originally published: 05/12/2025
The Billy Walton Band, regarded as one of Southern New Jersey's most dynamic, popular live acts, release the soulful, rockin' new single, "Knife In My Back." Stream it on all platforms, here.
"'Knife In My Back' is a classic case of losing faith in some so- called friends while strengthening faith in yourself and what you do," explains Walton, "but I always try to leave the song lyrics for the listeners to apply to their own life."
"I had a great time recording this one," adds Walton. "I started writing the lyrics on the way up to the studio. It's always such a pleasure working with ('Knife In My Back' co-producer) Anthony (Kirzan). It is always the right vibe!! Anthony and I finish the lyrics, then put the song together with the arrangement and started recording. (BWB bassist/'Knife In My Back co-producer) William (Paris), Anthony, and I had the foundation ready to go. We did some vocals and guitar work and then (BWB vocalist-guitarist) Toni (Teschner) came in and sang on the song with me. I’m just so stoked for everyone to hear it."
"Sometimes writing a song can take days or weeks or can be a grueling process, but working with Billy on 'Knife In My Back' seemed to come easy," adds Kirzan, another New Jersey-based musician formerly with the Spin Doctors who's enjoyed a solid solo career of his own. "We both had our guitars out and things just started to flow naturally -- two blues guys cut from the same cloth. There’s a certain edge and realness, and a gutsy blues feel that came from within on 'Knife In My Back.' Hopefully listeners can feel the honesty of the track. The song wasn't forced by any means. We certainly didn’t set out to write a song to please anybody but ourselves."
This past February the group did a short run of shows in the Netherlands and Germany, where they've always been well-received, followed by nine consecutive shows in England earlier this month (April 2025). The English tour was built around the band's appearance at the HRH Blues Fest in Leicester. Most of the shows on this tour saw the band returning to familiar venues with several sold-out engagements.
The song was written by Billy Walton & Anthony Krizan and recorded at Sonic Boom Studio. It was engineered and mixed by Anthony Krizan. The song includes performances by Billy Walton (guitars, vocals); William Paris (bass); Anthony Krizan (guitars, drums); Toni Teschner (vocals); and Rob Clores (keys). The video was filmed at Sonic Boom by Sean Ferguson.
Formed in 2007, the Billy Walton Band grew out of the rich musical heritage of the active Jersey Shore music scene, and found its groove when Billy connected with bassist William Paris. Walton is one of New Jersey's hardest-working rock n' roll guitatists. Prior to fronting his own successful group, he was a member of famed Asbury Park legends, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
Billy Walton Band are renowned for their electric, high-energy shows and have a solid, dedicated fan base which continues to grow. In addition to blues-rock fans, the jam-band scene has embraced BWB.
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Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...6/5/25
"Well, I had the great pleasure a few years back of interviewing most of the musicians who played on "Highway 61 Revisited," Dylan's 1965 album, one of his 1965 albums which in my view is still the greatest album ever made by anybody. After all of the magazine features, there was a vast whole of interview material that didn't make it to the articles just because of limited space and I always felt that one day it would make the crux of a good book and this being the 60th anniversary year of Dylan going electric and of "Highway 61" so it seemed an opportune moment."
