James Knoerl is an accomplished drummer who has shared the stage with such prolific bands as “Tesseract,” “Animals as Leaders,” and just recently opened up for “Megadeath” with the band “Oni.” Please follow his musical journey through his YouTube page if interested: https://www.youtube.com/@JamesKnoerl
At a young age, James was crawling into his mother's kitchen cabinets to beat on pots and pans. At age six James received his first drum set and started taking lessons from his hometown friend, Rick Smith (Rebuilder, The Pomps, & The Toasters). At age 7 he had the opportunity to take lessons from Jeff White (Alma College & Hohner Institute of Percussion). It was here James would learn about jazz history and begin reading music. When his family moved to Cadillac, Michigan he began studying with Marc Alderman (SEEDS, FunDubMentals) focusing on samba music and learning about classical percussion.
In 2007 James entered high school and spent the next four years with multiple gigging bands, as well as state- level percussion competitions. He received a school record of nine district one awards for percussion! From the age of 10 onwards all his summers were spent at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and occasionally fitting in a couple weeks at Dayjamz in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as well as Dog House Music Camp in Boulder, Colorado. When he was 14 he auditioned for the Blue Lake International Jazz Ensemble, and at 15 he was touring Europe with them.
During the Summer of 2010 he attended the Berklee Five-Week Summer Program which led to his audition at the college later that winter. His acceptance later arrived in January 2011! September 2011 fall classes began, and he was immediately immersed into private lessons and labs with:
Tony "Thunder Smith” (John McLaughlin, Lou Reed, & Santana)
Rod Morgenstein (Winger, Dixie Dregs, & Jordan Rudess)
Kim Plainfield (Outreach Orchestra, Pointer Sisters, & Taina Marie)
Casey Scheuerell (Chaka Khan, Gino Vannelli, & Jean Luc-Ponty)
Jackie Santos (Taveres, Chuck Barry, & John Cafferty)
At Berklee where James formed the progressive metal band "Aviations" and released their first album "A Declaration of Sound.”
During Summer 2012, James toured with "The Omega Experiement" (Listenable Records) in support of their debut album.
In May 2014, James signed a six-month contract with Carnival Cruise Lines. From June 2014 - November 2014 he was cruising around the Bahamas playing drums in "Dat Band.”
2015 was a busy year as he became the drummer for local Allston hipster Indie band "Oh Malô,” a short-lived adventure that saw James playing all over the East Coast! It was also around this time that James began playing with "The Knot's Best of Weddings Hall of Fame" rated band "The Pulse of Boston.” James also began releasing original music under the name "With a Smile." An EP entitled "Never Listen" was released in September, and a split with Blumen was released in February 2016!
The rest of 2016 has been filled with drumming, teaching, and traveling. Summer 2016 James was able to tour with the metal band "Threat Signal" for their 10th Anniversary Under Reprisal Canadian Tour!
Fall is looking to be just as adventurous as James begins playing with a new band called "Wildfire,” a professional and experienced cover band with over 10 years of playing shows and a strong following all over the Greater Boston area!
