Sad songs just sound better. It’s true, and while I’d love to gush
about the delicate sorrow of Tennessee’s the Everybodyfields, it would
take space away from their wonderful interview answers below. I will
say that the duo (Sam Quinn and Jill Andrews) is part of an exciting
new movement in contemporary bluegrass-influenced music (alongside
labelmates the Avett Brothers), and their brand-new release, Nothing
Is Okay, is a gorgeous waltz of swelling country ballads soaked in
a river of spilled tears. Yes, it’s that sad.
MERCURY: I absolutely love Nothing Is
Okay, but do people who have heard the album often inquire if
you’re doing alright? Do strangers offer hugs after your shows?
SAM QUINN: When the events that influenced these recordings
transpired, people showed a fair amount of concern about our well
being, but now it’s a little weird. When people come up and tell us
about the record, they are usually excited and trying hard not to speak
rapidly, which I find to be somewhat ironic. This is a response that is
kind of out of place when the tunes are mostly, or entirely, about a
really bad time in our lives when we both probably wanted to be dead,
or maybe that was just me. I bet Jill will tell me later not to have
said that. However, it happens to be true, and that is exactly the
precedent that the Portland Mercury was founded on—truth
in journalism.
I found that when talking to the Avett Brothers, they said their
lack of bluegrass in their formative years helped them appreciate the
style more when they were older, is that the same with you two?
We were raised far away from country music. It was always there, but
at the same time, no one I was running with at the time showed any
interest toward it. I came from the Creedence, Neil Young, Megadeth,
Pantera, Earl Scruggs, back to Creedence approach. It wasn’t until high
school that I started to appreciate what made the twang appealing,
which was unfortunately right after I had decided to forcibly lose my
Southern accent.
As a quiet band that often opens for larger acts, what’s the key
to preventing people from loudly talking over your set?
I constantly wonder about this. I even wonder to this day why people
will pay money to come hear an hour or so of sad-sap music about
depressing times, but people do it. We have played with the Avett
Brothers when I thought that we would surely be likened to baby sheep
on killing day, but for the most part I think that people are
understanding enough to know that, “Okay, I am at a show and the band
is starting and I can’t hear it because everyone in the room is
speaking far too loudly for me to hear,” and then maybe take some
initiative to stick their lips out and go “shhhh.” When people go to
see shows, they are looking to be entertained. They are probably going
to invest some level of care to do their part to ensure that things go
this way, unless it’s like The Jerry Springer Show. I am
guessing that after almost any logical statement, you could follow it
up with “unless it’s The Jerry Springer Show.”
The Everybodyfields perform at Mississippi Studios on Thursday,
October 11.