- Decatur

The Rebirth of

Naked Folk

BY SARAH BURGAMY

he’s been described as a
descendant of any num-
ber of folk singers, from
the pop—honest lyrics of Ani

DiFranco to the signature run- 

on phrases of Dar Williams.

Though the comparisons are
seemingly easy... to make,

Katharine Quinn transcends
categorization as a?*“typical”
folk singer with her debut
album Leaving. Decatur.

For her loyal Burlington fol-
lowing,-this first album is a
long—awaited compilation of a
powerful selection of songs,
although far from a majority of
the singer’s hundreds of self-
authored tunes.

Quinn begins Leaving
Decatur with an unadorned‘
song, “Patience.” The fresh
simplicity ofthe opening guitar
chords sets the tone for the rest
of the album. The sheer beauty
of hearing the pick scratch
against the strings is a luxury
too often missed with the evo-
lution of today’s mainstream
folk artists and the refinements
of studio technology._

Perhaps the very fact that
Quinn released Leaving"
on Screen Door
Productions, her own indepen-
dent label, helps_,_tQ,;:retain the
unadulterated soundwof her solo
acoustic guitar. The dynamic
use .of this._one instrument
makes it difficult to believe that
Quinn has onlybeien playing
guitar.‘ for about ;f§/e years; she
picked it upafterigraduating
college. - . .. M

;Althoughfcomparisoiis to
DiFranco and Williams may be
accurate when it comes to- the
tone ‘ and presentation if of
Quinn’s lyrics, thcgsheer clarity»
of her voice and soft strum-
ming».-mixed with powerfully
picked chordswithout sacrific-. .
ing one for the other is almost
an anomaly in big-label folk.
This blending is unique to
Quinn’s ability to conquer ‘a_~
difficult task: to sing from the
soul.

Quinn’s lyrics ' are nothing
less than honest, heartfelt, real,-..
and powerful, as the stories are

certain to be at least partially L.

autobiographical. Certainly the
shortest song ofthe 16 on the
album, “Fuck a Folk Singer,” is
presented as a discourse, albeit
short, with anyone who has
ever approached her with a
label she did not embrace:
“You told me ‘everyone wants

 

to fucka folk singer,’ i just
sinile.d H and silently gave you

the \finger. But what I meant._to

say, is ‘You don’t know me.’
.‘.What'l really meant to: say ._is,
‘You’ll never ever. know me,

‘so, you -might as wellfgo and ‘

fuck yourself.’”

Quinn is not shy about using
the occasional profanity; she
makes no effort to hide the

' rougher sides of her reality. Yet

the power _in her lyrics and
voice do not derive from vol-
ume, but from an ability, to
leave notes drifting hauntingly

on the air interrupted only the.

changing of chords.i“l am tired.
Tired of all these letters and
phone bills filling my trash;
tired of trying to pull you into
the present, you are living in
the past...All I know is you are
half what I need you to be; I
need you to be whole without
me...” (from “Patience”)

There is no doubt Quinn has
acquired‘ a diverse following

due not,.onliy‘:to her” personal .9
identifi'cation‘,‘ but also ‘to her" *

open lyrics. Identities are not
spelled‘out; there isllittle or no
mention of race, gender, sexu-
ality,~or even age. These omis-
sions, whether. intentional or
not, add to the reading anyone
may take on any one of the
songs. Quinn manages to reach
anyone who has ever been frus-

_ trated with love, or the lack

thereof, or any relationship,
friendship, or courtship.

The majority of her songs
center around relationships. This
is a large part of what makes her
lyrics so profoundly appealing.
Relationships, interactions with
the rest of humanity are always
be a hot topic, one on which
people will forever search for
answers. Quinn makes no pro-
found revelations to satisfy this
search; instead, she embraces
the confusion, applies her adept
guitar skills and laces it with an
enchanting voice.

Katherine Quinn
Leaving Decatur
Screen Door Productions
Burlington, VT

dynamic “$9  
his one
rument makes
iiiieult to

  believe that Quinn
  has only been   

  playing guitar for

ahout five years.  

Quinn’s self-proclaimed
bisexual identity has played
into her music career. She
made the decision to be out, not
just for herself, but to be_ visible
to those who grew up much the
same way she did. A positive

figure is exactly what she is;,

she produces a strong album on
her own label, writes every
poetic lyric herself, provides
the striking chords of the guitar
for each tune and even books
her own shows. She is a model
of ambition —, a poetic soul
and her guitar. V

  
 
  
  
 
  
    

:-as

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