Kory Quinn and The Comrades

Rank #22 Portland, OR Americana / Train Hoppin' Foot-Stompin' ...

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Members: KORY QUINN & THE COMRADES

Label: Ma and Pa

Bio: "I suppose if one could pinpoint exactly what it is that separates good folk and roots-based music from mediocre schlock, everyone would be getting it right. Obviously, not everyone does—but Portland-by-way-of-Indianapolis singer/songwriter Kory Quinn is one of those whose music not only upholds ... See Full Bio

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Kory Quinn and The Comrades has a show on 05/26/2013 at 12:00 PM @ Northwest Folklife Festival... in Seattle, WA http://www.reverbnation.com/c./poni/202297684 #concert

Press

“ They played some great bluegrass and folkish americana that was almost exclusively original and entirely enjoyable. I'm not straight on if what I saw was technically Kory Quinn & the Comrades. I feel like sometimes there are probably more Comrades than that. This was just Kory and another fellow who played the lap steel and the banjo. It is hard for me to ascertain whether or not someone is actually good at the banjo, but when this he played the lap steel it was clear that he was very, very good at playing the lap steel. Like really good. I kept wanting to yell, "Lap steel solo!" But I didn't because that didn't seem like a very good idea Kory is a good singer and performer but I think he really stands out as a songwriter. There is a travel weary authenticity that comes through and you get the sense he is a bit of a bindlestiff road kid. I get the impression that he is from Illinois somewhere (Chicago? Aurora? Waukegan?) but he is a Portlander now and you can (and should) go listen”

— KMZE Radio Blog

“Singer/songwriter Kory Quinn (shown left), born in Illinois (USA) but now a part of the vigorous Portland, OR, Americana scene, is currently touring in Britain and Ireland. Kory Quinn's music, in the Americana traditions of bluegrass, country, outlaw folk, can be heard on MySpace, ReverbNation, and BandCamp, and he is also on Facebook. His tour dates and recent press can also be found on these sites, and he can be contacted by e-mail.”

— Editor EBB, The European Bluegrass Blog

“As the deep country revival of the 2000′s continues to bustle its way across the country and around the world, with the likes of the Avett Brothers and Old Crow Medicine Show garnering greater and greater attention, few bring to the genre the kind of wit, grit and determination you’ll hear in the music of Kory Quinn. Born in Illinois, schooled on the road and dumped by a girl who turned him into a Portlander, the 27-year singer, guitarist and harp blower and his ever-changing band, The Comrades, make music that’s one part hillbilly stomp, one part Boxcar Willie and one part Ramones concert. With a full-length LP, Waitin’ For A Train, released last year, an EP in the record bins this year (with three more on the way) and a tour of Ireland commencing tomorrow morning, he’s a man on the move. But, Michael Verity managed to slow him down for a few minutes to talk about everything from music to family to futbol.”

— Michael Verity, Acoustic Music Pinboard

“There's something to be said for musicians who adhere to strict musical traditions without coming off as crass copycats. Portland's hobo countryman Kory Quinn possesses the rich vocals and authentic songwriting necessary to carve out his own space in the Americana timeline. Tunes like "$2000 Song" and "You Don't Hold Me Down" capture the timeless spirit of an old soul who is no stranger to freight yards and jail cells, and the clever phrasing of "I'll butter you up like hot buttered rum and honey, baby I'll make you come/ to me" in "My Girl From Carolina" is sure to elicit a sly grin. From the well-worn themes to the classic country instrumentation, nothing on Angels and Outlaws is groundbreaking. Repetitive lyrics and an unwavering tempo tend to flatten this brief EP. The entire play time of these five songs is just over 16 minutes. The album is too fleeting to become immersed in, but Quinn ties it all together at the end with the thoughtful love ballad "Annabelle Lee." Complete with ”

— Jed Nussbaum, Missoula Independent

“NOTHING about the way this kid sounds is indicative of his age (26). He's nothing less than a prodigy with an old soul. He conjures up images of Woody Guthrie and takes your spirit on an adventure that transcends time and space in an old-timey way. Soccer coach by day, he spends his evenings spreading music via Portland Public Transit. This is a kid that grew up on Punk, then got turned on to The Grateful Dead through Sublime. As far as I'm concerned he's a legend already. ”

— Schwilly American Roadtrip

“Drawing inspiration from classic country greats, Kory Quinn breathes new life into a traditional sound, forming his own blend of modern, americana-style, rootsy country rock. In a strange juxtaposition between the 1930′s and 2012, Quinn finds a balance and manages to straddle both worlds perfectly: emulating the vagabond lifestyle of train-hopping outlaws in his songs and staying ahead of the ever-changing, and progressively more digital, music production standards. In an innovative plan to keep fans stimulated, Quinn is releasing his fourth album, Angels and Outlaws, this Friday, April 13th with plans for three more installments over the next year. An energetic five song EP, the album stays true to the soulful twang that is at the heart of Quinn’s music, which can no more accurately be described (by Rob Stroup) as “foot-stompin’, train-hoppin’, story-spinnin’, truth-spittin’, outlaw, country-western, hobo-blues.” ”

— Jessica Black, Oregon Music News

“[ROOTS] There's something to be said for just kinda nailing honky-tonk and folk tunes without attaching a lot of bells and whistles. That's what Kory Quinn does on his new EP, Angels and Outlaws. The five songs here are well-built and ship-shape, from the guitar picking to the tight-’n’-twangy vocal harmonies. Quinn's extremely tight rhythm section has jazzy undertones thanks to Blue Cranes drummer Ji Tanzer and busy local bassist Sam Howard. It's music built for fans of Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie and other artists we only know from black-and-white photos and scratchy 78s, but it's a musical form tackled in such a simultaneously lively and respectful manner that one can't help digging on what Kory Quinn is doing. ”

— Casey Jarman, Willamette Weekly

“Recording engineer Rob Stroup accurately depicts The Comrades as a "foot-stompin', train-hoppin', story-spinnin', truth-spittin', outlaw, country-western, hobo-blues band." Portland singer and songwriter Kory Quinn is the one mainstay in the band's ever-changing lineup. Quinn has a queue of musicians stretching from New York to Portland who play with him as The Comrades when he travels. This weekend, The Comrades will be Quinn and Portland-based duo Bitterroot, featuring Colt and Foster Haney. The trio will play at 9 p.m. Friday, March 9, at Caldera Tap House, 31 Water St., Ashland. When he's playing solo, Quinn plays originals in the vein of early '60s folk. He has one album, "Waitin' for a Train," and one in the works. The cover to the shown at Caldera is $3. Call 541-482-4677. ”

— Mail Tribune

“A fine band is a group who can sing me a song so timeless that I swear it was written sometime between 75 years ago and perhaps last week. The sounds comes grainy and classic but with an inspiring sweetness. The band’s musicianship is unquestionable and thus insists on a trust with the audience that no one can argue. Kory Quinn and The Comrades do this for me. My favorite, Annabelle Lee, is a perfect illustration of how a band can be so selfless in it’s presentation of a song that you feel like you owe Kory and his friends for giving us this song. The fireplace blend of harmonies matched with a cool style of Americana/Classic Country melts your heart when you pause to listen to the lyrics. But don’t be fooled, these boys can heat up the dance floor with some boot-stompin’ licks to make you sweat from all the dancing you’re bound to do. Whatever you do, don’t miss these guys. Their style doesn’t come around often. Look for their new album “At The End of The Bar” out”

— Dee Fretwell, Ivory Harp

“TRAIN HOPPING VAGABOND Portland-based singer-songwriter Kory Quinn wrote his new album in only a couple weeks while on a cross-country train trip from Oregon to Chicago. Tagged Waiting for a Train, tracks on the album sound like a hobo blues revival. Sometimes Quinn sings with the chug-a-choo of a speeding locomotive, while other tracks are bluesy ballads and love songs, paying solitary homage to maternal figures, bums, lovers and sure enough—“sitting on a bench, waiting for a train.” Quinn will pull into Flagstaff Brewing Co., 16 E. Rte. 16, for a free show starting at 9 p.m. ”

— Flagstaff Live

“Butler University grad and Portland, OR resident Kory Quinn is returning to the Midwest to retrace the steps where he cut his teeth a few years back. Quinn is currently on the road with his backing band The Comrades. He fronts the four man outfit that specializes in the type of new grass, Americana that has remained a constant across this region for decades. Think a less sappy Old Crow Medicine Show, without the fiddle. Last summer, Quinn released a nine track LP entitled Waitin’ for a Train. The album was recorded during a two week stint on a cross-country train tour. Quinn and the Comrades will be playing a sold out show tonight at Hideout in Chicago. He will be playing Indianapolis’ The Melody Inn on January 19th along with Mark Alexander and Cincinnati’s Young Heirlooms. The venue holds sentimental value, as it was the first place the artist ever had a gig. ”

— Rob Peoni, Thought on Tracks

“UNION — Comprised of Kory Quinn, and a local duo, Bitterroot, The Low Down Whiskey Rebels are an all-original country western band that updates the likes of Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Townes Van Zandt and Willie Nelson. With rich harmonies backing up murder ballads, and boot stompin’ two steps, Quinn said they span the spectrum of Americana, from Zydeco to Protest. “They are here to make you dance, laugh and think, cry some tears and drink your beers,” he said. Bitterroot is a relatively new band to the Portland music scene. Originally from La Grande, the songwriting duo of Colt Haney and Foster Haney set the backdrop for Bitterroot’s outlaw saloon-style soul music. Their infectious melodies and songwriting, Quinn said, keeps them regulars in the saloon circuits of Eastern Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Washington.”

— Jeff Petersen, La Grande Observer

“Quinn's love of music started with his older brother's record collection and blossomed after hearing ska-punk band Sublime's cover of the Grateful Dead's "Scarlet Begonias." "I had my dad listen to it and he turned me on to the Grateful Dead and that opened up so many doors for me, because The Dead played so many styles," he said. "From there, I fell into the standards c Neil Young, Bob Dylan and recently John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams and Cab Calloway."”

— Scott Iwasaki, The Park City Record

“ 2:53 PM Artist: Kory Quinn & the Comrades Song: Down the Railroad, Down the Track Source: Waitin' for a Train Record Label: koryquinn.bandcamp.com”

— Eric Alan, KLCC Eugene Oregon NPR

“Kory Quinn with Colt and Foster Haney (aka Bitterroot) play and talk about new recordings and more with Eric Alan, host of KLCC's Living Large.”

— Eric Alan, KLCC Eugene Oregon NPR

“Pouting about the loss of Portland-based trance hillbilly blues band Hillstomp? Stop sulking. Hillstomp’s frontmen may have disembarked on separate projects, but in so doing they continue to go off in the ways that made them a Eugene favorite for dancing your ass off to. Henry Hill Kammerer, the singer/guitar playing half of Hillstomp, plays Sam Bond’s Dec. 1 with Bitterroot and Kory Quinn and the Comrades. Portland might be a long way from the musical inspirations of the American South, but something about throwing in a little Pendleton plaid and the Cascade peaks instead of the gently rolling mountains of Appalachia adds a twist to the sound that’s both Northwest unique and distinctly Americana. From Kammerer’s twanging and yelling to Bitterroot’s eastern Oregon open-spaces influenced sound and Kory Quinn’s train-hopping hobo blues, if you’re in the mood for dancing and getting sweaty on a cold December night, then you’re good to go.”

— Camilla Mortensen, Eugene Weekly

“Joshua Smith slips quietly through the front door of a ramshackle Southeast Portland house where music spills from the kitchen. Guitar strings pluck. Harmonicas plead. Voices deliver bluesy folk lyrics laced with pain, grit, lies, loss and love. Kory Quinn and Jay Cobb Anderson sound beautiful, soulful and wiser than two musicians in their mid-20s should. They play and sing with such style and professional polish that Smith can't stop his smile from stretching cheek-to-cheek. One week into the cross-country recording journey he calls the American Music Preservation Project and already he's found gold. Pure, top-quality sounds performed by musicians who fall below big recording companies' radar and out of pop culture's spotlight are precisely what Smith hopes to capture as he pushes east from Portland this month. ”

— Katy Muldoon, The Oregonian

“[VAGABOND AMERICANA] With his latest album, Waitin' for a Train, Portland troubadour Kory Quinn and his band, the Comrades, break forth with a firm, compelling sort of Americana that is at once hauntingly familiar and entirely Quinn’s own. The songwriter’s voice, both strained and tender, wafts through a soundscape speckled with sparse percussion and hammering harmonica, perfectly suiting somber lullabies such as the placid “In My Mother’s Arms” and the raucous “Runaway Train” with equal vigor. Quinn offers timeless country folk infused with a hint of rock, the kind of music that has been listened to for generations and will remain relevant for decades. ”

— Wilamette Weekly

“I suppose if one could pinpoint exactly what it is that separates good folk and roots-based music from mediocre schlock, everyone would be getting it right. Obviously, not everyone does—but Portland-by-way-of-Indianapolis singer/songwriter Kory Quinn is one of those whose music not only upholds well-worn traditions but also sounds fresh in the process. It might be a case of believability: Quinn's latest nine-song collection, Waitin' for a Train, carries on the tradition of wandering troubadours and train-hopping drifters, and if that's a romantic notion (it's not entirely fabricated—Quinn recently took a trip across the US by train, although it was funded by Kickstarter, so one presumes he wasn't hopping from boxcar to boxcar), it's one that Quinn imbues with authenticity. In a crowded field of local roots musicians, Quinn stands out as one who's got his bead aimed precisely at the truth. ”

— Ned Lannamann, The Portland Mercury

“Vancouver Voice Review "Americana Will Not Die..." Posted: Thu, 11/05/2009 Kory Quinn & The Comrades Originality is relative. Quite a bold statement I know, but let me explain. The Folk/Americana/Bluegrass style of music is by no means an original thing, it's been around for countless years. But when a young artist such as Kory Quinn touches upon the genre in today's day in age with a sincere and authentic, not "this is cool because it's ironic approach", it becomes original in the context of our time and culture. In the resurrection of older styles of music such as Americana, artists walk a fine line between becoming another tribute to the art form, and really using it as a medium in which they manifest their artistic inventiveness. Kory Quinn falls in the latter category. Kory Quinn successfully caries a sound from a rocking chair on a worn wooden porch, to the bustling streets of Portland, which is a truly daunting transition. ”

— Vancouver Voice

“Since starting this column a few years back, submissions from local bands have come via the usual snail mail and email...Kory Quinn was the first musician to pop up on my radar via a flier stapled to the box of the pizza I ordered. But darned if the music wasn't even tastier than the pepperoni. I gather the band migrated to Chicago from Indiana; that its biggest influence is Harry Smith's famous "Anthology of American Folk Music" and that it's gearing up to perform at the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, Okla., in July. Beyond that, the details of the Comrades are a mystery, but that's fine, because stark, haunting but brilliantly rendered songs such as "Shoes of the Dead," "You Ain't Coming Back," "Austin" and "Under the Gun" succeed because of their dark and twisted layers and the many lingering questions of that vaunted "old, weird America." ”

— Jim DeRogatis, Demo2DeRo

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Barn Yard Stomp

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$2000 Song

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Annabelle Lee

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Down the Railroad, …

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Time Just Ain't On …

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Kory Quinn - Angels and Outlaws EP Promo

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Fri
May 24

Magnolia's Corner
Portland, OR, US | 7:00pm
Magnolia's Corner
Portland, OR, US
Fri May 24 7:00pm
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Sat
May 25

Northwest Folklife Fest…
Seattle, WA, US | 12:00pm
Northwest Folklife Festival
Seattle, WA, US
Sat May 25 12:00pm
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BUSKING EVERYWHERE
Sun
May 26

Northwest Folklife Fest…
Seattle, WA, US | 12:00pm
Northwest Folklife Festival
Seattle, WA, US
Sun May 26 12:00pm
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BUSKING EVERYWHERE
Wed
May 29

Fire on the Mountain
Portland, OR, US | 9:00pm
Fire on the Mountain
Portland, OR, US
Wed May 29 9:00pm
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May 31

The Governor's Cup Coff…
Salem, OR, US | 8:00pm
The Governor's Cup Coffee ...
Salem, OR, US
Fri May 31 8:00pm
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Cap Wilhelm-Safian
"Stand With Each Other" is a classic protest song for our time. Kudos.
Cap Wilhelm-Safian
I'm back to give your fine tunes another spin.
Cap Wilhelm-Safian
I'm really diggin "Time Just Ain't on Our Side". Fine writing and pickin'.

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Questions

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Q: Did you write the song we heard you sing at the Keystone Cafe this morning, about the Maverick with his Gypsy Queen? Will you be releasing it for sale?

A: Yes, I did write it. It will be released sometime this year. proll in April. Doing a Double EP Release.

Asked by Catherine Ballay. Answered on Mon Jan 14 2013

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