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 a number of bands in New York and Las Vegas. 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.

Annie Prezzano
Senior Staff Writer

Born in Albany and raised in Rhinebeck, Annie Prezzano is the newest addition to knifetwister records, joining the team as Senior Staff Writer. Annie graduated early from high school in 2024, making the National Honor Society and serving as class president. She then pursued education abroad, studying art history in northern Italy and studio art in Bundoran, Co. Donegal, Ireland, specializing in charcoal.

She realized how much she loved the creative world and wanted to be a part of it. She’s a singer/writer, and has been working on singing, songwriting, and playing the acoustic and electric guitar. She has performed at a local venue, playing with her grandfather, Larry Scanlon at Black Snake. She has also played with Rosa Slack at a campus event. Starting Fall 2025, she hosted a radio show titled Just Horses, in which she interviews people who love music. Her favorite things are going to live shows, fiber arts, hiking, and camping. If you were to ask her what the best set she’s ever seen, she would hesitate for a while, and then say, “It’s so hard to choose. Built to Spill when I saw them this October in Boston.”. She really likes women-led bands.

She is currently attending Bowdoin College, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music in Social and Historical Concentration and a minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies.