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Thankfully, Quinn Scharber and the... have just released their own superb record of good, honest rock and roll, Being Nice Won’t Save Milwaukee. "Recording this album was one of the hardest, most trying things I've ever done," says Scharber. "I wanted a very organic sound with a lot of breathing room, but the way some of it was recorded it just wasn't possible. At the beginning I wanted about 12 songs on it, but as we got started I soon realized that would take about a year, so we picked the ones we thought were best."
The eight tracks that made the cut are as diverse as the players who created them. The fuzzy throb of “Addiction and Subtraction” brings to mind the impossible coolness of shoegaze greats The Jesus and Mary Chain, while songs like "Latest Flame" and "Pop Song" are high energy rockers performed with the unbridled spirit of (again) The Replacements. The simplicity and bittersweet melodic beauty of the band’s more reserved songs suggest the influence of songwriters like Elliott Smith and Neil Young.
"To me, we don't share much in common at all as far as backgrounds go. As far as I can tell Thom [Geibel] was into indie rock and contemporary rock of the nineties. Joe [Kirschling] is into a lot of classic rock, punk, and hip hop. And, for myself, I've always been into a lot of classic rock and pop songwriters," Scharber explains. "We seem to meet in the area of songs that have a lot of hooks with space for us to stretch out as instrumentalists. If it's one thing we do have in common it's the influence of bands like Led Zeppelin whose members could really play off one another."
Though the songs on Being Nice Won’t Save Milwaukee have a richly intimate quality about them, Scharber insists that it’s just the result of good storytelling. “Addiction and Subtraction was completely written at the 5th Ward Pub and Grill one night in about twenty minutes. I match the lyrics with riffs I write on the guitar. Usually, I come up with them at work between teaching guitar lessons. Hardly any of the songs on this record are about my life at all. Most of it is observation.”
Like The Box Social, Scharber feels that calling the Midwest home plays a significant part in the music that he and his band create. “Living in the Midwest is a huge part of my influence. This part of the country has as much life in it as any other part of the country, and I don't mean that in a John Mellencamp sort of way. The Midwest is like purgatory, and I take pride in that. It's not that great, but it's not that bad either. People that live here are more honest than anywhere,” he explains. “Whenever I meet someone and the first thing they say is “Well you know, I'm from Boston”, “I'm from L.A.,” “I'm from New York", in my head I'm thinking “Next!” I'm tired of people being ashamed of being raised in the Midwest because they think it's not as important as other parts of the country. You should own that shit!” - Dane101.com
Discography
2008 "Being Nice Won't Save Milwaukee"
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Bio
Ok listen. Quinn had all these songs he was demoing at home right? But he was playing guitar on all of them and wasn't in a band that he played guitar in at the moment. Follow me? So, he called Joe (with whom he plays with in the Nice Outfit) and Thom (who was a former bandmate in The Static Model) and said "would you gentlemen like to get drunk in Thom's basement and try to learn some of my songs?" And they were all, "aww shit man, I don't know, I've got this other stuff goin' on right now, you see, but, ok as long as you don't bring in your sissy songs". So they (somehow) booked a few shows and then Joph Bravo (former drummer in the Static Model) saw them play and nearly shit himself at the lack of tambourine going on in said performance and offered his services. To which Quinn replied "you can play vibro-slap if you want, I'm not sure anyone's listening anyway". Blah Blah Blah...music, music, music. So now we're a band. See, dreams really do come true! p.s. I just wrote all of that in the 3rd person because apparently that's what you're supposed to do when you write a bio. But it was just me writing the whole thing. Have a nice day! Quinn
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