It’s surprising that David Quinn is not yet a household name in country roots circles, given the quality of the three albums he has released over the past four years. The arrival of Covid in early 2020 denied him the opportunity to tour his sophomore record LETTING GO, which he finished in Nashville weeks before shutdown. Rather than sit back and lick his wounds, Quinn abandoned city life in Chicago and relocated to a rural lake house in Indiana, where he wrote the material for his latest recording COUNTRY FRESH. His new surroundings and the enforced lockdown heavily influenced his writing, which is a fusion of nostalgia and an appreciation of the oft-overlooked simple pleasures in life. It’s a worthy companion to LETTING GO and, like its predecessor, features a host of top-notch Nashville musicians. We recently caught up with Quinn via Zoom, where he was finalising his schedule to bring both albums on the road for the remainder of this year. We expect, following the tour, that his profile will be deservedly heightened.
Do you have an Irish bloodline as Quinn is a very popular name over here?
Unfortunately, I don’t. A lot of Irish people out here ask me that. Quinn is actually my middle name; my last name is Italian, which nobody can pronounce.
My introduction to your music was the song Long Time Gone from the Bloodshot Records compilation album TOO LATE TO PRAY, DEFIANT CHICAGO ROOTS from 2019. How has the demise of Bloodshot affected the music industry in Chicago?
It’s had quite an impact. A lot of people are still trying to figure out how to move forward. It’s unfortunate how it all happened as they supported a lot of great music. A lot of my friends who were with Bloodshot have moved on and are doing great music at other places, though.
Is there a vibrant Country music scene in Chicago?
There is a small scene that is more specific to the honky tonk crowd, which is really where I started. Since then, I’ve explored other genres, which is what my last two records are all about, just letting all my influences show. There is a honky tonk scene alright and we have a dance crowd that comes out to those shows. I feel somewhere in the middle. My sound is harder country, a little bit of everything, kind of bluegrass, kind of country, trying to carve out my way out there. There’s also a bluegrass scene and a big indie rock scene in Chicago.
There appears to be a steady growth of appreciation for roots music in recent years. Artists such as Colter Wall, Charley Crockett, Ian Tyson, Tyler Childers and Jaime Wyatt are getting deserved recognition.
The market is growing and all those artists are beginning to become household names now. That would not have been the case five or ten years ago when this new roots movement wasn’t as well known as it is now. It’s growing every year, which is great.
I should also have mentioned Jeremy Pinnell, who you’ve recently played with.
I played a few dates with Jeremy recently in Ohio and Kentucky, having played with him in the past. He’s one of my favourite songwriters out there right now, he’s a remarkable talent.
You’ve been particularly productive over the past five years, recording three albums. You’ve also been very selective in the producers and players you’ve worked with and recorded the three albums in Nashville.
The last two records, LETTING GO from 2019 and my new one COUNTRY FRESH were both at Sound Emporium in Nashville. Mike Stankiewicz was the engineer on both of those two records. The first album, WANDERIN’ FOOL was really interesting, recorded at The Bomb Shelter and produced by Andrija Tokic. Prior to the recording, I had literally sold everything I had, kicked off on a road trip, and wrote a bunch of songs. I hadn’t played with a band much at that time so it worked out perfectly when Andrija came on board. He was able to say ‘I have the perfect band for you’ and he brought all the players in, it all really worked well that way. After making that record, within weeks I had my own band together and some of those guys are still with me now. I had been playing those songs from LETTING GO on the road for over a year, so it was a different approach when I went to Sound Emporium to record that album. I really knew what I wanted going into the studio at that point so it was so much easier for me. I knew the melodies I wanted, the drum sound, the lead guitar, etc. So, it was a learning experience with that album. With COUNTRY FRESH it was a combination of both experiences from the previous two recordings. I knew what I wanted for most of the songs, having written most of the songs by myself during the pandemic. I basically picked players for the recording that I knew and trusted, and would make the album a collaborative effort, but would also sound exactly as I had it in my own mind.
Those players included Micah Hulscher and Jamie T. Davis from Margo Price’s band and Kacey Musgraves’ pedal steel player, Brett Resnick. Having them available without touring commitments was fortuitous?
Absolutely. With the questionable timing of things and not knowing when things were going to get better, it also helped that those guys were itching to work. I had gotten to know a lot of those guys pretty well over the years. I was lucky to be able to reach all those favourite players of mine and each of them to say ‘yes’.
You also recruited Fats Kaplin to play on COUNTRY FRESH. How did that come about?
I had known all the other guys and worked with them before. I knew I wanted fiddle on this record because I had written a number of melodies with fiddle in mind. I had the fiddle parts, figured out the songs I wanted them on. I asked a couple of people who I should reach out to. I had played with Kelsey Waldon in the past and she recommended Fats and Micah also said I have to use Fats. When he agreed to come on board he arrived with his fiddle, mandolin, harmonica and dobro. He had a number of ideas that made it onto the record, so it couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. It was an honour to meet Fats and play with him.
You left Chicago and went to rural Indiana to write the material for the album.
Yes, I moved right at the start of the pandemic over two years ago now. I had just got back from Nashville after making LETTING G. I had that record finished and was figuring out what to do with it. I got back to Chicago in March just as everything was closing up. After a week or so I decided to pack up and move. I was never a city person, I didn’t grow up in the city and it was pretty easy to come out here, where I still live. I started writing that record right away when I got out here and it was almost like I needed to move here and write the album, as if it all happened for a reason.
The material is very homegrown and reflective. Did the absence of time pressure help the writing process?
A feeling of freedom is certainly reflected in the record. Ironically, it’s funny, with lots of time to write and no deadline the songs actually came very quickly. No deadline, no pressure, and no shows to play, I just wrote the record so quickly, the songs just came pouring out. You’d normally never get a time in life with no obligations and it actually felt a really nice time to write the songs.
I’m intrigued by the origin of the album’s title COUNTRY FRESH, which I understood came from an ashtray you stumbled upon in the recording studio?
Yes, I came across the ashtray in the back of the studio at Sound Emporium. I asked my engineer Mike Stankiewicz about it and he reckoned no one had probably seen in in forty years. That was during the making of LETTING GO and the name stuck with me and reflected the direction of the album’s songs. When I went back to record COUNTRY FRESH the ashtray was still there.
You’re on record as being influenced by fellow Illinois legend John Prine. What other artists set you on your musical career?
I’m a big music listener and always have been. I love artists and acts that mix genres. Charlie Daniels was a big influence on me, The Marshall Tucker Band, Willie Nelson and, as you mentioned, John Prine. Townes and Guy Clark have always been there for me. John Anderson is another that I’ve become a big fan of and has shaped where some of my recent stuff has come from. My dad had a large vinyl and cd collection and at weekends he’d be playing vinyl all night and really loud. He’d be having a drink and I’d be just listening. He’d play everything really loud, not only country but everything from John Prine to Willie Nelson, The Temptations to James Brown, Neil Young and Supertramp. The neighbours were always calling to turn the music down. That’s probably where I got such wide musical influences growing up.
The songs are very personal and nostalgic, dipping back into simpler times in the past. The ones that particularly come to mind other than the title track are Hummingbird’s Song and Cornbread and Chili. Are they also a reflection of your relocation to a more rural environment?
Absolutely. It’s funny, I had made the record and was getting the artwork done and going through the process of getting the record ready for release. By stepping back and away from the music, I’ve been able to reflect on the songs a bit more. I’ve been noticing things about the songs when people tell me little things about some of the songs. Being able to step away and have a bit more freedom up here played a part in that nostalgic view of things and missing times past. Hummingbird’s Song, in particular. It is a song for my grandfather, each line from that song is true. I have his eagle tattoo on my arm. Cornbread and Chili is more about how I’m living right now. All those simple things in life that I was reminded about, things that are easy to overlook until they are taken away from you.
You have the album release show scheduled for April 15th. Will that be in Chicago?
Yes, it’s in Chicago. I grew up forty miles west of the city, so a lot of friends and family can come out and I’ve built a bit of a fan base in Chicago, too. So, that’s going to be a fun show. I’m hoping to be full time on the road after that for the rest of the year.
Will you tour solo or with a full band?
A bit of a mix of both but I’m hoping that most of the tour will be with my band, probably as a four piece. I’m actually working on that right now.
You will actually be touring two albums having not had the chance to tour LETTING GO since its release.
Yes, my setlist at the moment is half LETTING GO and half COUNTRY FRESH. Since I didn’t get to tour LETTING GO, I’m hoping people will come back to it and that it will eventually get its day as that record means a whole lot to me. I was going to wait to release that album because of the pandemic, but when it got to fall of 2020, I just decided to put it out and start working on a new one.
Are you suffering from the dreaded ‘post-album depression’ that many artists suffer from having finished a project?
I haven’t yet, knock on wood. I’m actually almost finished writing the next one. It’s probably because of the year locked inside that I’m feeling backlogged, ready to go on the road and make more records.
Interview by Declan Culliton