The thrill of the unknown can be exhilarating. Untethered by tradition, Americana singer-songwriter David Quinn hit the open road to find himself and rediscover his love of music. The highway swept out from under his feet, weaving through the mountains of Colorado down to the sweltering heat of Texas and then back out west to the coast of California, collecting images and bits of songwriting for what would become his debut album. Wanderin’ Fool is very much indebted to what he reckons was his quarter-life crisis, an adventure that not only reaffirmed his passion but gave him a new lease on life.
For his debut album, he worked with highly-sought-after producer Andrija Tokic, known for his work with Alabama Shakes, Langhorne Slim, Hurray for the Riff Raff and Margo Price, among countless others. Through his musical journey, Quinn has been lucky enough to share the stage with Sam Morrow, Josh Card, and The Giving Tree Band.
With this debut, featuring an all-star band comprised of Dave Roe (Johnny Cash), Jimmy Lester (Hayes Carll, Billy Joe Shaver), Jon Estes (John Paul White, Kesha), Micah Hulscher (Margo Price) and background singer Alexis Saski (of Americana-blues band Muddy Magnolia), Quinn plots out a dusty honky-tonk record that explores falling in and out of love, learning to live in the moment and the beauty of the American buffalo.
Glide is thrilled to premiere Quinn’s Wanderin’ Fool in its entirety below, an album of hummable hooks, honky-tonk harmonies and gritty directness. Wanderin’ Fool seizes the ears upon first spin, victim to the album’s Nashville golden era flair of nostalgic C & W grace.
“Making this record was pretty much my only choice,” says Quinn. “It felt like something I had to do. It was an accumulation of a lot of things. I had left everything else behind and was ready to get these songs out. Each song on this record is a time stamp for me and I can remember exactly where I was when I wrote them. It feels good to finally get them out in the world. All these songs are very close to me and it was a very cathartic process to finish them. I was also really lucky to work with Andrija and the band I had on this record. Andrija likes to do things quickly and it really pushed me to not over-think anything. The players on this record helped dictate the sound and I could not be happier about it. I was making a record with some of my favorite musicians and I felt that energy. I am glad these songs are finally coming out and it feels like the beginning of the next chapter.”
Quinn’s life leading up to this very pivotal moment is rich with a working musician’s turmoil, his hands slathered in dirt and sweat from his brow. A Midwestern boy born and raised in Woodridge, Illinois, 50 miles west of Chicago, Quinn was surrounded by old school country, soul and rock ‘n’ roll records. He spent most of his summers as a kid up in the north woods of Hayward, Wisconsin with his grandfather, which is where he gained a love for country music. Back at home, his father would often whip out the guitar for intimate at-home jam sessions. His dad’s real influence came when every weekend he would drink Jack Daniels and spin records all night. It was a bit of a history lesson of good music for Quinn, who inevitably took over that same routine.
His older brother also displayed a knack for music and picked up the guitar to play gigs around town. Quinn began playing drums in high school and started to write his first songs. In the years that followed, he mounted numerous high-profile gigs in and around Chicago as a member of his brother’s blues-rock band. But his tastes quickly shifted right around the time he graduated high school in 2005. When a childhood best friend reached out to him to play together, Quinn uprooted his life and moved out to Los Angeles. While he was hammering away as part of a pop-rock outfit, he found himself playing for throngs of concertgoers. A year later, unease crept into his bones, as he longed to play his own music. A move back home felt right.
After going back to a day job, Quinn got married, bought a house and had seemingly settled down. He continued playing drums in his brother’s band, all the while questioning his next steps in his music career. When the marriage fell apart, cascading him into an even deeper state of uncertainty, he was feeling creatively unfulfilled and reached out to some friends who played in The Giving Tree Band. Not only did the bluegrass-folk outfit play on his debut EP, but Quinn opened for the group at numerous local shows. Even though he inched closer to being satisfied, something still wasn’t right, and he needed to shake things up again.
So, Quinn sold his house, quit his day job and mounted an emotionally-vital road trip across the country. Along the way, he played many of the country’s finest establishments, most notably Rex Bell’s Old Quarter Cafe in Texas, the famous spot of Townes Van Zandt and Hayes Carll. “I just did a bunch of shit I wanted to do,” he says.
Two years ago, he once again returned home to re-plant his roots and gather his senses with renewed confidence and focus. He soon met producer Andrija Tokic of The Bomb Shelter studio, and the two exchanged emails for months before setting aside some studio time, turning attention to his new material.
His transformative travails are best exemplified with the album’s closing track, “Where the Buffalo Roam,” a genre-busting bookend to a necessary chapter of his life. “It’s the step-child of the record. It doesn’t fully fit. That song encompasses a lot of who I am and what I’ve been through,” says Quinn. “I’m also obsessed with the mountains and buffalo. I spent a lot of time in Colorado, and I used to sit and watch the buffalo. There’s a place outside of Boulder where they’ve preserved this land, and I would go there, sit, watch and write.”
Wanderin’ Fool is a statement-making record of gutting, instinctual songcraft. From the heart-rending gallop of opening number “Cryin’ Shame,” in which he broods on a soured relationship, to the magical swirl of “In My Dreams,” his way to discharge another lover, to the tear-jerking “We Both Know,” Quinn’s debut cuts to the heart of what has made country music such an enduring art form.
Now, armed with his own voice and storytelling strengths, Quinn is finally ready to share the full breadth of his life — through every dizzying high to the most troubling low. Wanderin’ Fool is cured in the salt of the earth and packs a punch at every turn. You’d be hard pressed to find a more honest and downright delightful debut record.
