Six remarkable musicians collectively known as Quiet Corral will be paying Madison a visit tonight for a show at the High Noon Saloon. This Americana band brings to the table a mess of strings, percussion, vocal harmonies, and a touch of pop, finding a way to manipulate each thread of sound to craft their well woven tracks. It didn’t take long for the Kansas bunch to taste the fruits of their labor, from playing in a parking lot two years ago to playing on stages around the country. This fall, the group took to the road to share their music and celebrate the completion of their second studio album, City Steep. Jonk Music caught up with Quiet Corral guitarist Isaac Flynn to discuss the road, band bonding, the jitters, and Toto.
I read that one of your first concerts was in a parking lot at the University of Kansas. What was that like, and how have your live performances developed since then?
“Our first show was in a parking lot at Delta Gamma Sorority. One of the girls had access to a large stage. It was the equivalent of something used at a major music festival. We were honestly so excited to play on such a nice stage. We only had six songs at the time, so we played a whopping 28-minute set. The event was a battle of the bands, in which we took third. We later won that same battle of the bands in 2011 before forever retiring from music competitions.
“Anyway, a lot has changed since then. For starters, we have way more songs. Secondly, Garrett’s hands aren’t shaking on stage anymore (in his defense, everyone is nervous for their first show). Lastly, we’ve become so much tighter musically.”
What has the transition been like, going from a local band to a nationally touring one, and what effects has this had on the group’s relationship and the music itself?
“Transitioning to full-time touring was a huge life commitment. Several of us were still in school when we decided we wanted to pursue music full-time. Postponing your education is somewhat terrifying, but we realized that this is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“As a group, we get along incredibly well. Being such good friends is crucial for keeping morale high on the road. I also think that being able to get along with each other will really help with longevity. Lastly, I think the music continues to get better. We’ve become more familiar with writing music together, and I think that familiarity shows on the record we just finished recording.”
With six band members and the fairly fluid track structure, often with unpredictable transitions and without a chorus, how difficult is it to create a track from scratch and how long does it typically take?
“It really differs from song to song. We’ve had songs take a year to write, and we’ve had songs come together in 30 minutes. Each song goes through a refining process, but sometimes the initial structure falls into our laps, and other times we have to wrestle with a song to get a result that we are satisfied with. I tend to think the song writing process takes longer for us since we are self-produced. Sometimes it takes a good deal of time to satisfy the opinions of six individuals.”
I like that you guys post a track by track breakdown of what you’ve been listening to on your blog. How do your own personal tastes and influences in music affect the sound of Quiet Corral?
“I think our individual tastes really shine through in our individual part writing. Jesse loves old country tunes and folk music, so his parts resemble those genres sometimes. Matt loves Mutemath and Pino Palladino, so his basslines can often be really driving or really grooving. There are, however, several bands and artists that we all love. For example, ‘Rosanna’ by Toto is collectively our favorite song.”
Two years ago you released your self-titled first album, Quiet Corral, this year it’s City Steep. How has the music changed from one album to the next?
“I think the music is much more cohesive now. As cliché as it sounds, we’ve really developed our own identity, and we’ve learned to use our individual influences to create something that sounds like Quiet Corral. I’m really proud of the record we just finished, and I can’t wait to see how people respond to it.”