Quasi's success is a balancing act – musical and otherwise – for divorced duo
By Chris Nixon
For The San Diego Union-Tribune
April 20, 2006
If Rachmaninoff, Thelonius Monk and the Flaming Lips gathered in a room for a jam session, the results might sound something like Quasi's 2006 album “When the Going Gets Dark.” Big piano chords (Rachmaninoff), atonal melodies (Thelonius) and an outsider pop mentality (Flaming Lips) collide in 11 tracks of beautiful psychedelic cacophony, a sound that has everything to do with the relationship between its two members.
The duo's sound extends from the complicated relationship between Sam Coomes (piano, guitar, bass, vocals) and Janet Weiss (drums, vocals). Weiss – who anchors the drum kit for Portland trio Sleater-Kinney – and the well-traveled Coomes (Elliot Smith, Built to Spill) once were married during the band's early years. Now with the relationship purely professional and friendly (the two divorced in 1995), “Going” was Quasi's seventh album.
Coomes writes almost all of Quasi's songs, but the key to the band's music success lies in the balance between the two personalities. Said Coomes: “I feel like we're fairly equal. We're fairly balanced. We set up opposite each other onstage: Nobody's in front, nobody's in back.”
Despite leaving the difficulties of relationship in their rearview mirrors, recording the new release presented unforeseen obstacles. Coomes and Weiss finished the recording of the album and were pleased with the basic tracks. But the challenge came when they tried to mix the tracks into complete songs.
“Recording the initial tracks – when Janet and I were just sitting in there playing – we were really feeling it,” said Coomes. “We were happy with what we got on tape as far as our performances go. That was why we stuck with it. We knew it was happening at some level. But it really got bogged down along the way. When it was all done, we were kind of relieved that it came out as good as it did.”
The solution came when Quasi decided to send the tracks to Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Café Tacuba), giving him free reign to come up with the final mix: “Eventually, he was able to figure out how it all fit together and sow it all up sonically.”
For the first time in over a decade, Quasi will be performing with an additional musician when the tour stops at San Diego's Casbah club on Kettner Boulevard Monday. Coomes said bassist Joanna Bolme (Stephen Malkmus) will allow the pair to experiment more in the live context.
“We've always been reluctant to add another person, not because of sound reasons but mostly we don't want anybody getting in our way,” said Coomes. “When we play live, we really get off on going out on a limb and really going nuts. So we don't want to be limited. But, actually, with Joanna it helps us to do that more. She can hold down the center and I can go off even more.”
Despite the ups and downs of the music industry and personal relationships, Coomes and Weiss still find their musical connection unique and fulfilling.
“Quasi is intrinsic to our lives,” Coomes said. “Each one of us gets something out of it that wouldn't be easily gotten in a different context. So we're willing to work through whatever difficulties come our way, and we've had more than our share for sure.
“Why do we do this? It's not for money. We just do it because we love it and we get something out of it. If people like it, that's great. And if they don't, we'd still do it anyway.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
