falls' guitarist, Matt Sheehy. Matt is hoping to release this album in early 2011 (band name and album title are still a secret at this point), and if you are a fan of Ramona Falls, I can guarantee you will enjoy this record. It has absolutely blown me away.


Brent is currently in the studio producing the second album for South African band Dear Reader. This currently untitled album will be released in late 2011 on Souterrain Transmissions in Europe. I haven't heard most of the songs yet, but the few I have heard are sounding beautiful.

If producing 3 albums in the last year isn't enough Knopf for you, Brent has also begun preliminary work on a new Ramona Falls album!! RF played a new song (presumably from the forthcoming album) called "Brevony" at their sold out New Years Eve show at Mississippi Studios, in Portland, OR. It was a monster rocker, and left the crowd dazzled and dancing. It is hard to believe this song was originally submitted for Mines and didn't make the cut! Another forthcoming RF song (and Mines reject) "Bowling", might just be the best song that Brent has ever created.

Although it is sad that incredible songs like "Rose", "Monkey's Back", "Wet & Rusting", "Evil Bee", and "Killemall" will never again be performed with Brent's unique and haunting voice in the lead, I hope that Menomena will continue to tour and make excellent music without him. I am hopeful that Menomena and Brent can both thrive in their individual creative spaces, and produce twice as much breathtakingly original material as before!

Cannon Beach, Oregon coast

Brent Knopf + Matt Sheehy = Musical Genius

Tucked away on a creative retreat in Oregon's beautiful coastal town, Cannon Beach, Brent Knopf and Matt Sheehy are currently hard at work, putting the finishing touches on Matt's 2nd full length album. Having heard many of the demos, I can say with confidence that the follow up to 2008's gorgeous and heartfelt Tigerphobia promises to be a spectacular aural adventure.

In honor of their hard work, I bring you some adorable photos from an excursion Brent and I took to Cannon Beach a few weeks ago. Grab your teddy bears, and prepare to sigh as you scroll down into cuteness village.

Me in front of haystack rock

Brent doing his tough rockabilly sunset pose

Regular Brent looking effortlessly handsome

Awwwwwww. It's an ambigram!

And let's not forget that Matt Sheehy is also the guitarist for Ramona Falls, and star of the music video for "Russia." This video might have been edited by someone who likes to shamelessly promote herself on her own blog. But probably not.

Ramona Falls at Rontoms 8.15.10

My favorite band, Ramona Falls, played a packed-out free show on Sunday at Rontom's in Portland. The line to get in was around the block, and the bar was so busy that they ran out of glasses!

The show was phenomenal. They even debuted a dark and energetic new song called "Brevony." From the sounds of it, their next record is going to be ridiculously good. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for the sequel to 2009's hauntingly beautiful Intuit, although Brent will undoubtedly be tied up with his other excellent band, Menomena for awhile (which just released an awesome album called Mines via Barsuk).

The handsome and talented Brent Knopf belts out "Russia" to the delight of an over-capacity crowd.

Here's Brent performing the encore song "Diamond Shovel"

Set list:

1. Going Once, Going Twice

2. Salt Sack

3. Clover

4. Brevony

5. Boy Ant

6.Darkest Day

7. Belly Fulla

8. I Say Fever

9. Russia

10. Melectric

Encore. Diamond Shovel

I'm so bored that I made a blog/ Ramona Falls - Russia

Welcome to Karte Blanche, my blank check to talk about what I'm working on right now, and whatever interests me. There will be a lot of shameless self promotion, so prepare yourself for a parade of video projects, flying trapeze tricks, and posts about Ramona Falls/Menomena! For my first post I'd like to combine 2 of these focuses by directing your attention to a little music video that I edited & post supervised for Ramona Falls. It is for the song "Russia" from the debut album Intuit. Check it out by clicking on the image below....

For those of you who don't know, Ramona Falls is an unbelievably beautiful, original, and quirky solo project from Brent Knopf, who is also a member of the experimental indie rock band, Menomena. His music is a complex and unorthodox layering of sounds, that takes the listener on an emotional journey through Knopf's infinitely imaginative mind. His songs skip seamlessly between loud and quiet, rocking and reflective, conceptual and accessible. Ramona Falls' debut album, Intuit, was my #1 album of 2009. It is definitely worth checking out.