All-American Rejects releasing new single “Beekeeper’s Daughter,” appearing on “90210″ tonight
The All-American Rejects, who formed in 1999 in Stillwater, are releasing their new single “Beekeeper’s Daughter” today.
“Beekeeper’s Daughter” is the first single from the band’s long-awaited new album “Kids in the Street,” due out March 27 on Interscope Records.
“Kids in the Street” is the band’s first album since 2008′s “When the World Comes Down,” which spawned the smash “Gives You Hell.”
“[The] music climate has changed so much for bands, especially bands with guitars in their hands… Our contemporaries, our colleagues, have burnt themselves out, it seems,” frontman Tyson Ritter told Billboard.com during a visit to the set of the music video shoot for “Beekeeper’s Daughter.”
“The great thing about our position as a rock band on a major label, we’ve had this confused place for so long, that 10 years later, we’re still sort of making people scratch their heads going, ‘Why am I still loving this band?’”
In addition, the Rejects will perform in tonight’s episode of the TV series “90210,” airing at 7 p.m. on the CW. Here is a preview:
-BAM
Cady Groves to release “This Little Girl” EP, tour with Hot Chelle Rae in February
Emerging pop singer-songwriter Cady Groves, who grew up in Marlow, Cache and Yukon, will release Feb. 7 her “This Little Girl” EP.
Featuring tracks including her popular first single “This Little Girl” the digital EP will be available at all digital service providers and will include fan-favorite track “We’re The Sh*t” as well as Groves cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You”. The physical version will be available www.cadygroves.com and will include the same tracks as the digital version with the addition of Groves duet “Oh Darlin’” with Plug in Stereo.
Groves, who was just spotlighted in Seventeen Magazine’s “Ultimate Guide To Music” will be joining her labelmates and friends Hot Chelle Rae in select North American markets in February and March. (See the full list of tour dates after the break; it looks Dallas will be the closest she comes to Oklahoma.).
Late last year Groves, who PopCrush named one of their “Artist to Watch in 2012” teamed with BUZZMEDIA to premiere the music video for “This Little Girl,” which features a cameo from Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton. In an unprecedented partnership, a set of BUZZMEDIA’s taste-making music sites and pop-culture destinations such as Idolator, PureVolume, Buzznet and JustJared unveiled a stream of exclusive interviews, photos and video leading up the premiere.
Signed to RCA Records last year, Groves, 22, has been in the studio writing and recording songs for her debut album which is due out later in 2012.
Lionel Richie’s country-crossover album “Tuskegee,” featuring Blake Shelton and Rascal Flatts, out March 27
Music icon Lionel Richie will release “Tuskegee,” a collection of 13 of his international hits recorded with some of the biggest names in country music, on March 27 on Mercury Nashville.
His duet partners on Tuskegee include Tishomingo resident Blake Shelton, trio Rascal Flatts (which includes Picher-bred guitarist Joe Don Rooney), Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Darius Rucker, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington and Little Big Town.
On this worldwide, multi-genre album, Richie also is joined by the likes of such superstars as Shania Twain, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Jimmy Buffett.
In addition, the Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions will tape an all-star concert special, “ACM Presents: Lionel Richie and Friends In Concert,” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 2 (the day after the ACM Awards). The show will air at a later date on the CBS Television Network. Some of his greatest hits will be performed by Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Rogers and many more.
“Tuskegee” is an exciting new chapter in a career that has seen album sales of more than 100 million, 22 Top 10s, five Grammys, an Academy Award for best original song, a Golden Globe, and a host of other awards.
“Tuskegee” is also a musical homecoming that feels like a heartwarming reunion with a beloved friend. He proves that you can go home again as he returns to his Southern roots to pay tribute to his hometown of Tuskegee, Ala., where he was indelibly shaped as a man and a musician. He was exposed to country, gospel, R&B and classical music while growing up, and it was in Tuskegee where he helped form the Commodores and wrote his first hits, including “Sail On” and “Easy.”
“Tuskegee is where it all began, the place where I felt that everything was available and possible,” he says in the album release announcement. “It’s where I learned about life and love and the power of music, and the place I built a musical foundation that knows no genres or boundaries.
“Doing this album was coming back to the beginning, back to basics, back to home,” he adds. “The part of it I love the most is that the journey has been one of discovering myself. By the time I got back to Nashville, I clearly knew that the roots of my songwriting, my storytelling, were from the South.”
It’s also been a process of rediscovering the hits that have served as the soundtrack of the lives of generations around the world.
“Every Lionel Richie song that I can think of I had a personal experience with – high school homecomings, proms, you name it,” says Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts, who duets on “Dancing On the Ceiling,” in the announcement. “Lionel was always playing in my house. His music always said what we felt and couldn’t express.”
Says Darius Rucker, who joins Richie on “Stuck On You,” “I wanted to work with Lionel because he is one of my idols. Lionel’s more a part of my DNA really than an idol. It was an absolute honor to work with him.”
Adds Jason Aldean, who selected “Say You, Say Me,” “I’ve always been a huge fan. He is probably one of the best singer-songwriters of this generation.”
Once again, Richie is following his songs as they take him back to country, where they have been welcomed for more than two decades. Conway Twitty recorded “Three Times a Lady,” Kenny Rogers famously sang “Lady,” and Alabama recorded “Deep River Woman.” Artists such as Tim McGraw, Darius Rucker and Rascal Flatts perform his songs in their shows. He has performed on the Country Music Association Awards three times, and his 2011 performance receive two standing ovations and was recognized as the highlight of the evening.
“When I did the CMAs and the room was singing along with me, it was really more like a family reunion than it was a concert or show,” he says. “It was just great validation to know that the music was accepted like it was.”
These innovative musical interpretations have given new meaning to his songs while serving as a powerful reminder of the timelessness of his impressive body of work. He asked the other singers to select the songs and ignore his original version and instead perform the song as if it were their own.
“I wanted it the way they would do it in their show, which means I captured their essence. You make the song a Willie Nelson song. You make the song a Rascal Flatts song,” he says.
“It’s special to the point where it sounds new again, so I’m excited just as the writer, as the original parent of this child. I’m excited to see another generation embrace the music.”
Richie says recording Tuskegee was perhaps the most fun he’s ever had in the studio. “’Tuskegee’ is going to be one of the most special albums I’ve ever done in my life. This is something that’s going to be so special forever because it’s a moment in time when these artists all got together and celebrated some music,” he says. “What started out as a collaboration of a group of very talented, very successful artists ended up growing into brand new, very good friends.”
-BAM
Blake Shelton’s “God Gave Me You” goes platinum
Oklahoma country music star Blake Shelton has earned platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America for his chart-topping ballad “God Gave Me You.”
In addition, the Ada native’s “Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton” and “Red River Blue” albums have simultaneously earned gold certification by the RIAA, according to a news release.
“Red River Blue” includes the hit singles “Honey Bee,” certified platinum last year, and “God Gave Me You,” and earned Shelton a Grammy nomination for best country album.
John Esposito, President and CEO of Warner Music Nashville, surprised Shelton at his sold-out show in Duluth, Ga., last Friday, Jan. 27 with three plaques to commemorate the most successful year of the Tishomingo’s white-hot career. Shelton kicked off his sold-out headlining arena tour, “Well Lit & Amplified Tour 2012” Jan. 12 in Toledo, Ohio, with openers Justin Moore and Dia Frampton.
Along with his best country album nomination, Shelton also will compete for best country solo performance for “Honey Bee.” Plus, Shelton’s rendition of “God Gave Me You,” written by contemporary Christian singer Dave Barnes, earned a nod for best country song, an award presented to songwriters.
The Recording Academy announced last week that Shelton and The Band Perry will join country legend Glen Campbell for a special performance during the Grammy Awards, which will air Feb. 12 on CBS.
Also last week, Shelton earned entertainer of the year and male vocalist of the year nominations for the Academy of Country Music Awards, which he and fellow Oklahoma native Reba McEntire will co-host April 1 in Las Vegas on CBS.
His latest single from “Red River Blue,” “Drink On It” recently hit country radio. “Red River Blue” debuted at No. 1 on the Soundscan Top Current Albums chart and Soundscan Top Country Albums chart, with the Associated Press calling the album “the best album of his career.”
Shelton has notched 10 No. 1 hits and has not had a single peak outside the top 10 since 2007.
He is currently one of the musician coaches on NBC’s “The Voice” along with superstars Christian Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine. The hit reality TV series begins its second season at approximately 9 p.m. Sunday after the Super Bowl. Shelton and wife Miranda Lambert will perform “America the Beautiful” as part of the Super Bowl pregame festivities Sunday in Indianapolis.
-BAM
CD review: Tim McGraw “Emotional Traffic”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Country
Tim McGraw “Emotional Traffic” (Curb Records)
After two years of waiting and a long-in-coming legal drama, fans of Tim McGraw finally have the chance to get caught in the country music superstar’s “Emotional Traffic,” his final album for Curb Records, the independent label he started his career with back in the early 1990s.
Released Tuesday, “Emotional Traffic” doesn’t live up to McGraw’s declaration of “my best album ever” boldly stickered on the CD case. Nor does it give any credence to Curbs’ lawsuit claim that the album didn’t have enough potential singles to warrant release. To this listener’s ear, the truth exists somewhere in the midst of those two extremes, and “Emotional Traffic” sounds like quintessential McGraw. In fact, current climbing single “Better Than I Used to Be” bears a bit too strong a sonic resemblance to his 2004 smash “Live Like You Were Dying.”
Despite Curbs’ contention that the album was recorded too early and would seem dated when it was dropped, “Emotional Traffic” is packed with the huge arena-filling country-rockers, sentimental crossover-ready country-pop ballads and intriguing boundary-pushing experiments that McGraw has long favored. In fact, thanks to Tim Tebow, the earnest religious anthem “Touchdown Jesus” has a whole new relevance, and McGraw, an avid sports fan, digs deep to send the metaphor soaring into the end zone.
The Louisiana native opens the album with the tour de force heartbreaker “Halo” that like the best of his hits matches cutting lyrics with equally aggressive electric and lap-steel guitars. But the momentum dribbles away by the second track, the insipid soft-rock love song “Right Back at Ya.”
From that junction, “Emotional Traffic” veers a bit erratically between hits and misses. More than a year after it topped the charts, it’s still great fun to sing along with the danceable “Felt Good on My Lips,” and McGraw and his superstar wife Faith Hill show off their easy chemistry and vocal harmony with their lively cover of Dee Ervin’s R&B classic “One Part, Two Part.”
“Only Human,” the country singer’s anticipated duet with R&B star Ne-Yo, doesn’t have much going for it apart from the interesting contrast in their voices, with the lyrics more or less taking the well-worn path of countless other empowerment anthems like it. McGraw turns down a similar road with “I Will Not Fall Down,” which he co-wrote with Martina McBride and the Warren Brothers; it is the only track to bear his songwriting credit.
With “Emotional Traffic” finally out of its jam, it will be more interesting to see what musical route McGraw sets now that he is finally free to pull away from Curb.
— BAM
Deerpeople, The Drama Dept. to perform “Explorgasm” Feb. 4 at IAO
Individual Artists of Oklahoma is planning to have an “Explorgasm” at 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4 at the gallery, 706 W Sheridan.
“Explorgasm” is an event combining the artistic abilities of the Stillwater band Deerpeople and the multidisciplinary art group The Drama Dept. “Explorgasm” is an interpretive performance of the music of Deerpeople, who recently released their new EP of the same name. It is a sci-fi fantasy that follows a bio-engineered being on her quest to overcome programming and achieve agency. Standing in her way of self-realization are cults, political figureheads, and beings from another realm, according to a news release.
Admission to see “Explorgasm” is $10.
Together, Deerpeople and The Drama Dept. will push the boundaries of the audio-visual experience of both concert-going and performance art.
“While we have been both impressed and inspired by what we have seen, nothing we have come across has lived up to our own desires,” says Todd Robinson of The Drama Dept. in the news release.
Understanding that their ideas would not be realized unless they themselves brought their shared vision into existence, The Drama Dept. set out to craft an interpretive performance of the band Deerpeople.
“Our intention is to engage the audience, making them part of a shared experience that while understood, leaves them wondering what in the world they have just seen and begging for more,” Robinson says.
Hailing from Stillwater and, according to the band, “the furthest reaches of space,” Deerpeople formed in 2009. For the next year, Kendall Looney, Derek Moore, Jordan Bayhylle, Brennan Barnes, Alex Larrea, and Julia Shen, began playing house parties and local venues in extremely close proximity to the audience in Stillwater. Since then, they have played shows with Evangelicals, Starlight Mints, Sherree Chamberlain, and Jesse Tabish of Other Lives. In the spring of 2010, Deerpeople, headlined the Opolis stage at the third annual Norman Music Festival. The band has continued to perform throughout the Midwest and appeared at Oklahoma’s Buffalo Lounge at South by Southwest 2011. Their first EP was recorded at Trent Bell Labs. Deerpeople’s second EP, “Explorgasm,” also recorded at Trent Bell Labs, was released earlier this month. For more information about Deerpeople, go to www.deerpeople.com
The Drama Dept. consists of Oklahoma artists Megan Mitchell, Michol Miller, Nokosee Fields and Todd Robinson. What began with several friends discussing ways in which to collaborate has since culminated in a series of productions seen at Austin’s South By Southwest, Norman Music Festival and Living Arts of Tulsa. The members of the Drama Dept. share an enthusiasm for life-sized puppets, late-night crafting, and a DIY sensibility. The Drama Dept. has been sharing their creations and engaging audiences since early 2011. Members of the Drama Dept. sit on the Living Arts Performance Committee and have collaborated with the committee to create “Explorgasm.”
-BAM
Carrie Underwood to release “Good Girl,” first single from her 2012 album, to radio Feb. 23
With her announcement about her forthcoming single, Checotah native Carrie Underwood also released this sultry new publicity photo.
Country music superstar Carrie Underwood, who hails from Checotah, announced today that she will release her new single, “Good Girl,” to country radio on Feb. 23. The five-time Grammy winner’s fourth CD is due out in spring.
One of the most anticipated country albums of the year, Underwood’s fourth album – the title has not yet been announced – will be the follow-up to her November 2009 release “Play On,” which has been certified double-platinum.
Underwood penned the new album’s lead-off single with Chris DeStefano and Ashley Gorley, who co-wrote two of Underwood’s No. 1 hits “Don’t Forget to Remember Me,” and “All-American Girl.” Once again Carrie teamed up with Mark Bright, who produced her two previous albums as well as seven tracks from her debut album “Some Hearts.”
Since releasing “Some Hearts” in 2005 after winning “American Idol,” Underwood has sold more than 14 million albums with “Some Hearts,” 2007’s “Carnival Ride,” and 2009’s “Play On.” She’s amassed 14 No. 1 singles, six of which she co-wrote, and became the first country artist in history and the only “American Idol” winner ever to achieve 10 No. 1 singles from their first two albums.
The Oklahoma native is a current Grammy Award nominee and a five-time Grammy Award winner, a two-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, a three-time Country Music Association and ACM Female Vocalist winner, and a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Underwood and Aerosmith frontman and current “Idol” judge Steven Tyler and will share the stage in a “CMT Crossroads” special airing live from Indianapolis on Feb. 4, the night before Super Bowl XLVI.
“CMT Crossroads: Steven Tyler & Carrie Underwood From the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam” will take place at the Pepsi Coliseum at the Indiana State Fair Grounds, reports CMT.com.
The concert is a private event. It will premiere live at 10 p.m. Feb. 4 on CMT.
-BAM
New releases: Grammy nominees, “Chimes of Freedom,” Tim McGraw, “50/50,” “Real Steel,” “Taken”
Blake Shelton’s Grammy-nominated chart-topping ballad “Honey Bee” is among the 22 tracks on the “2012 Grammy Nominees” compilation album, out today.
Blake Shelton (AP file)
The Ada native is nominated for best country album for “Red River Blue” and best country solo performance for the album’s chart-topping first single “Honey Bee.” The Tishomingo resident’s No. 1 hit “God Gave Me You,” written by contemporary Christian singer Dave Barnes, also earned a nod for best country song, an award presented to songwriters.
The 54th Annual Grammy Awards air live from Los Angeles on Feb. 12 on CBS.
Other stars with songs on the “2012 Grammy Nominees” album include Adele, Bruno Mars, The Black Keys, Bon Iver, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Skrillex, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, The Band Perry and Tony Bennett with the late Amy Winehouse.
Shelton’s fellow “The Voice” judges Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine of Maroon 5 also have their hit “Moves Like Jagger” on the Grammy compilation.
Maroon 5 also is among the high-profile, wide-ranging musicians covering Bob Dylan on “Chimes of Freedom,” a tribute to the folk legend with proceeds going to Amnesty International. The four-CD collection also music from Patti Smith, Pete Townshend, Diana Krall, My Morning Jacket, Sting, Lenny Kravitz and many others.
In addition, country music superstar Tim McGraw has at long last released “Emotional Traffic,” his final album for Curb Records. Look for my review in the coming days.
Among the movies, the father-son robot-boxing drama “Real Steel,” which today garnered an Oscar nomination for best visual effects, is new on DVD and Blu-ray. To read my review, click here. And the cancer comedy “50/50,” which was surprisingly snubbed in every Academy Awards category, also is available for home viewing.
In the books section, Robert Crais, 2006 recipient of the Ross Macdonald Literary Award, has released his latest Elvis Cole album, “Taken.”
Here is a list of this week’s new CDs, DVDs and books, from Amazon.com and VideoETA.com:
CDs
Tim McGraw, “Emotional Traffic.”
Various artists, “2012 Grammy Nominees.”
Various artists, “Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan.”
Celtic Woman, “Believe.”
The Doors, “L.A. Woman (40th Anniversary Edition).”
Rodrigo y Gabriela, “Area 52.”
Kellie Pickler, “100 Proof.”
Dion, “Tank Full of Blues.”
Scorpions, “Comeblack.”
DVDs
50/50
Another Happy Day
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Season One
Few Options
The Lie
Real Steel
Revenge of the Electric Car
The Whistleblower
The Woman
Books
Taken by Robert Crais
Inside Apple: How America’s Most Admired–and Secretive–Company Really Works by Adam Lashinsky
Fairy Tale Interrupted: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss by RoseMarie Terenzio
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Strategy For You: Building a Bridge to the Life You Want by Rich Horwath
Sweet Designs: Bake It, Craft It, Style It by Amy Atlas
-BAM
Video: Avett Brothers cover Bob Dylan, plan Tulsa show
The Avett Brothers performed Bob Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings” Thursday on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.”
The folk-rock band recorded the 1964 track for “Chimes of Freedom,” a four-disc set of Dylan covers due out Tuesday. Proceeds from the release will benefit Amnesty International.
The Avett Brothers will perform in concert April 13 at the Brady Theater in Tulsa, the venue announced today. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. next Friday, Jan. 27. Prices are $30 and $35.
For tickets and information, go to www.protix.com or www.bradytheater.com.
-BAM
Interview: The Damn Quails are flying high, playing Stillwater and OKC shows this weekend
A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
The Damn Quails flying high
The Norman-based duo of Bryon White and Gabriel Marshall have been getting national and even international attention on the Americana and red dirt music scenes since releasing their debut album in October.
After just over two years of flocking together, The Damn Quails are really taking off.
Since the start of 2012, the Norman-based duo of singer/songwriter/guitarists Bryon White and Gabriel Marshall have watched their debut album, “Down the Hatch,” ascend into the top 20 on the Americana Airplay chart, while their bouncy single “Fool’s Gold” debuted at No. 35 on the Texas Music Chart.
“The momentum is working in our favor right now, so we’re getting ready to hopefully take over the world. That’s kind of the plan,” White said with a laugh during a recent interview. “That was our initial, like, goal to at least to take over the world with something. Hopefully, we can do it with country-Americana-red dirt-ish music.”
Before they take their musical quest for world domination to Texas, Minnesota, Illinois and several other states over the next couple of months, the Quails are roosting closer to home with shows at Friday at Eskimo Joe’s in Stillwater and Saturday as openers for Cody Canada & The Departed at the Wormy Dog Saloon in Bricktown.
Plus, they intend to keep their regular acoustic dates at 10 p.m. Mondays at The Deli in Norman and 8 p.m. Wednesdays at Libby’s Cafe in Goldsby going for as long as they can manage, even as their burgeoning tour schedule takes them further afield.
“Those weekly song-swapping shows, those are what’s gotten us where we are. We really enjoy doing ‘em. If there’s any such thing as a practice with The Damn Quails, it’s Monday night at The Deli. We like those types of shows: They keep us honest and grounded … and they give us a chance to run through some stuff. And then we can take it out on the road once it’s molded and kicked around and played through. I think it really helps the touring show that we can continue to do those,” Marshall said.
Musical chemistry
Longtime devotees of Okemah’s Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, Marshall, 30, and White, 29, have known each other for about 10 years and have been making music separately for even longer.
“We’re both huge fans of Woody Guthrie and Ellis Paul and Don Conoscenti and all those guys. The Red Dirt Rangers and Tom Skinner. We’ve been hanging out with Skinner for years, hanging out in a parking lot in Okemah playing music,” White said. “We both started out in punk bands in high school, which is weird. We messed around with rock ‘n’ roll, but then we started hanging out with those guys down at WoodyFest.
“I know for me the first time I saw Ellis Paul at the Blue Door was the first time I actually saw one guy with one guitar command a room that you could hear a pin drop in, and … I was down with that and really got into folk music. And started going through (Bob) Dylan and Neil (Young) and all the greats and (Warren) Zevon. And you just work your way into the weirdness up to Tom Waits.”
They came together as a duo about two and half years ago when a slot opened up at Libby’s weekly four-man song swap and White stepped into it. Marshall was already on the slate, and they soon discovered they were exceptional musical matches.
“I can’t explain it hardly any better than everybody else can. We were kind of as surprised as everyone else when we first got together and it kind of clicked so good. I don’t know. We have a weird natural chemistry, vocally especially,” White said. “Brother-sister harmony has some kind of a magic to it that you can always tell. We’re not related, but it’s that same kind of deal.”
White also started joining Marshall at his regular Monday night stands at The Deli, and they morphed into a duo. Marshall said the intriguing name The Damn Quails was inspired by a covey of stuffed Christmas tree ornaments that they were always knocking to the floor when they came home late from their acoustic song swaps.
Label launch
They recorded live albums at Libby’s and The Deli and gained a champion in businessman Chance Sparkman, who approached red dirt singer/songwriter/producer Mike McClure with a proposal to start a record label and sign The Damn Quails as their first artist. Both McClure and Sparkman grew up in Tecumseh and have known each other for years, and McClure said he was persuaded by Sparkman’s dedication to putting the necessary money into not just making records but also promoting them.
“I asked Tom Skinner, ‘If you were gonna start a record label, who would you sign out of Oklahoma?’ And he said, ‘The Damn Quails,’ and I kind of took that as a sign,” said McClure, who started 598 Recordings with Sparkman.
So, the Quails flew the coop to McClure’s ancient farmhouse near Ada, where he keeps chickens and records in a basement studio dubbed “the Boohatch.”
“From an artistic standpoint, it was the easiest thing I’ve ever got to do because the dude is really creatively and artistically minded,” White said. “We tracked everything out in his basement … which it’s like Jurassic Park with chickens instead of dinosaurs. We just kind of played with the birds and then we’d go in and work a little bit. There wasn’t any point where he was just anything but supportive.”
Soon after “Down the Hatch” was released in October, the band started earning positive buzz from national outlets like Country Weekly, AOL’s The Boot and Roughstock.com. They’ve even gained some international attention.
“We’ve gotten stuff from Australia, France. Norway really likes us for some reason; I think it’s because Knudson looks Norwegian,” White said with a laugh, referring to the Quails’ fiddle/mandolin player Jon Knudson.
While Marshall and White are the heart and soul of the Quails — they share lead guitar and vocal duties and separately pen all the songs — they’ve amassed quite a covey of talented local musicians and typically bring a seven-piece band to the stage.
They may have a publicist and record label these days, but the Quails plan to keep their music-making loose and free. They don’t rehearse, they don’t adhere to a set playlist, and their band lineup rotates based on who can make it on a particular night.
“Bob Childers told me one time that he never rehearsed because you lose the X factor. And that kind of always stuck with me. I’ve kind of always believed the same thing, when you sit down and you make somebody play a certain part or a song gets too rigid, it loses some of the magic to it,” Marshall said.
“I think that some bands get too caught up in trying to be too perfect and they … play the same set night after night. And “We just like to have fun, and we think that the easiest way to do that is just get up onstage with our friends and jam.”
IN CONCERT
The Damn Quails
When: 10:30 p.m. Friday.
Where: Eskimo Joe’s, 501 W Elm, Stillwater.
Information: (405) 372-8896 or www.eskimojoes.com.
Cody Canada & The Departed and The Damn Quails
When: 9 p.m. Saturday. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Where: Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan.
Information: 601-6276 or www.wormydog.com.
-BAM
