Welcome to the inaugural Wrock Talk post, in which I interview a wide variety of wizard rockers! For this post, I sat down (so to speak) with TK Lawrence of the band Totally Knuts. Formed in the mid-2010s, Totally Knuts might be a newer band when compared to some of the scene’s progenitors, but their impact has been quite noticeable. In fact, after releasing their debut album in 2017, the band has already released two more albums, and three EPs! Read on for that glorious inside scoop:

Paul: How did you get started with wrock and form your band? What is your ‘origin story’?

TK: At LeakyCon 2011 there was a wizard rock panel, and that was the first time I had ever heard about the genre. After the con was over, I did a ton of research and downloaded many albums from different wrock bands. In 2013, when I was teaching in Asheville, NC, I was having a hard time trying to find a full time job and my life was really stressful. I knew that I needed to do something that would make me happy, so I picked up a pencil and wrote “Expecto Patronum.” I was also teaching ukulele at the time, so I chose some chords and made it into a song! It was a lot easier to do than I thought it would be, and I’ve been writing ever since! I wanted to make myself into a wizard rock band because I had always looked up to so many bands that had done the same, and I wanted my band name to be from my real name TK. So I thought, “What magical word starts with a K?” I liked “knut” and threw the “totally” in front of it.

Paul: From there, what was the recording process like for your first album, and how has that process evolved?

TK: I applied for the Yes All Witches grant the first time it came out—I ended up winning the grant and with the money I was able to buy a nice microphone and recording software. Steph from Tonks and the Aurors, who runs the grant, helped me figure out how to use the software and what I’d need to do to record a song. It was definitely a bit of a learning curve, especially with the software, but with enough practice I eventually got the hang of it. Since my first album, I’ve learned how to add in harmonies, different instruments, and percussion tracks. I’ve also tried to evolve my melodies and strumming patterns as I have written more music.

Paul: In terms of lyrics, wizard rock seems to be taking an explicitly inclusive/LGBTQ+ turn, and many folks have cited your band as a major catalyst for this movement. What inspired you to really focus on inclusivity, and what has the feedback been like?

TK: I had started writing my own wizard rock around the same time that I came out as nonbinary. I knew that I wanted to write inclusive music in order to represent the LGBT community, because other than Tianna and the Cliffhangers, there wasn’t a ton of representation like that—at least not that I could tell. As I started putting more inclusive music out there, I was so happy with how the community positively responded to those songs. Every time another wrock artist comes out with a LGBT song, it makes me so happy to see that our community continues to be inclusive, loving, welcoming, and accepting. It truly feels like a family.

Paul: On a related note, your last album, Rise Up, Wands Up, had a lot of very relevant lyrical material. How do you think today’s socio-political climate has impacted your songwriting? What about wrock in general?

TK: Rise Up, Wands Up was definitely driven by my feelings of anger, hurt, and disappointment of JKR’s transphobia, as well as the BLM movement. Because I was quarantining at home and not attending rallies, marches, or protests, I felt like I needed to do something to help support the trans community and the BLM movement. A lot of other wizard rockers have produced songs with similar ideas, and I think it definitely brings the community even closer together and uplifts each other.

Paul: Let’s talk about the wrock cover swap! How did that come about, and what was it like organizing it? It seems like a lot of work.

TK: I was so excited to manage the wrock cover swap! I thought it would be a really fun idea to do a community thing that would be fun to do and also something that would bring everyone a little bit of joy during these pandemic times! I’m a Ravenclaw, so honestly it wasn’t that much work for me (or at least it was, but I had so much fun with it I didn’t care)! I’m planning on organizing more cover swaps in the future—maybe four times a year, once per season, and I hope it’ll keep getting as much interest as the first one did! I had a ton of fun and the covers that came out of it were amazing!

Paul: Speaking of future plans, what do you think is in store for wizard rock? Where would you like to see it go?

TK: I think that wizard rock is going to stay strong for a long time, and while the author that brought us Harry Potter now seems to have abandoned the ideals that her books stand for, we more than make up for that with our song writing. I would love for the community to keep creating, reaching out to other communities to team up with them and do some comps, and like I said above, I definitely plan on keeping up with the cover swap. I also plan on continuing to write music that is relevant to our lives these days, and I hope others will too!

Paul: I have one final question, and it’s a bit light-hearted: If you could try one magical wizard treat from the HP books, what would it be and why?

TK: Cauldron Cakes. They sound so delicious and I ate one at the Wizarding World in FL and it was super stale. So I’d like the cakes to redeem themselves.

To buy TK’s music, check out their Bandcamp. For more information about Totally Knuts, take a peek at their Your Wizard Rock Resource page. Or give ’em a “like” on Facebook, “follow” them on Twitter, or support them on Patreon!