With their new album, Channing Lee and Quinn Mathews add a Great Lakes State perspective to their unique indie-folk, which will come to life next week at SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids.
THE BAND: Channing & Quinn
THE MUSIC: Indie-folk/pop with a twist
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE BAND: 8 p.m. Wednesday (May 18) at SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids; 7 p.m. June 15 at Sounds of Summer Concert Series at Pottawatomie Park in Grand Haven
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When West Michigan’s Channing Lee and Quinn Mathews throw an album release party, they do it right.
From singing along to songs to tapping feet and even dancing off to the side of the stage, the crowd clearly had a blast at the duo’s “Up North” album release party last week at the Tri-Cities Historical Museum in downtown Grand Haven.
Channing & Quinn’s new album is the first written completely in Michigan since the duo moved to Grand Rapids after a nine-year stint in Nashville. They saw the phrase “Up North” as one that’s often associated with vacations, or at least relaxing and having a great time with loved ones in the Great Lake State.
“So, it is a very good title for our album,” said Lee, noting the couple wanted the album-release show “to be like a party – a fun time and a celebration of this album.”
Indeed, it was.
The sold-out crowd found their seats in front of a stage festooned with balloons and banners, not to mention all the instruments the duo plays: a keyboard, glockenspiel, banjo, ukulele, guitar, Theremin, and vocal loop pedal system.
When the pair did take the stage, Lee commanded the crowd with her impressive vocals as well as glockenspiel and tambourine work, while Mathews supported her perfectly with much of the evening’s instrumentals, such as banjo, ukulele and guitar. The evening’s first set featured the new album, played start to finish, with the second set featuring favorites from their first two full-length recordings.
BLOWING IT ‘OUT OF THE WATER’ IN CONCERT
“I knew they were going to blow it out of the water with that show, and they absolutely did,” said Marianne Fischer, of the Red House Concert Series, which hosted the event.
“They broke out some new and seldom-seen instruments. I know those special arrangements were for the people that have been following them, and there were a lot of them there. That was a true Red House Concert Series show: Everyone was locked in and engaged.”
Added Jack Clark, also with the Red House Concert Series: “I thought their performance reflected the response they received from the audience. They gave everything they had, and poured their talent and souls out on that stage. It was an absolutely beautiful performance that I am still feeling blessed to have witnessed.”
That style of local support – from organizers and fans alike – truly has impressed Lee and Matthews about the West Michigan music scene.
“Everyone here works with each other. They are so inviting,” said Mathews, who also recently started hosting the new “GR Live” radio show at noon Thursdays on WYCE-FM (88.1) which spotlights performances by West Michigan acts at H.O.M.E. in The B.O.B. (This week’s free show will feature Mustard Plug, Dante Cope and Charlie Darling.)
“We saw that right away when we got here. Not that Nashville is not inviting, but everyone there is on their way to or from somewhere else. Everyone in West Michigan is here: They are invested and they love music.”M
MUSICAL VARIETY, DIFFERENT DYNAMICS, PASSION
The duo’s new album, “Up North,” boasts a huge variety of styles and tones, from light, entertaining songs to a few introspective, serious numbers. (Sample tracks and purchase the new album online here.)
“I like variety. It’s more interesting for me,” Lee said. “I don’t buy into the thought that an album has to have one cohesive idea. I think we’ve had that variety with all of our albums. Having those different dynamics to the album helps it reflect day-to-day life… It can be funny and quirky, and then it gets somber and real, very fast.”
The new album’s real heart and soul lies in the track, “It’s Alright,” halfway through the album. The song’s serious note addresses many issues and stresses bearing down on the narrator’s life, but turns brighter as she starts to address her partner, her rock through all the tough times:
It’s alright, it’s alright, when you hold my hand so tight
That it turns numb, and I realize, that all along, I’ve been the lucky one.
When it’s just you and me, I find it easy to believe
That we’ll survive, and even thrive, ‘cause it’s alright… It’s alright.
That song is the most real, most autobiographical song they have done, Lee said.
“Every song has been written, every note has been played,” she said. “It’s about finding your own different way to do it.
“Making a song autobiographical helps make it more emotional and passionate. There are bits of that in every song we do, but if I drew from only our experience, it would be more one-dimensional. I want to tell a story; draw from other people’s experiences as well.”
Copyright 2016, Spins on Music