Knockout Drops are a stalwart figure on New York’s rock music scene, frequently performing and selling out shows at many of the City’s most notable venues, including Irving Plaza, Bowery Ballroom, Knitting Factory, Mercury Lounge, and more. In the past year, the band has expanded its concert circuit, performing three tours in Europe, where the Drops have been building a fan base touring behind the critically acclaimed 2003 release of “Killed By the Lights” (Circus Clone Records), which was chosen as one of the Top 10 Albums of the Year by Newsday. “Escape From Bellevue and Other Stories” is the band’s second full-length album in two years. Knockout Drops features Christopher John Campion (lead vocals), Tom Licameli (guitar/vocals), Phil Mastrangelo (bass/vocals), and Vinny Cimino (drums). While all of the songs are suffused with the Drops’ signature melodic hooks and lyrical narratives, perhaps the heart of the show is the achingly plaintive and tuneful “Wrong Turn,” a pivotal song that artfully captures the anguished moment when Campion first awakens behind Bellevue’s electronic doors and realizes what his life’s inertia is owed to: “wishful thinking goes with daytime drinking when you’re on one long wrong turn.” The song also foretells his impending booze-fueled returns with “it’d be two more times before I’d learn that I’m on one long wrong turn.” The other powerful songs featured in “Escape From Bellevue and Other Stories,” each introduced with stories and segues of their own during the show, include “Dharma”; “Vicious Freaks”; “That Fate Thing”; “Where did the Love Go?”; “Circle the Drain”; “Bermuda Triangle”; “Pilot Light”; and “City of Love.” Knockout Drops have always entertained and engaged concert audiences with amusing commentary intermingled with hard-charging live performances. Drawing on Campion’s preternatural gift for storytelling, the band has been moving in a new direction for the past three years, expanding the live band performances to include more and more improvisational material, animated tales and multimedia sketches. “Escape From Bellevue and Other Stories,” both the stage production and the accompanying record, are the culmination of that band evolution. For more information about the stage production and the band, visit www.knockoutdrops.com. Click on the link on the website’s homepage to view a lively nine-minute electronic press preview, including show highlights, partial monologues, music excerpts, and multimedia vignettes...quot;as well as interviews with Campion and director Horton Foote Jr.