Quench (band)
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| Quench | |
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 Quench
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| Background information | |
| Origin | England |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Alternative, Emo, Punk/Pop |
| Years active | 2001 - present |
| Label(s) | Elevation/ICC |
| Associated acts | Doug Walker, Jamie Hill, Why? |
| Website | quenchuk.com |
| Members | |
| Jamie Hill, Mark Cocks, Andy Davis, Ed Powell | |
| Former members | |
| Kevin Sefton, Ron Knights | |
Quench are an English rock band based in Cheltenham, Oxford and Bristol, known for their uplifting, exhilarating and powerful sound, heartfelt lyrics and energetic live performances.
Their headline tours of the UK and Europe have built them an ever-increasing loyal following, often cemented by the impact they make at their performances at festivals, including the UK's Greenbelt festival, where one year over 1500 people excitedly queued for a chance to see their 500 capacity showcase, and in 2006 over 1000 fans crammed into a marquee for their intimate acoustic slot.
Following hard in the footsteps of P.O.D., Switchfoot and As I Lay Dying, the band's Christian faith impacts their music and performances, making them a "four piece rock band with solid mainstream appeal" according to respected secular industry magazine The Hit Sheet, which featured Quench's Bring The Summer In on one of their compilation CDs.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early years (1997–2000)
Quench rose from the ashes of Why?, an alternative band who had enjoyed the success of gigs at the Birmingham NEC and The Albert Hall, and had a large European following before calling it a day in 2000. Singer Jamie Hill and drummer Andy Davis then turned their attentions to starting a new rock project without the folk influences of Why? and joined by guitarist Kevin Sefton and bassist Ron Knights, they formed Quench (originally under the working title of 4 Real).
[edit] The Quench EP (2001)
The 'Quench EP' [1] was released shortly after the band signed to Elevation Records - the rock subsidiary of ICC Records, who signed Quench on the strength of their early showcase gigs in April 2001. The EP was well received and enjoyed radio play in several countries.
In 2002, guitarist Kevin Sefton decided to call it a day and Mark Cocks was recruited to replace him. Mark had just finished working with ex Dum Dums frontman Josh Doyle in his progressive rock project under the working title of Entrace Thesis and had originally toured with Jamie Hill in UK pop band TVB. Mark brought a harder edge to the band which drew them away from their early Punk/Pop leanings into a more Emo direction referencing bands like Jimmy Eat World, Lostprophets and Finch in their new sound. After taking the UK's Greenbelt Festival by storm following their main stage set, Elevation Records booked Quench into the recording studio in the Autumn of 2002 to record their debut album.
[edit] Afterglow (2003–2006)
Afterglow[2] was recorded with producers Trevor Michael and Dave Lynch. The songs were almost exclusively written and arranged in the studio and as a result there was a huge time pressure to record and mix the album within the three week deadline. The album was recorded often with different instruments being simultaneously recorded onto computers in different rooms and then merged together at the end of the day. The time pressure eventually took its toll on the mixing of the record, which lost some of the energy of the recordings. The band have always expressed their pride in the album but felt that the final mix never captured the power of their live sound.
Upon its release in the Spring of 2003, Afterglow received rave reviews from the music press including a 10/10 rating in Cross Rhythms Magazine. [3] The album also won the coveted Best UK Christian Album award at the 2003 UK Gospel Awards.
The band took their show out on the road in 2003–2004 and continued to build momentum, winning over a new generation of fans with the songs from Afterglow. The Afterglow Tour tour took Quench on an initial 18 date headline tour across the UK followed by a number of festival appearances including the Flevo Festival in the Netherlands. Later shows included a support slot for Athlete and headline shows at The Zodiac in Oxford and The Fleece and Firkin in Bristol.
[edit] Hiatus (2006–2008)
After the success of their debut Album, Quench hoped to break new ground into the secular scene and further into Europe and America (where their song Think About It had enjoyed a spell as the number one requested song at a New York radio station). However, the band began to loose momentum when this proved impossible without the right contacts. Despite a strong UK fanbase and having written some new songs that showed a huge step forward and a promising future, the "where do we go from here?" question seemed impossible to answer. Sporadic gigs followed and several band members took time out to pursue other avenues. One thing the band were sure of was that they did not want to take the easy option of simply recording album number two with ICC Records if that meant a repeat of what they had already achieved without moving forward.
[edit] Reality Radio (2007–present)
2007 saw Quench's long-awaited return to the recording studio to record a new 4 track EP with rock producer Joe Gibb (Jane's Addiction, 3 Colours Red, Funeral For A Friend, Brigade, etc). Gibb was chosen because his impressive back catalogue assured Quench that he could help them capture their live sound onto tape. This was done independently from their record company and entirely self financed from the proceeds of the previous few years' merchandise sales. The decision to go it alone was made in order to make sure the band had complete creative control over their sound in order to give the fans the first recording to capture their live sound, as well as a recording of sufficient quality to open new doors. The new new EP was recorded in one week in January 2007 at Mighty Atom studios in Wales and mastered by Pete Maher at Topfloor Music and truly captures Quench's incendiary live sound, making a huge sonic leap from their 2003 debut. The Reality Radio EP will be released in 2008. The time delay between recording and release was due to having to wait for the right distribution deal to be agreed. The name Reality Radio is a bold statement of Quench's continued resolve to write songs that speak truth and reality to their listeners and to make a stand against so called Reality TV and the fake celebrity culture of the 21st Century.
[edit] The future
Once Reality Radio is released, the band hope that new doors will open for them to take their career to the next level. In the meantime Mark Cocks and Ed Powell are currently playing as session musicians for Warner Bros’ Top 40 artist Doug Walker and Mark's guitar playing features on Doug’s debut album Fear Together (2008) (produced by Danton Supple – producer of Coldplay’s X&Y etc).
[edit] Musical style and influences
Originally Quench had been firmly rooted in the Punk/Pop genre drawing on influences such as Blink 182, All Star United, Ash and Feeder. The individual band members also brought influences from Counting Crows, Barenaked Ladies and 1970's progressive rock, which manifested themselves in the vocal style and keyboard riffs of the Quench EP. After Mark Cocks joined the band, the decision was made to drop the keyboards and embrace a heavier guitar sound more akin to Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Finch, lostprophets and P.O.D. but without losing their melodic vocals. By 2006, Quench's unique sound sits somewhere between My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Foo Fighters.
[edit] Band members
Current members
- Jamie Hill - lead vocals, additional rhythm guitar, (keyboards 2001–2002)
- Mark Cocks - lead guitar, backing vocals
- Andy Davis - drums, backing vocals
- Ed Powell - bass guitar, backing vocals (2005–present)
Former members
- Kevin Sefton - guitar (2001–2002)
- Ron Knights - bass guitar (2001–2005)
[edit] Discography
- Reality Radio (distributed by Elevation) (to be released in 2008)
- Afterglow (Elevation) (2003)
- Quench EP (Elevation) (2002)
Several Quench songs have also featured on compilations including The Hit Sheet and Lemonaid.
