Quinzy

Packed with sharp hooks, catchy choruses and expertly crafted melodies, every tune in this six-song set begs you to hit repeat. Check this out.

-Jen Zoratti (Uptown Magazine)
- Uptown Magazine

This confident, sophisticated disc -- expertly produced by Canadian veteran Michael Phillip Wojewoda, whose credits include BNL's Gordon and Rheostatics' Whale Music -- is supposedly the first of three EPs due this year. And if the rest sport melodies as pretty, harmonies as sweet, guitars as crunchy and hooks as sharp as this, Quinzy won't be the only ones over the moon.

-Darryl Sterdan (Winnipeg Sun) - Winnipeg Sun

"...These Nautical Miles is a big, roomy record, full of epic builds and atmospheric arrangements. With its driving bass lines and sprawling, soaring choruses, this seven-song set showcases a band that isn't afraid to work outside its three-minute pop/rock framework (see: the 10-minute Polywater). That said, this is hardly an unfocused outing - Fell In Love With The Enemy boasts one of the best melodic hooks I've heard in a while. A." - Uptown Magazine

"...ultra-melodic and uber-catchy quartet gives more pop than four kids in a room full of bubble wrap."

-Aaron Epp (The Uniter) - Uniter Magazine

http://www.uptownmag.com/2009-12-03/page5002.aspx - Uptown Magazine

When local pop-rockers Quinzy announced they were going to release three EPs in a year, the question was, why? Well, why not? It took the two sets of brothers a little longer than the promised 12 months, but the wait was worth it, since the series ends with Self-Defense, the strongest set of the collection.

One Boys Guide to the Moon and These Nautical Miles were recorded in Toronto with Michael Phillip Wojewoda (Rheostatics) and both boast a big lush sound to complement the material, which ranges from the bouncy Brit-pop of From St. Cloud to the psychedelic overtones of the title track on One Boy's Guide. These Nautical Miles is filled with slower, more experimental moments, most notably Glass Wing, the Ben Folds-esque title track and atmospheric 10-minute closer Polywater.

Self-Defense was recorded in Vancouver with Vince R. Ditrich (Spirit of the West/Quinzy's manager) whose production style is perfectly suited to the darker, more straight-up hook-filled pop of the final EP, highlighted by the throbbing I Dream in Exponents and grandiose Be That Way. - Winnipeg Free Press

Sometimes, good things really do come in threes. With this six-track disc, the two sets of brothers in local pop-rockers Quinzy complete their ambitious EP trilogy that began last year with One Boy’s Guide to the Moon and continued in spring with These Nautical Miles. Although the previous chapters’ producer Michael Phillip Wojewoda is absent from this final chapter, the disc still dovetails seamlessly with its predecessors thanks to the band’s seemingly bottomless well of sharp melodic hooks and artfully sophisticated arrangements. Expect to hear more where that came from when the band plays its annual Quinzmas shows next week at the West End. - Winnipeg Sun

Two sets of brothers who are also cousins make up Quinzy, a pop/rock foursome from Winnipeg, Man., where blood-related bandmates are not out of the ordinary.

“For some reason in Winnipeg there’s a whole rash of brother bands,” says guitarist/vocalist Sandy Taronno. “A lot of them seem to have more explosive arguments because of it—we never do.”

Taronno and his brother Jamie (keyboard), along with their cousins David Pankratz (drums) and Jason Pankratz (bass), formed Quinzy in 2006. The Manitoba quartet is set to play their biggest show yet this Friday at the Richmond O Zone. They will open for Juno-award-nominated indie rockers Tokyo Police Club of Newmarket, Ont., in front of thousands of people.

They aren’t nervous though.

“What could we possibly do? Play the worst rock and roll show ever played?” Taronno jokes.

Both sets of brothers were raised in musical families. Jason and David’s dad is an opera singer and teaches choir; Jamie and Sandy’s dad played accordion in a band.

“This is what we were born to do,” says Taronno. “[Music] is just second nature now. We have to do it, so we better try and make some money off it.”

Quinzy has released three extended playlists in the last year and a half: One Boy’s Guide to the Moon, These Nautical Miles and most recently Self-Defense, which they recorded in Vancouver. They will play songs from all three EPs on Friday night, but are partial to their latest recording.

“It’s our finest work so far and we love getting a chance to play it live in front of a bunch of people,” Taronno says. “There’s a confidence to this new disc that I think is pretty self-evident.”

The band has always tried to straddle the line between mainstream and alternative music. Self-Defense really captures that middle ground, says Taronno. “It sounds powerful and it’s got a sheen to it, but it also kind of harbours some darker interesting ideas.”

And though the Christmas season is now behind us, Quinzy plans to play “Feast”—one of their original holiday songs—on Friday night. Their annual Christmas show “Quinzmas” has become a popular tradition in Winnipeg, and is well known for its festive absurdity. The fifth annual Quinzmas included a horn section, a 10-person choir, and, oddly enough, a drummer dressed as Spiderman wearing a wolf mask.

“We put just as much effort into these little throwaway Christmas songs as anything else and [Feast] has turned out to be a real live favourite,” says Taronno.

He describes the band’s sound as classic rock ‘n’ roll combined with the catchy nature of pop.

“I love this idea of a Trojan horse that gets stuck in people’s heads, but it’s sort of sneaking in interesting darker ideas while they’re humming it.”

Quinzy’s influences include Wilco, the New Pornographers, the Flaming Lips and Ben Folds Five—other groups that sit on the border between mainstream and alternative music and write intellectually provocative lyrics.

And as for the name Quinzy?

“We liked the way that it looked on paper,” says Taronno.

Only after adopting the name did they discover “quinsy” is a nasty inflammation of the tonsils and a “quincy” is a man-made snow cave. The band identifies more with the latter mispronunciation.

“It is sort of like a warm place in the middle of a lot of ice and snow and obviously coming from Winnipeg that metaphor kind of struck home for us.”

The quartet is also pleased to have tickets to the women’s gold medal ice hockey game. Taronno admittedly is not a huge sports fan, but his cousins sure are. “Jason and David are literally vibrating with glee—they love the Olympics.”

Quinzy performs on the main stage at the O Zone on Friday, Feb. 26 at 8:30 p.m. Tokyo Police Club starts at 9:45 p.m. - Richmond Review