The Donovan Quinn Interview
Are you originally from San Fran? What was your childhood like? When did you first begin to fall in love with music? Was music something that was relevant around your household growing up? Do you have any siblings?
I was born in Martinez, CA, which is about a 45 minute drive to San Francisco. Lived in SF for 20 years and then moved north to Humboldt County in 2022. Growing up I had a Walkman and would listen to cassettes. Beatles, Public Enemy, Doors, Robert Johnson and Bob Dylan. We had a box set of country classics that I played obsessively. Being particularly keen on Bob Wills, Jimmie Rodgers and that early era, but loved everything up through the Outlaw stuff. Around fifteen I discovered The Velvet Underground and that led to a period of searching out bands in their lineage. Most notably I bought The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society and The Frenz Experiment on the same day; the combination of those two records is what most influenced the lyrics I’d later write. We lived on a horse ranch so I’d be tasked with a lot of chores – cleaning stalls, ditch digging, etc. – so having something to listen to was great. I’ve got a brother and sister who are both younger and have their own taste in music. We’d only listen to music together in the car. The Kinks and Television Personalities were the two bands I played them that I recall my siblings liking.
What would you and your friends do for fun growing up? Who were some of your earliest influences in your more formative years? When and where did you see your very first concert and when did you realize you wanted to spend your life pursuing music?
Music was always an important part of hanging out with my childhood friends. We were all diehard Beatles fans. My buddy Matt had Magical Mystery Tour on CD and walking to his house was the only way for me to listen to it. It took me an hour to get there from the ranch. First concert was Poison, Bullet Boys and Slaughter in ‘91 and Steve Miller a year, or two after that. Those were fun. I started dedicating my time to becoming a songwriter when I was 15 and got into modernist literature. The idea was to try to meld some of that radical prose I was reading into rock music. That’s why when I heard The Fall; it really resonated with me. Shortly after that I got into Julius Caesar by Smog and that was a big inspiration into how I could actually make all of this happen; it’s what showed me that recording at home was the way to go.
Did you participate in any groups prior to Skygreen Leopards? Can you tell me about this outfit and how the group came about? How did you initially meet your bandmates and what led to the decision to first form this group? When and where did you guys play your very first gig and what was that experience like for you?
Skygreen Leopards was my first real band, but I was doing stuff under the name of Verdure prior to that. At the time I was fairly isolated and didn’t know anyone who was interested in making the same type of music I did. Me and Glenn met through an ad on Craigslist and hooked up with the intention of making a band inspired by The Fall, Durutti Column, The Byrds, Monkees and Talking Heads. At the very first session we discovered that we wanted to be most like the Monkees. A lot of folks came and went through Skygreen, but the band was always me and Glenn. We’d write, produce, and perform most everything. If we thought a friend had good taste then we’d invite them to play in the live band. At least that’s how it was in the beginning. Our first gig was a house show. Must’ve been around ‘01. It was a basement full of people who’d been invited, but it was still nerve wracking. There was an improvisational element to Skygreen at the time that would work half the time and bomb the other half. So it never felt safe.
The band released its first album, “IDSROAPG&OD” in ‘01. Can you tell me about writing and recording that record? How did the deal with Jewelled Antlers come about? When and where did recording begin and what was the overall vision for this record? What did you guys ultimately want to explore and express with this material with it being your debut?
Jeweled Antler was Glenn’s label. We were the only “song band” on it, but those early records fit in sonically with the other acts. We wrote and recorded everything spontaneously on the first two albums. Glenn did most of the production, along with the lion’s share of the instrumentation, and I did more of the writing. Composing in that spontaneous way resulted in a lot of bizarre choices, head-scratchers, that we loved. Moments with lines like “party favors hidden in big black bags” – with the 12-string blaring and reverb cranked – were what we were most interested in; there was something very wrong about it. If we cracked up after a take then that’s what we’d keep. Those times when you’re totally isolated in a creative cocoon are good days in a band; before there are any expectations. Me and Glenn would theorize ad nauseam about Skygreen Leopards and what it was, or what type of album we were envisioning. This endless conceptualizing could be hard for others who joined the band to withstand but I think it was an essential part of what the group was at its core.
The band released its Jewelled Antler follow up “TSOTGL&TJPOL” that following year. How did you guys want to approach this record that differs from the previous work? In the mid 2000s you guys released your incredible run with Jagjaguwar from ‘05 to ‘09. The band was on fire during this time! Can you tell me about that period in the band's lifespan? What were some of your most fondest memories and do you have a record(s) that speaks to you the most?
The second album was done right after the first and our approach was much the same. After that we started to stray from the original formula. A lot happened during that stretch starting in ‘05. Shayde Sartin joined the group and was the first person in the band who was a real musician in the traditional sense. After Shayde, Jasmyn Wong joined on drums and the combo of her soft shuffle beat and Shayde’s spacious bass playing was what resulted in Disciples of California. That album was the first we did at Jason Quever’s studio which also had a significant impact on how we made records. We hit the road and played festivals and clubs. Skygreen were never a crowd pleasing type band so our shows were all over the place. It goes back to me and Glenn’s love of the head-scratcher. We initially envisioned ourselves as a concept more than a band and I don’t think we ever felt totally comfortable evolving into something more professional, i.e. a touring band with a record contract. What I love about Disciples, and Gorgeous Johnny, is that we’re in a sweet spot of trying to be accessible while remaining totally oblique, by our nature as a band, so that it never gets too middle of the road. My favorite Skygreen albums are Child God in the Garden of Idols and the Jehovah Surrender EP. Family Crimes arguably has the best songs, but I feel like it’s almost a different band at that point.
What was the band’s ultimate goal when expressing and exploring its talent and vision for music and poetry? You’ve participated in many other wonderful bands and projects such as New Bums with the great Ben Chasny, DQ & The 13th Month and The Brain Band. Tell me about working with Chasny and the two records you guys did for Drag City.
The band's goals shifted constantly so there’s no truthful way to answer that. I think that what me and Glenn always shared, as a vision, was wanting to do something subversive within a traditional psych/ folk/ rock framework of guitar music, simple rhythm section, simple changes, love songs; to create an experience that felt insular and not tied to other bands. Totally debatable if we achieved that for the listeners but we tried. There’s a 70’s children’s book mythology, as filtered through a troubled daydream, that ran through each album. Peppermint Annie, Loose Johnny, Sally Orchid, etc. all going through this faux- San Francisco illustrated with pastels. New Bums was an excuse for me and Chasny to hang out and tour together with a minimal set up. Having just two guitars in a group makes things a lot easier. Me and Ben are best buds so we get together all the time and occasionally we come up with songs. When we’ve accumulated enough songs we put them on a record. It’s a slow process with no real logic to it, but it seems to work. The last record we did was done over such a long period of time that we literally can’t remember writing, performing, or recording some of the songs. The albums are more a chronicle of scattered afternoons where we got together and strummed guitars. Using Jacobites as our role models we try to keep a loose vibe to New Bums and resist the urge to overdevelop the songs.
What have you been up to more recently? Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
I’ve got a new record that’ll be released soon. A new project with Jason Quever that we’re still writing for. Since moving to Humboldt I’ve been able to spend time with a circle of friends that are doing great work. Ben Chasny, Elisa Ambrogio, Meg Baird, Charlie Saufley, and Ethan Miller all live closeby. We’ve been collaborating under the name Winter Band. Just completed constructing a new creative space/studio from an old garage. It’s on top of a hill surrounded by big pine trees. Very quiet and perfect for writing. I’m in the final stages of recording my first project in the studio, it’s called Tethered to Heaven. It’ll probably end up on Bandcamp in the near future.
