WINNI WINTERMEYER

September 5, 2003

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Julianna Bright, Seth Lorinczi and Jen Smith of the Quails

Pleasant, not pheasant

The Quails make music for punks, artists, queers and activists

by Monica Ionescu

Good things happen when you least expect them.

Most music fans can remember many a time when they purchased a CD they had read great reviews about or attended a show that all of their friends were raving about just to come home a bit disappointed.

Rare are the times when one stumbles upon a band, perhaps an unknown one, and falls in love. Discovering a small treasure is a good description of finding the Quails, who are composed of Julianna Bright on drums, Jen Smith on guitar, and Seth Lorinczi on bass and hail from San Francisco.

Last year, they opened for SleaterKinney at Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom. For those who had been looking forward to seeing Sleater-Kinney it was a bit annoying, the prospect of standing in a very crowded room through an opening band. But by the end of the Quails' set, the entire crowd was pumping their fists in the air and shouting along, not wanting them to stop playing just yet.

Now, almost a year later, the Quails continue to spread the love and leave a sea of dedicated fans in their wake. The question, of course, is whether or not their

newest album would live up to expectations based on their earlier work.

The Song is Love is another very solid effort from the queer San Francisco trio. The Quails' music doesn't fit neatly into any genres but could best be described as punk. They examine, as they put it, “issues of personal, sexual and gender politics in the context of a crowded and stressed urban landscape."

With even less production and more emotional rawness than before, their third effort comments on everything from queer and feminist issues to war protest. This socially aware album makes the listener not only think more deeply about the issues it tackles, but also inspires the type of passion and feeling that create a muchneeded symbiotic relationship between art and politics.

One particularly effective technique that they use again and again in this album is the direct question, sometimes addressed toward the listener and other times toward each other, which creates dialogue within the songs. This is a very ingenious way of showing, rather than simply telling, that keeping thinking and discussion alive is crucial to the survival of our freedom and basic rights.

The Quails have an unwavering commitment to this type of dialogue and in-

volvement of the masses in political change even outside of their music. At their live shows, for example, listeners can buy one of the several very political 'zines that they put out, as well as carry on conversations between sets with the three very friendly band members. They also contribute their time to such worthy causes as the "Rock n Roll Camp for Girls.”

While they have taken the summer off, they promise to return in the fall with a national tour that is sure to take them through Ohio, bringing new fans to worship at the altar that is their stage.

Since their inception in 1999, the Quails have remained faithful to their political ideals, as well as to their passion for making and spreading their music. While The Song is Love reminds their fans of what they love so much about the Quails, it also shows musical progression and a fearless desire to experiment.

The Song is Love is due out in October on Mr. Lady Records. Find out more about the Quails at www.thequails.com.

Monica Ionescu is the host of dreamboat, a weekly show on WRUW 91.1 FM in Cleveland on Mondays from 12 noon to 1:30 pm. For more information on her show, go to http://dreamboatradio.tripod.com.

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