continued from page 26
Western, mid-pandemic, where every actor
automatically returns to their hotel room
each evening and is contractually forbidden
from any social interaction before first
call the next morning.
And Quartin happily takes the screen
work when she can get it. She’s particularly
proud of the footage she shot for Kerry
Mondragon’s Blake-themed Tyger Tyger. “It
was the most fun I’ve ever had on a
movie,” she says. “We shot it by the Salton
Sea in Bombay Beach, California, and it
was the most magical experience I’ve ever
had.” Plus, she made a new friend on set,
co-star Eden Brolin, daughter of Josh, who
recently moved nearby to her in
Woodstock. How does she select her chosen
roles? Easy, she replies. “I love to play
characters that are nuts! I did a film I
worked really hard on, called Stale Ramen,
and I got to use my schizophrenic experience
for that because it was about a girl
who was 20, but she had the mind of a
seven-year-old, trapped in an adult body.
She was just insane! But you don’t get to
really choose, at least where I’m at in the
business. I don’t have connections, so I
can’t just call up my agent, so the jobs I get
are just destiny jobs, where a friend reaches
out and says, ‘My friend’s looking for
THIS in his next picture — do you want to
do it?’ And I say yes. So I’ve never gotten a
job through an agent or a manager — I’ve
never done this the traditional way.”
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28 illinoisentertainer.com september 2020
But withThe Bobby Lees, on the other
hand, anything goes — until COVID-19
hit, they could play as many concerts as
the bandleader bothered to book. And
she’s not resting on her Next Big Thing
laurels during the lockdown, either. She
just hammered out her first 99-page
screenplay, which she’s set aside for later
editing since the group is, at the moment,
recording its next magnum opus in
Nashville, with producer Vance Powell at
his rustic Sputnik Sound studio. And
they’re taking their leisurely time, recording
only one cut per day instead of a
dozen. As of now, working song titles
include “Dum,” “Death Train,” “Little
Table,” “Monkey Mind,” and “Bellevue.”
“You know, like the mental hospital?”
Quartin adds, helpfully. To date, few folks
have said no to her, with one unfortunate
exception. “I reached out to Richard Hell to
see if he would do the song “Blank
Generation” with me. But he wrote back
and just gave us his blessings instead,” she
says. “He said, ‘I do not do ANYTHING
involving music anymore,’ and he was
quite firm about it. So I tried. But hey — at
least he wrote back!”
But only one fact is absolute. The truly
unstoppable force of nature that is Sam
Quartin is going to be pinballing her way
through pop culture for some time to come
now. And that’s something on which you
can safely place a bet.
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Continued from page 26
gant arrangement for classical guitar.
With varying levels of savvy interplay,
plenty of evocative melodies, and styles
drawn from around the globe, Lisher’s
imaginative writing and playing tell a
range of stories without the need for
words. They don’t all have to be weird.
Many of them are simply beautiful. (greglisher.com)
– Jeff Elbel
7
THE SMITHEREENS
Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You
(Single)
(Tollie)
The Smithereens paid tribute to their
childhood heroes with 2007’s engaging
Meet the Smithereens. The album was a loving
and imaginative recreation of the of
the Beatles’ 1964 US release Meet the
Beatles!. The project connected with fans of
the New Jersey-based rockers as well as
devotees of Liverpool, England’s favorite
sons. Strong response prompted a second
collection the following year called B-
Sides the Beatles, focused on flip sides of
the famous Beatles singles that kids of the
era bought by the pile. One such song was
Paul McCartney’s lively cha cha from
1962, “P.S. I Love You.” As a special treat,
the band arranged to have original session
drummer Alan White recreate his role.
Although the Smithereens travel with a
first-call drummer in Dennis Diken, Diken
had happily abdicated his drum throne to
a boyhood icon and relegated himself to
tambourine and maracas (as Beatles producer
George Martin had assigned to
Ringo Starr when sidelining him in ‘62 at
Abbey Road Studios). The results were a
highlight of the project. Unbeknownst to
fans, the band had also asked White to
play the A-side “Love Me Do” (the
Beatles’ debut single). During a recent
exploratory trip through their archives,
the group found the unfinished
track–including a spirited vocal by
beloved frontman Pat DiNizio, who had
passed away in December 2017. Both
songs were brushed up with deep new
grooves by founding bassist Mike Mesaros
and acoustic guitar by Jim Babjak. Kristin
Pinell’s melodica takes the role of John
Lennon’s harmonica on “Love Me Do.”
Sparkling harmonies by Diken recapture
the song’s Everly Brothers influence.
Babjak adds sharp electric licks during the
song’s coda. The new 7” 45RPM single is
packaged in a picture sleeve modeled after
the Beatles’ Vee Jay jacket for “Do You
Want to Know a Secret?” The results overflow
with love notes to warm the hearts of
fans of America’s Band and the Fab Four
alike. Until lockdown lifts and the
Smithereens return to the road, the band
beseeches us to “treasure these few words
till we’re together.” Available at officialsmithereens.com.
- Jeff Elbel
7
MIDNIGHT OIL
Gadigal Land (Single)
(Sony)
Could there be a season more suited to
the return of political-rock firebrands
Midnight Oil? The emblematic Australian
rockers offer their first new single in 17
years, following frontman Peter Garrett’s
sojourn in the Australian Parliament. Like
1987’s Diesel and Dust smash “Beds are
Burning,” “Gadigal Land” supports the
rights of Australia’s First Nations communities
but is applicable abroad as an
anthem for racial justice. Roaring rhythm
guitars and sinewy licks from Jim Moginie
and Martin Rotsey join brassy horns to
connect the sound with classic Oils tracks
like “The Power and the Passion” and the
energy of the Saints’ “Know Your
Product.” Drummer Rob Hirst hits like
he’s packing hammers, and bassist Bones
Hillman’s harmonies ring and sting. Peter
Garrett’s presence and activist fervor
remain electrifying and unmistakable.
Named for the indigenous territory where
Sydney currently stands, the song will
eventually take its place on The Makarrata
Project, a mini-album featuring collaborations
between the Oils and First Nations
artists. Among other contributions,
“Gadigal Land” features the gravitas of
spoken word from Gadigal poet Joel
Davison. The single reunites the Oils with
Diesel and Dust (etc.) producer Warne
Livesey. (midnightoil.com)
– Jeff Elbel
7
THE FLAMING LIPS
American Head
(Warner Bros)
Designed as a soundtrack for Flaming
Lips frontman Wayne Coyne’s interactive
art installation of the same name, last
year’s below-the-radar release of King’s
Mouth set a high bar for the band’s latest
album. King’s Mouth recalled the sparkling
shimmer of The Soft Bulletin and the storytelling
charm of Yoshimi Battles the Pink
Robots. American Head also taps and
expands upon the intrinsic beauty of these
fan favorites, albeit without the innocence
of “Do You Realize??” or optimism exuded
by key songs like “Race for the Prize.”
Instead, the Lips’ 21st album reclaims thematic
territory that remains a particular
Lips specialty: It’s a twinkling, starlit symphony
that evokes euphoria while being
steeped in in drugs and death.
Steven Drozd’s cinematic sonics aren’t
clothed exclusively in nihilism, however.
Coyne’s star-crossed characters and
doomed scenarios also exhibit real heart.
Amid disillusionment and tragedy, the
album celebrates simple pleasures, family
and loved ones, and a growing maturity
that values the needs of others above one’s
own during a fleeting existence. The fairytale
imagery of King’s Mouth and comic
book heroism of Yoshimi are supplanted by
characters and vignettes from closer to
home and reality. Sonic building blocks
include a transcendent blend of the Beach
Boys and Pink Floyd, the splendor and
psychedelia of 60’s British pop, and range
from krautrock minimalism toward Phil
Spector’s overwhelming wall of sound.
Opening track “Will You Return” borrows
the free-floating bliss of Elton John’s
“Rocket Man” and Pink Floyd’s “The
Great Gig in the Sky,” with flashes of
slashing guitar by Micah Nelson (aka
Particle Kid). The song expresses the survivor’s
guilt, making the difficult journey
toward acceptance and peace while hearing
the voices of fallen loved ones
“screaming from beyond.” The gentle,
paisley-patterned “Flowers of Neptune 6”
unfolds with the emotive flow of Drozd’s
instrumental melodies, reflecting upon the
transition from innocence toward full realization
of the world’s unforgiving nature.
The song begins with imagery that Coyne
has described as “a combination of blissful,
innocent, psychedelic experiences”