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 SALLY LATTER talks to DAN NEWTON, the ultimate anti-indie helmsman of Brisbane quartet COHAGEN QUAID, about their recent genre shift and subsequent new record – now available on cassette.
Local quartet Cohagen Quaid have had many line-up and style changes since originally forming in 2006, but according to singer Dan Newton, the blues remain the same. Evolution in music rates highly on Cohagen Quaid’s agenda, much more so than any pretentious image projection, haircuts or consequent airs and graces. Good ol’ Gen Y. As we delve deeper into his inner psyche and worldly outlooks, Dan insists that Cohagen Quaid are intrinsically a rock band. Nonetheless, these guys are about a kind of blues that you can’t buy and can’t download, and in Newton’s own words, “It’s a blues based on boredom, a boredom born from fear, a fear born from confusion and a confusion born from being misunderstood”. And what better way to broadcast this sultry blend to Brisbane than on a free cassette tape – rare, not available in stores and unable to be downloaded.
SALLY LATTER: Tell us about Cohagen Quaid – you guys seem to have been going in a different direction lately?
DAN NEWTON: As a band we’ve been together for nearly four years. We’ve had a lot of line-up changes but what’s happening with the four guys we’ve got in the band is what we’ve always wanted to do. In the past we’ve been more aligned with the sex, drugs and rock & roll thing – but now, you can say, we’ve lost a lot of weight. We’re channelling our influences more and it’s dedicated to art rather than the rock scene.
SL: So you’re more about the music than the image? How refreshing.
DN: Yeah, it’s been hard in the last couple of years because we’ve had a lot of guys who’ve just been focused on the image, but I’ve never really been comfortable with that sort of thing. I mean, like, what’s the point? It’s just a really shallow enterprise. When you’ve got half of the band focused on the art side of things, and half of the band trying to attract instant attention, I’m not into that way of creating. That’s the struggle with playing in a band; you have to decide on some pretty intense things, so if you don’t agree sometimes it’s better to just go your separate ways.
SL: Why’ve you decided to release your new recordings on cassette? Is this a deliberate stance against the digitalisation of music and the Apple phenomena, or is it purely nostalgic?
DN: It’s a bit of both actually. I’m, what, 27 now and when I was a kid, music was on the radio and I borrowed cassette tapes and bought cassette tapes, and it was a long time until I even had a computer. It’s how I got into music. Cassettes are not dated; it only feels like that because digital technology is constantly in your face. It’s our f*** you to the MySpace generation.
SL: And where can we get a copy of these new recordings?
DN: We’ll be handing out the cassettes at our Zoo show.
COHAGEN QUAID headline The Zoo this Thursday May 27, supported by the Ginger Witches and Hawkmoon. Get your free cassette at the show! www.myspace.com/cohagenquaid
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