If you're looking for feelgood vibes and a nostalgia trip back to the summers of the past, then look no further than Quinn. Based in Birmingham as the brainchild of Sam Lambeth, Quinn are only just getting started. Here's what Sam had to say when I caught up with him.
You're known in the music world for reviewing and putting on gigs, what sparked the transition into the limelight? Which do you prefer: being on stage or behind the scenes?
Such a hard question, but I would pick being on stage. There’s no better feeling than when you have a crowd really enjoying your music, and to be able to get onstage, play songs I’ve written and get to prance around is an unbeatable feeling. I don’t get the same nerves, energy or, let’s be honest, cocksure confidence from writing a review. Onstage I thrive off the audience, I love nothing more than the whole spectacle of playing live – wearing stupid outfits, jumping around etc.
How did the band come about?
Gigs are like sex, except one is longer, sweatier and has less tears. I’ll let you figure that out. But yeah, I had been out of the game for nearly four years, and boy did I miss gigging. But before that came recording. I was going to come back ready. So I was lucky enough to get some free studio time with Ed Gomez, and recruited Samm Jones to drum. At this point, a ‘full-time’ band looked unlikely. But our first single, ‘Sixteen Vandals’, went down well so we ended up doing gigs, and Quinn has flourished since.
Can you tell us a little about the EP? What inspired it? Why the want for nostalgia?
You can’t tell, but I go running a lot. One time I ran around my old neighbourhood, purely out of
happenstance, and ran past my old school, my friends’ childhood homes, many different stomping grounds…and so many memories came back. I ended up thinking about my teenage self, how I would have negotiated a lot of the issues and situations I faced if I had the, erm, ‘wisdom’ I have now. Three of my friends have gotten married. That’s a defining moment in people’s lives. That was a shock to me, so it got me yearning for nostalgia a little more. I’m not pining for those days again, but it was interesting to look back and think of those challenges, issues and relationships. I called the record Crush because it runs the gamut of having one – there’s love, lust, disappointment, loathing. I’m really proud of this record as it’s got a great blend of sweet and sad. The lyrics are quite melancholic but the music is wistful and sunny. I listened to four albums on a loop – Free All Angels (Ash), Celebrity Skin (Hole), It’s A Shame About Ray (The Lemonheads) and Grand Prix (Teenage Fanclub). They all bled into the sound of sun-drenched sorrow.
Take me through the songwriting process.
It’s always been the same – me sitting down with the acoustic guitar, sometimes out of obligation, sometimes out of a creative spark. The only song I’ve ever written on an electric guitar is ‘I.C.Y.M.I!’ I wish I could do collaboration and it’s something I certainly want to try, but songwriting is such a personal thing for me that I find I can only really get into the groove when I’m alone with no one else in the room. Sometimes, I’ll write song titles down then try and fit lyrics around them. Sometimes I’ll fumble around with a chorus. But my golden rule is always make sure it’s catchy.
What's your favourite track on the EP and why?
Difficult question, for sure, but at gunpoint I would say ‘Imperfect Lovesong’. Sometimes you write a song, gush about it and then a fortnight later discard it. With this track, I knew straight away it was going to be a winner. There’s an episode of Flight of the Conchords where Bret writes a hilariously ‘real’ love song to his beau (‘If You’re Into It’). Basically he says he can’t climb the highest mountain cos he wouldn’t be able to, and I related to that with my brittle ankles. I ended up writing this song for my girlfriend, basically explaining that I know I am a useless, hopeless human, but for all my imperfections I love you a lot. It’s hopefully deadpan and silly, but sweet too.
What sort of things are you listening to at the moment? Any new bands that have caught your eye?
Birmingham has a rich, vivid music scene and I’m privileged to be within that zone. Semantics and The Cosmics are two of my closest pals in terms of bands, and they’re both excellent and have their own sounds. Outside of that, I love Charly Bliss, Dude York, Slotface and the new album Ti Amo by Phoenix.
What can we expect to see from Quinn next? What's ahead?
There’s always doubt for me whether there’ll be another record. For me, Crush is the best record I’ve ever done. I actually went back and listened to my previous best, Argh! Rock! (2009, released with The MonoBloggers), and tried to tap into that energy and creativity, to remember what I was feeling then. I think if this is my last record, I’m ending on a high. What’s ahead? I’m unashamed to say I’d love Quinn to be big. I’d love it if we got somewhere, even on a small scale. Any band that tells you they don’t want to play big venues is probably lying. We’d never be an arena band, but a mid-afternoon festival band? I think if someone gave me a chance, they wouldn’t regret it. Realistically, though, it’s the usual – tour the shit out of this shit, keep on plugging away and any chance I get, girl I’m taking it.
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Listen to Amanda Knocks from Quinn’s new EP here or, to keep up to date with Quinn, like them on Facebook
Written By Hannah Lee
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