Frances Quinlan
Frances Quinlan | |
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Quinlan in 2018 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Christine Frances Quinlan[1] |
Born | May 7, 1986 |
Origin | New Jersey, U.S. Quakertown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Labels | Saddle Creek |
Member of | Hop Along |
Christine Frances Quinlan (born May 7, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and visual artist best known for fronting Philadelphia indie rock band Hop Along. They have painted all the band's album art.[2]
Career
[edit]Early life
[edit]Quinlan was raised in northern New Jersey and Quakertown, Pennsylvania, and was an active reader in their youth.[3]
Their parents, whom they have described as "big music fans", introduced them to artists such as Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, and The Kinks at an early age.[4] They initially attempted to learn to play the electric guitar at age 13, but became frustrated and gave up. However, after their brother Andrew introduced them to musicians such as Ani DiFranco, Fiona Apple, and Lauryn Hill, they revisited the instrument and were more successful. They began songwriting and working on musical projects with their brother.[3][5] They worked as a house painter during this time.[6]
Musical career
[edit]In the mid-2000s, Quinlan began a solo acoustic project in college at Maryland Institute College of Art.[7] During this time, they released their debut EP, Songs of the Sea.[3]
Quinlan recorded their first solo album, Freshman Year, under the name Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, in 2005, between their freshman and sophomore years.[8] They distributed the album on burned CDs.[7] After graduation, another brother, Mark, joined them on drums as they continued the project,[9] which was renamed Hop Along.[7] Hop Along's 2015 studio album Painted Shut was widely praised by critics for its "immediacy and emotional depth", led by Quinlan's voice.[9] Quinlan lived in Philadelphia in the mid-2010s, where they wrote the lyrics of the band's next album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog.[9]
Quinlan's debut solo album, Likewise was released on January 31, 2020 through Saddle Creek Records. Hop Along guitarist Joe Reinhart appears on the album performing guitar and bass. Quinlan created the album's cover art, as they have done for every prior album released under Hop Along.[8]
Personal life
[edit]Quinlan came out as non-binary through a thread of tweets on January 22, 2021. They revealed that they chose to start going by their middle name after high school in an attempt to distance themselves from a role they claimed to have never "understood or felt agency with". Quinlan's pronouns are they/them.[10]
In between tours, Quinlan works at a housepainting business owned by their aunt.[11]
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "ASCAP Ace Search - Frances Quinlan". ASCAP. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ Spruch, Kirsten (January 31, 2020). "How Frances Quinlan's Songwriting 'Chaos' Created One of the Year's Best Indie Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
- ^ a b c Schemmer, Cynthia (June 10, 2015). "A Graceful Scream". Impose Magazine. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ "Girls Rock Philly Interviews: Frances Quinlan". YouTube. July 12, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
- ^ "An Interview with Hop Along's Frances Quinlan".
- ^ "An Interview with Hop Along: With Eyes Painted Shut | the Aquarian". January 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c Vettese, John (August 21, 2015). "We're reasonably sure Hop Along is reissuing its coveted debut Freshman Year on vinyl". WXPN. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ a b Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (October 22, 2019). "Hop Along's Frances Quinlan Announces Debut Solo Album, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ a b c Vozick-Levinson, Simon (August 21, 2018). "Hop Along Are Busy Being Born". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ Rossignol, Derrick (January 22, 2021). "Frances Quinlan Of Hop Along Has Come Out As Nonbinary". UPROXX. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
- ^ "Hop Along, Like a Wrecking Ball". April 27, 2015.
- ^ "Likewise by Frances Quinlan on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
Further reading
[edit]- "Interview: Hop Along's Frances Quinlan on Expanding Their DIY Rock Vision". Reverb.com. June 12, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- Johnson, Kjerstin (June 25, 2015). "An Interview with Hop Along's Frances Quinlan". Bitch Media. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- Moulton, Katie (February 3, 2016). "Hop Along on Songwriting, Turning Thirty, Getting Hit On at the Merch Table". Westword. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
External links
[edit]Media related to Frances Quinlan at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- 1986 births
- Maryland Institute College of Art alumni
- Singers from New Jersey
- People from Quakertown, Pennsylvania
- Saddle Creek Records artists
- Living people
- Guitarists from New Jersey
- Singers from Pennsylvania
- Guitarists from Pennsylvania
- Songwriters from New Jersey
- Songwriters from Pennsylvania
- 21st-century American singers
- 21st-century American guitarists
- American LGBT singers
- American LGBT songwriters
- American non-binary musicians
- Non-binary singers
- Non-binary songwriters