Do you ever yearn for the days of 90s Rock/Metal? Love you some Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, or Bon Jovi? Well, boy are you in for a treat with Niro Knox! Niro will rock your socks off into the 2024 and beyond with his new album and song “Save Me”. What’s more is Niro is a really nice guy! He is very passionate about giving back, particularly to mental health and homeless causes, as he has struggled with these in the past. In fact, all of the proceeds from his new single “Save Me” are going to the mental health charity, SANE. When he isn’t creating new work or rifting on a guitar he can be found helping homeless nonprofits like Meir Panim and Kilburn Streets Kitchen/OKT (Our Kilburn Table). To learn more about this Israeli Rock Star, his music, his thoughts on Israel, and how he is giving back, please read on!

Where are you based?
I am based in NW London, just off the M25, in a lovely little town called Potters Bar, at the moment.

What inspired you to get into music?
There were a few factors to it, one of them was to impress a girl in school (I was 14), I was a new kid in the country and needed a social ‘way in’. But above and beyond, what made it real for me was Slash from Guns N’ Roses — those days we were listening a lot of rock, mainly Aerosmith, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine, Nirvana, Metallica etc, but when I first heard GNR, something about the sound of the guitar, the raw conviction and the soulful Dave-Gilmour-like guitar solos that Slash delivered on their albums, just made me feel like a superhero — just for listening to it. I then KNEW what I wanted to be when I grew up – a rock guitarist.

What is it about rock music that just gets you?
First of all, it’s REAL. At least when it started it was, and you could hear and identify with the writer’s pain when you listen to it. In other words, if I had a bad day as a kid, I would put a cassette on, close my eyes and just sit and listen, that was all I needed. I think what separates rock music from the rest is the CONVICTION it is delivered with, at least for myself, I can feel it. I can imagine the drummer or the guitarist just playing it, putting everything they’ve got into it, like they’ve got something to say, just like the singer, but they can’t, so they say it through their instrument. That just gets me. Every time.

Jejune loves your new song Save Me, can you tell the story behind this song?
We live in crazy times indeed – but every time I say that, there is a voice inside me saying ‘stop whining, people 50 years ago didn’t have it any better, it was probably harder’ which then leads me to the realization that each and every one of us is a whole universe on its own; what matters to me, like it’s life or death, might not matter to another.

Living in London for such a long time, you can’t help but see so many people around you struggle — that’s aside from your own struggle — and there is something, in particular, that stands out for me. There are people that came here and stuck to it, they “welcomed” struggle and adversary to help them learn what they are made of, to discover possibilities of transformation etc. And, in contrast, there are those who wanted to blame the whole world around them, never take responsibility and think that things like the weather, politics or even the day of the week are going to influence where their life is going.

At the beginning of my journey, I solely related to that first group of people but, as I transformed myself and developed to achieve new possibilities for myself, I started getting this feeling of responsibility towards the people in that second group; I wanted to reach out to people and inspire them to change. ‘Save Me’ is about all that and more! Sometimes people from back home ask me, “Is life in London better than here?” and I always say, “A good life is something you need to create, geographical location has nothing to do with it!” Especially in a place like London where you can be and do anything!”

You also have an upcoming album coming out with the same name. What can we expect from this new album?
You can expect an album that is not perfect, but honest. And you can expect raw, less “manicured” songs – with real drums! — that are longer than your average songs (these days!) ‘cos I just don’t care if they’re too long for radio – like Bohemian Rhapsody, ha! – I just want them to tell the truth. Conviction is everything in music, look at the Pistols: they couldn’t even tune or play their instruments correctly, yet they meant every tune they wrote, and people connected with that – and if something ROCKS, it stays in!

We love that you are donating all of your proceeds from your single Save Me to the mental health charity, SANE. Can you tell us a bit about what SANE does and why this was important to you?
SANE has a community which means it’s more than just a charity payment collection gateway etc. They offer non-judgmental emotional support and that is something I think everyone needs, not only people who are on the edge, we all need some help and we all do better when we get support. It is important for me to give something back, not only from the point of view of directly helping fund something but perhaps, if I ever get more known in the world, to inspire others to do the same. I think many ‘celebs’ in the world at the moment are acting very irresponsibly, and perhaps it stems from their complete obliviousness to a responsibility that is inherited when you gain a status. If you have millions of people connected to you directly on a platform, you have to be responsible for what you spew out, you have the power to do things others can only wish for, and you should use it to better the circles around you.

You have struggled with your own mental health a bit over the years. Can you tell us a bit about your own journey? How are you these days?
I am fine these days, thanks for asking, it’s been a while since anyone actually asked me that. I think the better you get, the more you realize you still have to learn and it’s something that gives me almost a ‘hunger’ to keep going, learning, gaining inner wisdom. I think in the past, a lot of my struggles stemmed from having a narrow view and focusing too much on my wants, rather on my needs; it’s like the saying “don’t go grocery shopping when you are hungry”; you have to nurture yourself rather than fulfill a hunger.

As an Israeli you are expected to serve time in the Israeli military. This time seemed to be particularly triggering for you. Can you talk about this a bit? What are your thoughts on forced military work?
I wouldn’t call it forced, just obligatory, in that there are layers of justifications for it. But having said that, my stint in the army was very triggering, yes. I don’t want to get too much into it, but I am sure you can imagine how you would feel if you had a weapon pointed at you, or if you had to deal with someone who is trying to pass through a gate and they seem nice and innocent, but throughout your whole childhood you have learnt that someone could pull out a knife and stab you at any moment, or that the “pregnant” woman next to you is actually wearing an explosive vest. That is the reality of living in Israel, and when you are eighteen, and still have such a passionate yearning for all of life that lies ahead – well, it’s a very emotional time in your life.

Despite your negative experience with being a part of the Israeli army, you are still pro-Israel. What would you like the world to know about the importance of Israel?
For me, Israel is the coolest country in the world. Less than three years after the horrors of the Holocaust, people were given a piece of land full of nothing but swamps, malaria, cholera, and no natural resources, and they worked hard, planted trees, built a society, and it became the only democratic state in the region, and a world - mainly medical - tech leader, and won 214 Nobel Prizes! And they invented cherry tomatoes!!

From your time in the army and in Israel, can you shed some personal light on what is going on with the Israel and Palestine conflict?
The first thing to say is that Israel’s army cares about the people in Gaza more than Hamas does. If Israel didn’t care, then they would have flattened Gaza in four hours using air strikes, but instead, they chose to go in by foot, into tunnels full of traps. as part of an extremely complex campaign. I understand that civilians are stuck in the middle, but it’s also true to say that some of these ‘civilians’ are the very same people who committed the rapes, murders and terrible atrocities of October 7th.

We love that you also volunteer and work with organizations that help the homeless. Can you tell us a bit about Meir Panim and Kilburn Streets Kitchen/OKT (Our Kilburn Table)? How did you get involved with these organizations? What do you do with them?
So pretty much every time I get involved is by getting to know socially someone who is already involved and then I get inspired from their stories to help out. Meir Panim holds luxury events to raise money for food trucks, I play at some of their events as an entertainer, help them online with marketing, and I built an in-house database for them. With OKT, again, I met one of the organizers, and once I heard cooking was involved, I signed up! It’s an amazing feeling to hand out the food that you have cooked. The first time I did it, I remember a homeless guy enjoying the food, and standing next to me for about five minutes, until he could summon up the ‘courage’ to ask for another portion. That nearly made me cry.

You spent some time being homeless when you first came to London. Can you tell us a bit about that experience and how you found your way out of it?
It was terrible, I just ran out of money, and I remember going to the Crobar, a rock ‘n’ roll joint in Soho every night to stay warm, and socialize, and each night trying to find someone to go home to, sometimes girls, but most of the time just anyone who’d be willing to let me crash after the bar shut for the night. I tried to hide the fact I was homeless, and only mention it as a last resort, if it was crucial to get help.

Eventually, I was saved by Arron Bortoft – a local guy in the rock scene at the time who overheard my situation and offered me a spare room in his flat in Crystal Palace. I stayed there for three months and got my life together. He took a huge chance and risk as we didn’t know each other at all. Anyway, it turned out that he was homeless in LA in the ‘80s and he knew how desperate he’d felt – and how I was feeling. So, I would like to say: THANK YOU ARRON, my savior.

What would you like the world to understand better about those who are homeless?
I think that language and definitions are very important and perhaps we need to start calling it what it is: house-less. It is structures and sheltered environments that they need. Many argue that “homeless” is a state of mind and I agree to some extent where, victim or not, you have to bear the responsibility in life and there are many people who are REALLY trying, and that is where I try to focus, where I invest my time and energy as it is so limited. But even the totally lost people deserve a shepherd sent from heaven to guide them to the right path: God knows he has sent a few over to me!‘ ‘Home’ is an abstract idea! When I was crashing on couches, or sometimes sleeping on the benches in Soho Square, I was very upset, but I didn’t feel “homeless.” Instead, it felt temporary and an issue I needed to deal with.

What advice do you have for anyone struggling with mental health?
Share. Start by sharing. To anyone. With anyone. Voicing it to others and, through that, to yourself — this will start something within you. Don’t let the subject be ‘completed’. Reach out, share. Ask and the universe will help. Offer, suggest, listen.

What does 2024 look like for you? Any goals?
I am getting married; so there is this very big thing in my life I am looking forward to. I am hoping to just keep releasing more and more music, as much as I can between planning the wedding, running my startup, and constantly fixing my car!

It has been a crazy past few years, how have you been staying positive?
I stay positive actually by remembering the army days – I have a thing where I remind myself of a few tough moments both mentally and physically and I remember that I made it through – so other stuff can’t be as hard.

What is your motto in life?
Take care of business, be a grownup.

To learn more about Niro Knox, please follow him via the links below:
Instagram: niroknox
Facebook: niroknoxmusic
Linkedin: niroknox

Photography credit: Tina Korhonen

Niro Knox - Rock, Metal, Home, and Cherry Tomatoes