Just ask anyone: Hot Country Knights are the best 1990s country cover band in the history of time. They’re the real deal!
OK, well, they’re not exactly who they say they are, but they’re certainly a project worthy of your attention. Hot Country Knights are on a mission to bring “real ‘90s country music back to a format that’s been drowning in male sensitivity, cashmere cardigan sweaters and programmed drum loops.” Helmed by their mullet-wearing frontman Douglas (“Doug”) Douglason, they landed a deal with Universal Music Group Nashville, and they’ve been taking the world by storm ever since. Today (May 1) marks the arrival of their debut album, The K Silent. You can listen to a song from the record, “Hot Country Knights,” below.
Paste had the pleasure of speaking with Douglason this week about the album, as well as the mastermind behind the Knights (and—if we’re being totally transparent—Doug himself), country superstar Dierks Bentley. A “producer” on the project, you might say he and Doug are very closely related. Like, super close.
“He’s letting me use his phone right now,” Douglason said of Bentley during the call (just in case it wasn’t clear—this is Dierks Bentley posing as the rowdy, offensive Doug). “He really did most of the writing.”
Forget Billy Ray Cyrus: Douglas also claims the Knights were the mullet originators. “We were really the first band to do the mullet,” Douglason said. “The Knights own the mullet.” He also said the self-titled single “Hot Country Knights” “captures the overall feeling of the live show,” which, due to the coronavirus pandemic (or, as Douglason refers to it, “rona”), has of course been put on hold.
“I’ve already got my rattlesnake mask ready to go,” Douglason said, confident he and the guys will still be able to uphold the glory of 1990s country music even from home.
When Douglason finally “released the phone” back to him, Bentley also spoke to the mayhem behind his parody project.
“It’s a seriously fun project, but we took it pretty seriously,” Bentley said. “A lot of work went into the songwriting so it’s been a lot of fun—and I say that not honestly because it’s been a nightmare to work with these guys,” he joked.
Listen to “Hot Country Knights” below, and then stream The K Is Silent at your DSP of choice right here.
