- RECENT PRESS -
Houston Chronicle - Here Comes the Flood (June 8, 2007)
QUIST OPENS THE FLOODGATES
Singer-songwriter stays busy with band, solo record
by Sara Cress
A rush of good things is hitting Houston native Gordy Quist in his 27th
year. He recently married. He's building a house in Austin. He has steady
work in a really hot Austin-based band, the Heathens.
He also has a new album, ``Here Comes the Flood,'' which he almost didn't
release because he's just been too busy with that really hot band.
"I recorded this album at the end of last year not knowing that the Heathens
would be taking up all my time," Quist says. "We formed the band really
loosely, doing it for fun, but now it's a bigger time commitment. Things
are going well, so we're rolling with it."
"Rolling with it" means playing about 260 shows this year, building on the
momentum of the Heathens' regular Wednesday night gigs at Momo's in Austin,
plus shows at the South by Southwest Music Conference and the Sundance Film
Festival. The band started work on its first studio album last month and
recorded a concert DVD at Austin's Antone's last week.
"There are TV opportunities now, we have management, booking agents, a record
label (Austin's Fat Caddy Records). There's a lot more people involved and
more mouths to feed, so this is our career."
Quist is one of three frontmen in the Heathens, which also includes Colin
Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Seth Whitney. It's easy to see why there would be such
a clamor over this wicked little band: A handful of handsome guys putting
multipart vocal harmonies to roots-rock-country-soul songs. It's the kind
of free-wheeling, good-time music rock 'n' rollers used to make "before
there were categories," Quist says.
The promise of a relatively quiet summer, before the Heathens' album release
and tour, spurred Quist to release ``Here Comes the Flood,'' his second
solo album. His first, 2004's ``Songs Play Me,'' was a straightforward folk
recording filled with quiet story songs, the kind of writing that earned
him a win in the Kerrville New Folk songwriting contest in 2006. Previous
winners include James McMurtry, Slaid Cleaves, Tish Hinojosa and "a lot
of guys that have normal day jobs," Quist points out.
Quist picks up the pace on ``Flood,'' infusing his folk songs with more
rock 'n' roll.
Warmth is the right word for ``Flood'': The warmth of Quist's voice on lovely
standout Skin on Soul. The warmth of feeling on ``Green and Blue,'' a song
he wrote to perform the moment he asked his wife to marry him. A warm friendship
lights up ``Satisfied Mind,'' which Quist learned from his favorite songwriter
and frequent touring partner, Adam Carroll, who makes a guest appearance
on the song. A trip to the warm shores of Sydney, Australia, prompted him
to write ``Lady Juliana,'' a grand, sea-tossed song about the first boat
of female convicts to arrive on the new settlement.
While he's sure that he wants to maintain a solo career, he's unsure of
how much to separate himself from his popular band, which will be his backing
band at the CD-release party Friday at McGonigel's Mucky Duck.
"I don't know if I should try to make the solo shows really different,"
he says.
"Or just say, `These guys are tight on all the material, it's fun, don't
be weird about it.' "
