Raph Copeland

Founder/Principal

Born in the Bronx and raised in Westchester, Raph is the founder of knifetwister records. He manages the New York City thrash metal band CHAKA as well as the NYC rock/punk band MANiK, and has worked with nearly a dozen bands. His directorial debut for the music video for Butterbrain’s “Hold Tight” premiered exclusively on PunkNews on Inauguration Day 2025.

Professionally, he works in cybersecurity and has worked on systems in New York, Hong Kong, Beijing and Los Angeles, as well as a number of less impressive cities, like Ann Arbor, Lakewood and Biloxi. He was the Chief Technology Officer for a commercial lender and private equity firm that went belly up in the crash of 2008 along with everyone else even tangentially involved in real estate. He is a published author, having contributed technical writing to numerous medical journals, and his work has been translated into four languages. He has additionally done work for several charitable organizations in New York and New Jersey.

He has lots of interests, but the main one is pool. He is a three time tournament winner, but 9-ball only, don’t bother him with that 8-ball shit. He is also a competitive chess player, and reached the finals of the 2014 NJ State Amateurs in Parsippany. He picks locks too, and is weirdly good at that. Did a commercial grade Master lock in under 2 seconds once, it’s on YouTube somewhere.

In 2011, Copeland was honored with a formal citation for heroism after rescuing a woman and her infant from a serious car accident in Lakewood, New Jersey. The citation was presented during a Joint Legislative session of the State Senate and General Assembly in Trenton, sponsored by State Senator Robert S. Singer and Assemblymen Joseph R. Malone and Ronald S. Dancer. Whole thing was kind of embarrassing, to be honest.

Copeland holds a B.A. in Psychology from BInghamton University and a Masters in Education from Pace University (both useless). He is the father of three and currently resides in White Plains.

Maya Bishop

Staff Writer/Media Relations

Born and raised in The Bronx, Maya has joined the knifetwister records team as of 2026. They are a volunteer and writer across the NYC alternative, metal, and punk scenes. 

Outside of writing, Maya enjoys weekly DnD sessions and baking. They also pick up a new creative hobby every few weeks. DIY fashion has been a long-lasting interest since their original 2010s tumblr phase, and has inspired a wide array of craft skills from sewing to stamp printing.