We sat down with the very talented Kevin Quigley after the release of his new single 'No Pain', which we love. Listen to his greatest influences and be sure to check out his single at the bottom!
Martha - Tom Waits
One of my all time favourite songs and definitely one of the reasons I started to put words to music. The melody, story, voice and arrangement are just incredible. Even the fact that his piano is out of tune works so well and it’s amazing. The gravelly voice of Tom telling this heart aching story of love of times gone by really affected me as a listener and really taught me how powerful storytelling and having character in songs can be. It’s so important to be true to the story and whatever it is you’re trying to say. Even if that means playing a slightly out of tune piano. If it’s what the song demands, then that’s what the song demands.
Like a rolling stone - Bob Dylan
The first song to introduce me to Bob Dylan was blowing in the wind and that blew my mind on so many levels. However, when I delved deeper and found Like a rolling stone as a young 12/13 year old, it really affected me deeply. At that time in my life it was exactly the type of song I was looking for. It was rock n roll and had a bite and rebellious nature to it. It had amazing storytelling and deep meaningful expressive language. Full of dynamics and sounded like an unbelievable jam session to me. The production really made me feel like I was at a gig. It really took me somewhere else and I feel like it’s partially where I got my love for live music and with live music actually sounding live. Minimal backing tracks and click tracks. Let the flow and groove of the band flow and go on its own journey. That type of live music has always been the most emotionally impactful to me. Keeping the human in music!
Fake - The Frames
It had everything I like, powerful vocals full of strength and soft vulnerability. The song really takes you in a lot of directions dynamically and emotionally. There’s this softness to his vocals in the verses and this angry angst and desperation he carries in the chorus. It has strong, almost aggressive and emotional guitar parts and beautiful and expressive string sections. This song was definitely an impact on me finding a sound I like, and how big I like music to sound with a band. Everything working together in harmony and serving the song really does carry across when you listen to it. There’s a lot of loud instruments in this track but it never feels like there’s too much happening. Everything fits perfectly in its place despite how busy it is. Taught me so much about writing good music for a band.
Are you sure Hank done it this way - Waylon Jennings
This song taught me so much about telling a story. It taught me how dynamics and how you perform and express whatever it is you're trying to say determines if it’s good. This particular song is just Waylon strumming down 2 chords but it sounds so cool and groovy. He means every word he says and it carries across big time. The subtle dynamic energy increase through the band is what makes the song so cool and never feels like it’s getting boring. It’s rebellious energy and what it means really stood out to me big time and gave me a great buzz. It’s essentially Waylon speaking out against the Nashville music scene and him saying screw you I’m not someone you can control and tell what to do. I’m going to do my own thing and make it work without you. To a young guy that’s the coolest thing ever, especially since he succeeded.
Man on the Moon - R.E.M
If I just think about R.E.M and their music I just start smiling. I remember when my brother introduced me to them when I was about 14. Told me to come here and listen to this, it was a video of R.E.M playing Man On The Moon live, from then on I was a massive fan. Still blows my mind how catchy and good their songs are. These guys are a massive reason where I learned how important being catchy and fun is. It can’t always be depression and sadness, people need to go somewhere else and have fun. You need to take people on an emotionally dynamic ride. It’s like sure, everybody hurts but…Shiny happy people holding hands also. It’s very easy for a writer to fuel themselves on sadness all the time because it’s such a strong emotion, but we need to use all the emotions at our disposal to really make a really rounded and complete body of work. Also just because it’s happy and fun doesn't mean the song doesn’t have to mean something! R.E.M are a perfect example of this. There's always deep meaningful themes and artistry to their music despite how fun or serious it is.
No Pain - Kevin Quigley
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