Kevin Quinn

Netflix drama A Week Away. But what you may not have known as it in between takes on the set, he was writing songs, like a lot of songs He's written close to a hundred and a few weeks back, as fans heard the results Wildfires, a name of his major label debut single in advance of a bigger collection to come shortly, I had a great time getting to know him, learning about his writing style, and generally acting like two record nerds. I'm so happy to welcome Kevin

Quinn oh Man. So much talked to you about today. But first of all, tell me about your new single, Wildfire. How did the song begin for you? Tell me a little bit about the inspiration. Yeah, I think Wildfire for me, I just wanted to create something positive, uh, an introduction to the rest of the project, you know, like I just want all this music to be positive, uplifting, inspirational. Uh,

I wanted to be clean. You know. These are just created choices that I've made for the project, and I feel like Wildfire crossed off every list for those things of of what I wanted the project to be. So, you know, we imagine it would be a great debut

single and I'm glad we chose it. Um. I think the inspiration behind it was just like even through the worst of times and the darkness and uh, just total ship, you know what I mean, Like like you have that wildfire in your heart that just gets you going through you know, It's like it's it's a thing that's bigger than you, that will get you through the darkest of times, and it's a real thing. So I feel like that's

where the wildfire metaphor spawn from for sure. Absolutely. I mean it's a beautiful message and especially one we need the last year and a half or so. It's definitely something to me that we need to tap into in ourselves. Yeah. Man, it's it's so it felt really timely too, you know, because a lot of this stuff I wrote during the pandemic, and I just wanted it to be like the perfect timing of the release considering just what the world's has been through. Um So, I felt like it was it

was a godsend. You know that Wildfire checked off every box and uh it just it just felt very timely, and it felt like the timing was perfect. Absolutely in the video does such a great job of illustrating that. Talk a little bit more about the visuals for the song. Yeah, it was. The video was directed by Roman White, who if anyone listening, Uh, there's a movie on Netflix called A week Away that I started. It's a musical movie. Have you seen it? You may not have. I I

have not. I I was actually I was just about to ask you about that, but please, I got a lot more on that to come. No. No, it's definitely very younger crowd. I wouldn't expect you to watch it. Um but the director of that movie, Uh, we teamed up Roman I to create this music video, and I told him I wanted something energetic, you know, I wanted something very much in the pop lane, which he had done before with a lot of the artists he had

collaborated with in the past. Uh So, we I remember we had like this forty five minute phone call just to discuss ideas. And it's so rare that a creative relationship is so synergistic and you bounced all these ideas off of each other. But that's how it is with Roman and I. It's like, you know, I I spit ball an idea and he immediately receives it and vice versa. Um. So I feel like it was very much a collaborative process,

even from the treatment to the filming to the final product. Um. But I gotta give it up to Roman because he had this vision for the the kind of like Kevin Bacon foot loose dancing around the you know what I mean, like in the protament. Uh. And it turned out great. So I was I was super pleased. I mean I was gonna ask. I know, obviously you were extremely involved in the soundtrack to the movie. I think I think it was eleven out of thirteen songs something like that.

Uh yeah, Did that in any way influence your sort of decision to to take this time to really focus in on your music career after all the the acting have been involved with. It wasn't the movie soundtrack that was a catalyst, believe it or not. I had been writing music for four years up to that point, I released some music, uh you know that I thought was representative of where I was at at the time, only to realize later, no, this is this isn't the direction

I want to go. But you know, I'm young enough still figuring out my sound at this point where I want to go. Um, So I scrapped those songs and I started a completely new project with some new creative choices.

But just you know, recording the soundtrack, we actually recorded it on sets that we built, like this makeshift studio, and the philoph producer was, yeah, like he created this vocal booth in in the camp summer camp that we were shooting is really cool cool, Yeah, yeah, But we would just spend our days in there and gove around and and it just felt so comfortable. And Adam Watts was the film's music producer. He had worked on like High School Musical and some of the other Disney musicals.

But yeah, like I said, just so comfortable. And although that process wasn't the catalyst for me, like writing music, I had already been doing it it definitely. It was just experience that continued to help me grow, and I think that enough made the experience worth it and you touched on this a little bit earlier. You've had something like a hundred songs in your reserves right when when you started? I mean, that's that's incredible to me. When did you first start writing? Um? When I was on

a Disney a Disney Channel show called Bunked. I had a two year tenure on that show. And yeah, yeah, Like I think I mentioned to some of the cash and crew that I had this, you know, dream of pursuing music. UM, But I don't know if they realized quite the extent of how hard I was working at it at the time. It was just kind of something I did on side when I wasn't on set. But yeah,

I mean four years worth of writing. Um. I definitely did have, you know, a hundred songs in my pocket before I decided to release Wildfire at least, you know, like just writing for four years. But that's how particular I was. I was like, I don't want to release stuff just for the sake of releasing it. And I had done that before and I didn't like the results. So I just was like, Nope, I'm not gonna release anything. And it worked out. Where Where did this come from?

For you? Like? Who are some of the people that made you want to pick up an instrument and express yourself in this way. I can't explain it. I can't explain it. It was just something I was always drawn to. I think, I don't know. You ask any creative and and any performer in this business, it's like where can you really pinpoint their passion and when they wanted to decide to do it or what was the catalyst? But for me, it was just always something bigger than myself.

It was like I couldn't imagine myself doing anything other than performing. So I don't know. It was that carried on through my childhood. Like I remember that feeling in my childhood listening to some great music like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones or you know, just like a lot of rock bands, a lot of eighties and nineties music.

I just absorbed myself in music as a young kid, uh, and that followed me as I got older, and I just knew what I wanted to hear in like the track and the harmonies, and I got pretty good at theory at one point, and so I just started making my own music. Wow, that's really cool. I mean, I'm someone who loves music. I I mess around on instruments, I've taken music theory classes. I have never been able

to write a song in my entire life. So when I when I talked to someone like you who said, yeah, I've written a hundred, that's just to me, that's like magic. I mean, how does the theory factor into your your writing process? Because that's always such an interesting line because I know there's people like Paul McCartney who can't read

me is it. I mean, it's just totally something that they do by ear, and so the the the line between wanting to know what you're doing with theory but wanting to keep some magic and spontaneity in it is so interesting to me. Totally. Yeah, it's weird because you don't want to go too far in one direction on either side. If you're too focused on the theory, you

can't let the creative flow. If you're too focused on just writing a song and not focused on any theory, then chances are you probably won't write a great song at the end of the session. Um So I always found there's like a middle ground between what is proven to sound good based on music theory, but then letting the creative energy flow and not being too merry to any idea. Uh. For me, it's like in the writing room,

I just love having conversations with my co writers. I feel like that's what spawns all the great ideas, is not necessarily looking for the lyrics or the melody, but just conversing with the co writers. You know, like how is your week or what popped into your head that you know you want to tell everyone about. Like, those are the kind of things that make a writing session great because they just become this there. They start as an organic idea and they become like the passageway to

a great song in my mind. Oh totally. I mean that's where where the human element comes in, is from that that real interaction. Yeah, it's it's such a human element. You're absolutely right. It's like I don't even know how you explain it. Like, and if we could all write great songs and every song we write as a hit, then everyone would be a superstar and super successful. But we all know, like my heart, to write a good song,

it's virtually impossible. Like if if you're lucky, you'll get a few a year so and they'll make it on the project. That's kind of been my mentality. Judging from the Jimmie Hendrick's post Racy behind You, I know you're and what you mentioned earlier, a guy who knows Oh yeah, yeah, I don't even know, Like, how do you explain some of his lyrics, Like, I mean, the team just has a far out mind. Uh, what's that song? No? It

is Boldest Love? Yeah, yeah, the way he personifies colors like that, and and it's just so weird because a lot of the song doesn't even rhyme. You know, It's like I don't know how he does it, but yet it works so perfectly. He's always been an inspiration to me, oh totally, and a massively underrated lyricist. I mean, if you watch some of his interviews that he gave and the you know, the short time that he was alive,

it's so interesting to hear. Like you said, he is far out, Like his take on everything is just like totally a slightly different angle than than everyone else around him. Yeah, and he had like a weird way of speaking to you know, like and I feel like it translated into it not only his personality but his songs as well. And just for the listener, what we're referring to the giant Jimi Hendrix poster behind my back and my house right here. Um yeah, I have another one in the

living room too. At some point in order are you into uh, just from some of the things you were saying, I feel like you would dig it if if if you're not, Are you went to the Beach Boys Pet Sounds album at all? Yes? I I'm not like absolutely in love with it. I realize everyone says it's like the greatest album of all time. They're not wrong. Um, I just feel like my it's a very specific kind of sound. That's true. Yeah, you know what I mean.

And I just like to I never stick on one, Like if I'm listening to something, I never stick on it for a long time. I'd very much have music a D d UM. I realized it's brilliantly written, it's brilliantly produced. I've heard it many times. Um, but is it my absolute favorite? I don't know. I don't have like, I don't know if I have an absolute favorite album. Um, but I do like it. Are you big fan of

that one? I'm a big fan of it. I mean just he would start all of his songwriting sessions having these long conversations about life and love with this lyricists, and I was just made me think of what you were saying about how that's where the best songs come from, when you have that shared connection that's born out of a conversation, and it's not just sitting down to you know, write Moon in June lyrics that are just kind of feel fil the melody, but something that actually has some

some meaning to the two of you that are making the song. I didn't realize that that was his approach, so so he did have a similar approach. I have to is there any like YouTube videos or anything? Oh, I can send you some. I'm a huge Brian Wilson nerd. I can send you some session tapes and stuff. But uh I I meant to say earlier, I I loved your cover of Exile Taylor Swift track that is like gray. I saw it on social I was a beautiful version of that. Yeah, you know it's funny. I have a

twin sister and she is obsessed with Taylor Swift. Man, I can't even explain it, Like it's so weird because of my sister has friends over who are similar in age, Like they'll just spend an hour debating on which song is better on every single album, Like, well, I kind of like my tears Ricochet because both La Thelah, but I would agree with you like that it's not quite as good as this and both. And I'm like, who

does this? Like who debates uh, like every track on an album and has an hour long conversation about what they like and don't like. Um And I never understood that. But yeah, my my twin sister is obsessed and by the transitive property. I've got her music as well. UM, but I will say, out of all the stuff that she's done, my favorite has been uh this recent the recent album what is um? The one with Exile on it?

I can't remember? Folklore? I think that yeah and evermore Yeah, so those two, um and I think Aaron Dessner is a pretty big piece of that project. And for me, it's like I love the kind of folk thing that she ventured into with those two albums. Especially Dude. I am such a big fan of Justin Vernon and Bonnaber, one of my favorite bands of all time, and I'm lucky to be alive to watch them. I saw him

at the Hollywood Bowl and oh nice. So but The way that she kind of ventured into that sound with them at the Helm is my favorite thing she's done so far by far. Oh, it's super unexpected. I didn't you know. I guess I should have maybe expected it given her sort of country, slightly more folky beginnings, but still did not see that comment after you know, lover her and everything that was before that. Yeah, And I feel like that's what a good artist does, and she's

a great artist in that way. It's like you reinvent yourself with every album. I mean, that's what it should be in my mind. Um, even like justin Timberlake Man of the Woods, something totally different than what he was doing before. Um. So, you know, like as far as my own personal music, I definitely have an idea of what I want this first project to be. But I already have ideas like what's the sophomore album gonna look like?

What's it? You know what I mean? So I have these ideas in my head that I want to execute, but I just gotta finish reporting the debut album first. Yeah. How far along are you with that? Uh? I would say like half of the songs are written at this point. Um, I think we've produced three. We're just about to produce

three here, so Wildfire is one of them. There's a second single, um, and then I have the surprise Spanish version of Wildfire, which by this point of the podcast being aired on I think we'll be out by then septembery is that what'll be out by then? I'm not sure what I think this is me? You're catching me not knowing what day it actually is today. I think it might be right, I think it's it's I think it might be this Friday, um, so slightly before it,

but but yeah, call it very close. Then they have the Spanish version of Wildfire to look forward to that, and then I was gonna say a third and fourth song. Uh. Then we got to record the rest of the like six or seven there um. But recording the Spanish wildfire, uh was a lot more difficult than I expected. I

should just say that for the record. How's that just with with getting the sounds out of your mouth that maybe aren't aren't ordinarily something that you're saying or yeah, because here's the thing, like I'm not fluent fluent, but I'm more than conversational and I'm but I'm less than fluent. So I felt pretty confident when we had this idea to give, you know, the Latin American markets something they could listen to. Um, and we were even gonna do

like Portuguese version. And I'm not sure if that changed when we realized how difficult it was to get the Spanish one done. UM. But we recorded it at the Capital Tower very yeah, dude, we had like this crazy nice mike we're in studio A whoa. I was super stoked about it, um, and our engineer was like, just you know, this is Snastra's mic so it makes something great.

Yeah yeah, UM. But it was just like the delivery of of the Spanish words within the context of the melody was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, because you know, when you sing in your native language. When I when I'm singing in English, I can hear how the melody and the pitch and everything I want in the vocal performance how it should be in English because I hear it back as I'm doing it.

But with Spanish, it's like that element of hearing yourself back in the microphere in the headphones wasn't as prominent, so I felt like I was shooting blind. A lot of the time. That's really interesting. Yeah, I don't know how to explain it, but overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I know the label is pleased. I think the fans are gonna be pleased. But it was definitely a more difficult idea to execute, and I'd expect you. Oh wow, I can't wait to hear it.

I mean, all power to you. I took eight years of French and my teacher used to make me read at the end of class for her amusement because my pronunciation was so bad. She was just roll and of course now totally gave me a complex and I won't you know, all the language teachers have a fuel day with their students. Oh yeah, big time. Oh man. I mean you, you know, speaking of all the different influences you have and something I want to ask you about. I know you have a obviously a very big musical

theater background. I did musicals in high school. I love it. I miss it every day thinking of the songs that are in musicals. I mean just the song craft there, I mean from people like Sondheim and Rodgers and Hammerstime. It's it's so impressive and people kind of forget the quality of those songs. What did your background in musical theater do for you as a songwriter, you think, I, I,

that's actually a great question. Um, I definitely. I I never wanted my music to be like, you know, Becausicus, across the line of uncool er jes yeah, the showy um And I never wanted it to quite cross that line. But at the same time, anyone who's been to a musical, you can't deny that by the time you finish watching the musical and you walk out of the theater, at least one song is stuck in your head. It's like

every single musical has that song. It's powerful. It's totally powerful. Yeah, and with like an ensemble of actors backing them up, and and it's a it really is a produced song on stage, happening live. And I feel like these musical theater songwriters are just so good with finding these super catchy melodies. Um. But they're also trying to push the bar a little bit, Like they may throw in a natural note to surprise you off guard, or they may

have a key change. Right, everyone knows the key change in musical theater. Um. And while I've never been so bold that's to include a key change like that. Yet, um, those melodies stick with you, you can't deny um. So I definitely feel like I took some of that from just my experience in musical theater and and finding those super hooky melodies. And if you find a melody and it's not super hooky and you're not in love with it, then you better find a hu melody. That's how I've

always approached it. In the in the room, I always thought it was interesting how the Beatles when they started out, they didn't have tape recorders, and so they were writing melodies just that were good enough. And they figured, if we can't remember it the next day, how can we expect fans too, you know. And I had this built in sort of system of like, well, it's gonna be good enough for it to get stuck in our head first.

And it was just a sort of a funny way to like, you know, their own sort of litmus test, their own uh you know, way to weed out the ideas that weren't that good. So did they like if they did have a melody? Because I'm always interested in learning more about the Beatles. I'm not sure if you know a lot about them. I'm a gigantic beetle nerd.

So if they came up with a melody right and they weren't in love with it, would they change the melody or would they just you know, stick with it, you know, hail Maren Hope that it you know what I mean. Like in the early days, when they were really just trying to knock out two Wish albums a year plus four singles or something like that, they would kind of like, Okay, well, we don't have that much time and we're touring on top of all this, we

gotta just do it. But then when they stopped touring in sixty six, they would kind of massage it more and really like wait for it to be. They wouldn't waste time on something they didn't think was which was interesting. Uh. And that's where I feel like instincts come to play. Yeah, Because if you're if you think you're not in love with the melody, but it showed up somehow in your session included on the demo um and I feel like that's just good instincts. And I John Lennon, Paul McCartney,

I'm sure it had amazing instincts. George Harrison. Um, yeah, that's that's kind of how I would imagine that to go. I get demo watiss sometimes too, Like I'm like, I'm a huge demo lover, you know what I mean. Like if I write a song and I hear a certain production attempt on the demo or you know, a certain melody, I get really married to the demo. And I think part of it is that I try to perfect the

demos before they go into production. I'm like, I didn't want to change this because I've fallen in love with this as I continue to listen. But you know, it's just one of those things with artists. Do you find that your favorite songs or maybe the songs that are most fulfilling to that they they come faster, almost fully formed, versus the ones that you really have to kind of like find your way a little bit more. Yeah, um not, this is Sarahly. I will say I get like, not

even in the studio, in just my daily life. I'll get this kind of manic creative energy and I'll hear these melodies in my head and I'll pull out my voice memos and try to lay something down and then I'll stop that voice memo, I'll start a new one, record a harmony for that line. I just recorded it. And I remember I did this one song, uh that I recorded the whole thing in voice memos atven PM the previous night of a morning session, and it ended

up being a great song. Um. And I had all these ideas for like strings and an orchestra parts, so I was mimicking those sounds with my with my voice and I we ended up including them in the track. And just like there are those spurs of energy where it's something bigger than you and and you lay it down and it turns into something. Um, all songs just start with like the bare billons and I have those moments a lot, right, I just recorded the bare bones

and it becomes something great. So I don't know if the answers your question, but that's been my experience. Oh absolutely, Then I know. I know faith is a big part of your life, and I was gonna ask you how that comes through in your music, but it sounds like you just answered it. I mean, those moments of inspiration, we're just there. It is. That's that's kind of I don't want to put words in your mouth, but no, it's weird man with the faith. Like. I never would

have imagined that I was making this kind of music. UM. Like, it's it's not straight up Christian music, but it's not straight up hoop. It's very much crossover between the two with these subtle faith undertones. And and I like that because it's actually really representative of who I am as a person and where I am in my faith journey. But if you told me that I'd be making music with any faith undertones, I probably would have been pretty surprised.

But it's weird, man. I went through this really, really difficult rough patch in my life. UM before this project came online, and I needed something to turn to. UM, I needed like something bigger than me. Two stop where I was at, take a complete left turn and start over. Um. It was some health issues and I, yeah, dude, I stopped. I never had an alcohol problem, but I stopped drinking. I haven't had a drinking and almost fourteen months. Um.

I don't mess around with any drugs or anything. But yeah, it's like I went through this horrible rough patch and in that rough patch, and the in the midst of it, when I was at my lowest low, I started getting these like synchronicities or these signals from like a higher power. Uh. And I'm super accepted to that stuff. You know, I

kind of have that creative energy and UM. But I listened to that higher power and call that God if you will, will like it just took me down this turn that I was so desperately seeking um to make things better. And that's when like this project came online. That's when I did the Christian musical a week away. So it's just all always felt very meant to be.

And when I was doubting God the most, that's when I realized, like damn, like God has been leading this the whole time, and I'm in the best place I've been in years. Uh and I'm stable. But yeah, I can't deny. We'll have to go into detail into it another time and that might shock the listener here, but it was pretty bad. I was in a bad place, but I'm better. I'm I'm so glad to hear that. And also thank you for for sharing that with with me with listeners. I I really I appreciate your your

trust and and your music as well. I mean, you know, I think that you know people who are receptive to art and music are receptive to all kinds of different energies too. And I personally believe that tall related and and and sink. I mean, as you said, you call it, God, call it whatever you want. There's something else that we maybe can't necessarily see or touch, but it definitely is there. I could not agree with you more. And yeah, just to the listeners, thank you for for listening, you know.

And and that's what this whole project has been. It's been me funneling all that energy and all that experience and everything I went through to turn it into something positive. One of my friends told me after I released Wildfire, They're like, do you realize you're because I did this EP while back? And uh, she said, do you realize that out of the Cold, that single from the EP that you did, it was a pretty pretty dark, depressing

song in retrospect compared to what this is. And you went from out of the Cold to Wildfire, And I was like that that is so representative of the journey that I went through in a nutshell. So that's why I like, I'm so excited about this music that's coming up, because it's taking all of the stuff that I've learned, all the really heavy ship and just making something great out of it. And I'm so excited for it. You know, I think fans are gonna love it. I can't wait

for for folks to hear Kevin. This has been a true pleasure. Thank you so much for your time today and your music and just opening yourself up. You are the best. I really really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Well. Thanks for having me, and I'm so grateful that we really have this conversation. I'm stoked, so it's a great meeting you. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Inside

the Studio, a production of I Heart Radio. For more episodes of Inside the Studio or other fantastic shows, check out the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. W