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<!-- EDIT BELOW THIS LINE -- U Knighted Is an American rock band originating in North Carolina consisting of members Ian "E N" Burton( guitar, bass, vocals), S. P. Sully(guitar, misc. percussion, vocals), Sally Siggens(flute, misc. percussion, vocals), Derek Thomas(sampler,misc. percussion, vocals) Jessika Brust(violin/fiddle, misc. percussion, vocals) Seth Ballance(drums, vocals), and Stefan Perrachon(electronic effects). In 2009, U Knighted released their first album Eclipse. In 2011, they released two Ep's titled Funkasaurus Rex and Glimpse.

Formation

S.P. Sully had been involved in the music industry for over 40 years. He spent 1964-1980 working with several major music corporations; and has been the manager of Rich Roberts’ Music Center in Independence, MO; Poole Music Center in Raleigh, NC; and Stephenson Music in Raleigh, NC. He has also done production management for the CMC Management and Booking Agency. Sully started singing professionally at age six; and began playing violin at age eight. He first started playing guitar when he was 12 years old; and started writing poetry and composing with his middle brother when he was 13. At age 15, Sully started demonstrating Yamaha guitars; and by 17, he was performing professionally full-time. When Derek Thomas started training in Sully’s dojo in August 2002, he never would’ve guessed he’d be playing in a band of this genre or caliber. Outside of his long-standing love of classic rock and some of the great singers/songwriters of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, he deals mainly with hip-hop; and is an accomplished MC. After training with Sully for several years, Derek eventually moved into the dojo, where he currently resides. One day, while making beats on his Boss DR-5 (a drum machine/sequencer/synthesizer), Sully happened to pass by and take notice. Unbeknownst to Derek, this type of synthesizer was one of the instruments that Sully had envisioned using to stage his operetta. Though it was originally designed for sequencing and layering prerecorded patterns, Sully asked Derek if he’d be willing to learn to play it as a live instrument. “I figured this was an opportunity to become more well rounded as a musician; and after all he [Sully] taught me and how much he’s done to help me get my life together, playing in the band was the least I could do to help out,” Derek says. He has now been playing with the band for seven years; and plays two DR-5s simultaneously and while singing. EN Burton came onto the scene in September of 2002. He and Derek knew each other casually; as Derek frequented the restaurant where EN was a manager. One of the things they didn’t know about each other, however, was of their mutual love for martial arts, so it was a surprise to both when EN also started training at Sully’s dojo. They became good friends, and Derek soon learned that EN had played bass, guitar, and drums in a band. At this time, Sully was looking for a bassist; so Derek encouraged EN to try out, and he officially became a member of U Knighted in October 2003. Over time, his role in the band has expanded, and now EN currently sings and plays lead guitar, bass guitar, and the occasional rhythm instrument; and frequently all at once! After years of practice, he has taught himself to play lead guitar while playing bass with his toes and singing; SIMULTANEOUSLY! He has been performing this way since 2007, and it makes for a captivating live spectacle that one must see to believe. EN also runs his own music school based in Cary, NC, called Burton School of the Arts.

The next addition to the band was Sally Day Siggens; who joined U Knighted in 2006. Having had a very musical mother who lead the church children’s choir in Sally’s youth, she began singing four-part harmonies and descants at the age of six. She began studying piano when she was seven; and guitar when she was 12. She joined a folk group as a vocalist in junior high, then began writing her own music. Sally also performed as a vocalist in high school choir, a madrigal group, and numerous solo competitions; meanwhile studying classical guitar under Daniel Hecht. She sang with the university choir and studied classical voice at the University of Wisconsin at Madison; and started teaching herself the flute at age 21. After college, Sally studied classical flute with an instructor from the San Francisco Symphony, then some years later began studying jazz flute. Sally took what she learned from her jazz and applied it vocally, then discovered a passion for improvising and playing with other musicians while she was living in a musicians’ commune.

Stefan Perachon found his way into the group in October of 2009. Stefan had trained in martial arts with Derek, EN and Sully for years, and they knew him to be a skilled and creative videographer, who had worked on promotional videos for the dojo in the past. So when U Knighted’s debut album Eclipse was finished, Stefan was the first choice to provide the visual media experience for the band.

Jessika Brust also joined U Knighted in October of 2009. After a summer of studying opera at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, she moved to the Raleigh area and happened to drop off her résumé at EN’s music school. Before going to Austria, she had been singing and playing violin/fiddle for several successful cover groups in the southeast, after graduating with a music minor from Elon University. Coincidentally, U Knighted had begun to search for a violinist and an additional vocalist when she had dropped off her résumé, and it was as if they needed to do no searching at all—Jessika was an instant fit to the tight musical and vocal harmony of U Knighted.

Seth Ballance was a long-term acquaintance of Derek’s, and they had jammed together casually on a number of occasions. When U Knighted was in need of a drummer, Seth was invited to come play in March 2010, and gradually became a full-time member of the band. He also runs his own experimental hip-hop/electronics studio called Zone 4 Productions.

Style

Although the concept of the group dates back over 30 years, the band U Knighted as it currently stands began to materialize in 2002. U Knighted has various musical influences, the members having backgrounds in various genres of music ranging from classical to hip-hop to death metal. This makes for a unique hodgepodge of styles that has created a sound described as "the combination of Opeth, Pink Floyd, Santana, Bob Dylan, and Frank Zappa." Aside from their diverse musical lineup, U Knighted focuses heavily on harmonic vocals which give the band an even more diverse sound.