"quote"

At first listen The Pace of Our Feet sounded like an immaculately produced collection of songs, executed with folk and blues sensibilities, and a certain amount of humor and intelligence. I was prepared to praise their knack for telling tales and painting musical pictures, their gumption for standing on the edge of so many styles of music and producing a loosely termed “rock” album with a lot of pluck, range and emotion. I was, in short, prepared to write an extremely positive review.

And then the book that houses the CD pulled me in.

You see, The Pace of Our Feet isn’t just an album, although the music is good enough to stand on its own. It’s a package deal. Each song is threefold; every track has an additional original piece of art and a work of literature, both inspired by the song. The result is an album that explores the range of perception and creativity and invites a much deeper look at each of these songs.

In some cases it’s hard to tell what came first, the stories, the music, or the art. I like to think they were all out there, just waiting to find each other.

Ultimately there are so many perspectives for each of these stories. It’s like having a tiny window into the heads of other people, spying what the music means to them. It’s a small reminder that we each take something different from every piece of music we hear. The stories, poems and art open additional doors, and take our minds steps further into the creative process. It’s a project that could, in theory, go around in circles forever. But, for consumption and sanity’s sake, I like what they’ve done and how far they’ve gone. I’m just jealous they didn’t ask me to write a story. Next time guys, right?

So now I have to write a glowing review, and trust me, my praise has rarely been this heartfelt.

The songs carry a sense of history, whether it’s the setting for the story or the instrumentation. There is also a sense of motion across the album, from childhood dreams to the present in “Kerosene” or moving to Montana in the album’s title track.

Last year I had the good luck to meet Milis, the Irish duo who visited Nashville and recorded the strings on The Pace of Our Feet. The first time I really felt their touches on the album was in “Castles,” my favorite song on the album, which just happens to have my favorite picture attached to it, “Passenger,” a glorious, abstract, red piece with heavy brushstrokes across the frame. The picture caries the feeling of the open road and sense of longing that pull me into the song.

It’s not all slow and dramatic on the album, although I’m a big fan of the moody narrative that runs through it. “Caspian Parade” is still dramatic, but punched up with vaudeville-esch vamps of piano and horns, and “Until The Sunrise” is a swinging blues/rock tune, with rollicking piano and guitar.

Somehow Justin Tam and Jamie Bennet (the Nashville-based minds behind “Quote”) manage to skirt the edges of pop, folk, blues, old-school country, and rock and meld it together in a set of tracks that feel like they belong together. The stories and paintings only make them better. I have a great deal of respect for producer Mike Odmark; the album is a masterpiece.

The Pace of Our Feet is definitely intense. If you’re in the mood for some thoughtful music, pop in the CD. If you’re ready for the whole experience, put on a track, take a look at the picture, then read the story while you listen. Then try the picture again. Then have one last listen to the song. Trust me, it’s a powerful experience.

The project ends on a personal and emotional note with “Tired Eyes,” a beautiful track with sweeping strings, and the accompanying story, “Sunday Silhouettes” written by Tam about his grandparents.

For ordering information and upcoming dates on the musical and visual tour, visit quotemusic.net.

-Valerie Nutt - The Murfreesboro Pulse

http://wpln.org/?p=1622

When the band “Quote” tours, they don’t just play music, they put on an art show. WPLN”s Adrienne Outlaw reports on a musical experience for the ears and the eyes. A few years ago in California two friends were playing around with their music. One said to the other, “I’m writing a story about your song.” - WPLN News Nashville Public Radio

With The Pace of Our Feet, the upcoming debut album from Nashville duo Quote, Jamie Bennett and Justin Tam have contributed a sleeper classic to the folk/singer-songwriter canon. The fact that Tam and Bennett have done so quietly, with little to no pretense, highlights the ease with which Pace offers its many pleasures to the listener. Not only do the pair spin engaging narratives, but producer Mike Odmark weaves exquisite mixes around them. Intimate yet spacious, the songs exist as freestanding milieus for the moods and characters residing within. While Tam and Bennett’s harmonies boom, other instruments creak, shimmy and groan in the background. Fittingly, Pace comes with accompanying artwork and poetry. - The Nashville Scene

QUOTE

THE PACE OF OUR FEET

NO CATALOGUE NUMBER

2008

Damn, the quality just keeps coming! At Bluesbunny, we like a bit of variety - and indeed quirkiness - to our music and there would appear to be plenty of it about. Nashville based duo Justin Tam and Jamie Bennett are known collectively as "Quote" and this album is part of a forthcoming musical project that will include a book and art. For our aural delectation, we got the album in for review.
Now these fine gentlemen have a fine way with words. That is evident from the first song "Kerosene". Evocative of simpler times, it catches our attention. Following on quickly is "The Caspian Parade". This one is like a melodic Tom Waits doing a show tune. No shortage of drama here. Obviously determined to hold our attention, "Quote" keep up the pressure and kicks the door down with "Until the Sun Rise". The piano gets pounded and the guitar strings get bent until the song climaxes in true rock style. In contrast, the title track, "The Pace of Our Feet" is reflective but in a dramatic way with a lyrical dexterity that suggests Noel Coward in a melancholy mood. Some tasteful banjo picking drives the very commercial "Standing on the Ocean" - just the kind of song that the Eagles probably wish they could write nowadays. "Italian Wine" really cranks up the emotion and moves us to "raise your glass to all the war bound sons". If you do not know the difference between a violin and a fiddle the listen to the closing track "Tired Eyes". Sadness and hope all in one song. That is the way to end an album.
Way back in the sixties' people went out on the road to find themselves. The songs on this album also suggest a spiritual journey as well and, once again, we note that independent musicians seem to put a lot more imagination and passion into their creations. As an aside, if the Bluesbunny were a theatrical impresario, then we would be developing (i.e. exploiting) this collection of songs into a musical. Unfortunately the review copy came without full credits but take it from us the musicianship is exemplary. In conclusion, this is a fine album on its own and we curious to see the rest of the package when it comes available and our advice to you, therefore, is to start saving up for it now. Call it melodramatic popular song if you like but this album will be a most worthwhile purchase. - Blues Bunny - Scotland UK

"...a stunning production, intriguing songwriting, and a breath of fresh air from this Nashville group."

- Matt Morelock - WDVX - The Blue Plate Special

The Anti-Digital Artist Collective:

Nashville's "Quote" invite others to branch out into multiple artistic media:

Artwork is nothing new to the world of popular music. In 1939, Columbia Records' first art director, Alex Steinweiss, convinced the label to let him design cover art for their records (previously housed in boring cardboard) to represent the beauty of the music found inside. Since then, album art has been a standard component of music releases. By incorporating visual art, music and short stories into a 130-page project/artist collective titled The Pace Of Our Feet, Nashville-based acoustic duo "Quote" is taking a time honored tradition to a whole new level.
Pace was started in the summer of 2007 when "Quote" members Justin Tam and Jamie Bennett wrote and recorded 10 songs. They subsequently commissioned a number of their artist and author friends to create visual pieces and short stories to coincide with each song.
The idea didn't hit them all at once, explains Bennett. "The idea of communicating with different artistic media struck both of us early in college as a way to fulfill our different passions," he says. "Ideas of assigning music to prose began percolating from there." Tam adds, "As for the (visual) art, it was the logical next step."
Once the artists and authors had chosen their songs, Bennett and Tam passed along music and lyrics, notes, ideas, settings, storylines, themes and images they envisioned for each, but they made a decision not to stifle the artists' creativity. "We did not want the artists to feel limited or stuffed into a creative box," explains Bennett. "As any story is written, the character within often do things the author did not expect. With this in mind, we gave our partners the freedom to take the songs wherever the songs wanted to take them."
It then took the better part of a year for all of the paintings and writings to trickle in, but The Pace Of Our Feet enjoyed an early Fall release at The Rymer Gallery in downtown Nashville, with all of the project's artwork on display. "Quote" plans to have numerous cross-country art and music excursions over the course of 2009 (updates are available at quotemusic.net), with dates already planned along the California coast - an untraditional tour for an untraditional band. "The idea is to attract lovers of all kinds of art and put them in one room," Bennett notes. At the end of the stint in 2010, an auction for the art will be held.
"Quote" admits their project has strong appeal because of its concept - some people have purchased the book without even hearing the music. But they are excited that such a venture provides them with triple the distribution possibilities - landing in the realms of music, art and literature - and is an "anti-digital product" that, according to Tam, audiences will have to "see, touch, read and listen to in order to get the full experience."

- Beth Walker - Performing Songwriter - Performing Songwriter - Beth Walker