Back to Little Eden: The Jack Knives Trust Pete Steinkopf With Their Next Chapter

The news didn’t arrive with noise or urgency. It didn’t need to.

It landed quietly, inside a newsletter sent straight to the band’s Street Team, the people who’ve grown alongside The Jack Knives from the very beginning.

No rollout. No countdown. No perfectly timed teaser. Just an honest update. The Jack Knives are heading back to Asbury Park this April to record a new full-length album. Same studio. Same producer. But a very intentional shift in how and why they’re making music.

A few days after the message went out, Orgcore caught up with singer and guitarist Si Short by phone from London. He sounded reflective, but not unsure. Confident, but grounded in gratitude.

“The last time we were at Little Eden, we didn’t assume anything,” Short says. “We were just grateful to be there. But when we left, it felt pretty clear that something important had happened for us.” That feeling wasn’t about numbers or momentum. It was about identity.

The Jack Knives at Little Eden in 2024 photo by Connor Kane

The destination for the new album, once again, is Little Eden Studios, the Asbury Park home of The Bouncing Souls and the room where "Into the Night" was recorded, a record that quietly marked a turning point for the The Jack Knives.

“Before Into the Night, we felt like a band with a lot of potential,” Short explains. “After that record, things felt more solid. Not like we had it all figured out, just that we finally understood what we wanted to sound like as a band.”

That realization didn’t come from the studio alone. It was reinforced on the road.

At the center of that shift was Pete Steinkopf, not just as a producer, but as a mentor, guide, and friend. Last year, Steinkopf and his crew brought The Jack Knives out on tour with The Bouncing Souls, a run of shows that Short describes as transformational.

Si Short & Drew Baker of the Jack Knives performing on tour with The Bouncing Souls

“Being on the road with Pete and The Souls family changed us,” Short says. “Not just musically, but in how we saw ourselves and the whole game.”

Night after night, The Jack Knives watched a band with decades of history still play with urgency, humility, and purpose.

“Pete never sat us down and lectured us,” Short explains. “He led by example. We saw how he and his band treated people. How they treated the songs. How seriously they took the responsibility of being a band and it really impressed us.”

That perspective helped The Jack Knives shed any remaining uncertainty about their place in the punk and orgcore world.

“They helped us understand that it’s okay to trust who you are,” Short says. “You don’t have to chase trends or overthink it. You just have to mean what you’re doing and shake off that imposter syndrome.”

That philosophy carried directly back into the studio.

“Pete never tried to turn us into something else,” Short says. “He helped us sound more like us. That gave us confidence but it also came with a responsibility to be honest.”

Over time, the relationship deepened beyond producer and band. “He’s a mentor, without a doubt,” Short says. “But more than that, he’s become a friend. Someone who genuinely cares about us as people, not just as a band.” That trust is a big reason the band knew exactly where they wanted to be next.

Si Short, Pete Steinkopf, Drew Baker and Bryan Lee in Anaheim 2025.

For most of their career, The Jack Knives have worked under self-imposed pressure. Recording dates locked in too early. Singles scheduled before songs were finished. Music videos planned while mixes were still being debated. “A lot of that was me pushing,” Short admits. “The ambition, the fear of slowing down and missing out. It helped get us here, but it also meant we were always racing the clock and working under stress.”

This time, they’re doing something different. “There’s no set schedule,” Short says. “No pre-planned singles. No release dates.”

Instead, the band is letting the work lead.

Pete Steinkopf and Si Short on the Asbury Park Boardwalk 2024

“We’re just focusing on making the best record we can,” he explains. “When it’s finished, then we’ll start thinking about releases and videos.”

It’s not a lack of confidence, it’s the opposite. “We trust ourselves more now,” Short says. “And we trust that the people who care about this band and these songs will still be there when it’s ready.” That trust, he’s quick to point out, comes from the small but dedicated and growing community that’s supported them and watched them grow faster than most.

“We don’t forget that all of this is possible only because of the fans and friends we've made along the way,” Short says. “The Street Team, the people who come to shows, who buy records, who tell a friend. We still feel beyond lucky to have this community. The fact we have that is the reason we can slow down a little now and I'm so beyond grateful for that. I really care about the record we're going to give them at the end of this”

The Jack Knives in Asbury Park 2024. Photo by Connor Kane

That grattitude and confidence is reflected in how the band is writing together heading into these sessions.

“This is the most collaborative we’ve ever been,” Short says. “Everyone’s bringing something important to the table.”

Short explains drummer Drew Baker has become the band’s structural compass, "he takes raw ideas and shapes them into something intricate without losing feel."

Short also laments lead guitarist Faris “Dragon” Muhtaseb. "Dragon continues to stamp songs with a guitar voice that’s unmistakably his own, and always in service of the song, he has gained so much confidence working with Pete".

Short continues that bassist Bryan “Brooce” Lee remains key to the foundation while also emerging as a powerful songwriting voice, often pulling ideas from similar emotional places to Short. Together, it feels less like individuals contributing parts and more like a single creative unit moving in the same direction.

Back to Little Eden, with clearer eyes.

The decision to return to Little Eden came almost immediately after finishing the Into the Night record.

“Drew was actually the first one to say it out loud,” he recalls. “As soon as we wrapped that record, he said, ‘If we ever get the chance, we should come back here.’ And honestly, we were all thinking it, we just didn’t want to assume we’d get that lucky again.”

That humility still defines how the band is approaching this next chapter.

“There’s a lot of gratitude wrapped up in this,” Short says. “We’re confident in what we’re making, but we don’t take any of it for granted.”

There’s no release date yet. No single waiting in the wings. No campaign quietly building behind the scenes, and that’s intentional.

The Street Team heard the news first because the trust lives there.

Orgcore got the call next, because stories deserve context.

And come April, The Jack Knives will be back in Asbury Park, not chasing potential, but continuing to build on exactly who they’ve become.

“We’re proud of where we’re at,” Short says. “And we’re incredibly grateful for the people who helped us get here. That’s what we’re carrying into this record.”

In a world obsessed with urgency, The Jack Knives are choosing patience, trust, and community and that might be the clearest sign yet that this next record matters.