Clare Quilty
lush textured agitpop coming across like a distant relative of Veruca Salt Sonic Youth and the Pixies the quartets songs resonate with soaring vocal harmonies s
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Singer Wanted for perverse, driving, catchy, noisy, jam-free, phishless band.
Influences: Sonic Youth, early '80's punk, George Bataille, Cure, Pixies, Slavoj Zizek, coffee, DC harDCore, Karl Marx. Must be pop culture literate. Must know the difference between objet petit a and the mole on Cindy Crawford's face. Gender unnecessary, but mental health history a must....
...so read the advertisement answered by Jenn Rhubright in '96. Encouraged by her boyfriend, Jenn overcame her shyness and auditioned even though she had never sung in a band before. Jenn landed the role of lead singer and Clare Quilty quickly cut a demo. DCide got hold of it while sifting through through a box of tapes at DC venue The Black Cat, and immediately traveled South to see the band perform in their hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia. Cerebral songwriting with a challenging edge and Jenn's lilting, honey-pure voice, as well as her naturally compelling presence, were clear indicators for success. Within a year of Jenn's arrival, Clare Quilty had finished recording their first album, "Suga-Lik," for the DCide label.
"Suga-Lik" was released in the fall of '97, and enjoyed an 8 week run in CMJ's Top 200 chart late in the year. Growth continued in early '98 as the band released a video and "Suga-Lik" went to #1 at WRAS, Georgia State's 100,000 watt radio station located in the heart of Atlanta. Kudos rolled in from such publications as Exclaim!, Manhattan Mirror, and Rockpile, all agreeing that Clare Quilty had "definitely established itself as a band to watch" (Ink 19). The band toured through the Southeast, sharpening their stagecraft by performing with groups such as Drivin' 'n' Cryin' and Mighty Joe Plum. By fall, the time had arrived to begin work on Clare Quilty's second album.
Culling from guitarist Mike Rodi's endless backlog of material as well as his prolific output, Clare Quilty joined producer Kevin McNoldy (Seven Mary Three) in the studio to hone their collective vision. After 4 months of recording, they hooked up with mixer Richard Morel (Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Pet Shop Boys) to put the finishing touches on the album. The result is "Strong," a shrewd, summary panorama of today's pop-culture. The trim songwriting runs the sonic gamut from saturated guitars to the light, ethereal tones of trip-hop rock. Jenn's vocals evoke innocent charm one minute and aggressive anger the next as they pour over the music's lushly layered textures. Bassist Chris Ruotolo steps forth with gorgeous vocal harmonies, further distinguishing Clare Quilty as one of the few bands with two female vocalists. Stuart Gunter's powerful rock drumming is lock-tight, and the overall result is a stunning exhibition of their development as a band. Their first single "Sleep with You" will bring Clare Quilty to the public eye this month.
Charlottesville, VA
USA
ID
2949
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