Indie rockers Quiet Company hit up Soda Bar July 8

By Logan Broyles | SDUN Reporter

Passing through San Diego by way of Austin, Texas, pop-rock band Quiet Company plays the Soda Bar on Monday, July 8 for their first show in Uptown. The band formed in 2005, and has become a staple of the Texas indie-music scene.

Front-man Taylor Muse leads the way on guitar and vocals, and is backed by Tommy Blank on guitar and keyboards, Matt Parmenter on bass, Jeff Weathers on drums, and Cody Ackors on trombone.

“We’re a pop-rock band that is very influenced by melodic bands like the Beatles and Beach Boys,” Muse said. “We try to make the best songs possible and keep things interesting, with a lot of different instrumentation and switching around with a lot of different vibes. Something we’re always hearing is how high energy our shows are.”

The band’s first live shows were at the South by Southwest music festival, held in the heart of downtown Austin every spring. Muse and his band mates have also played at the Austin City Limits and appeared on “Last Call with Carson Daly.” The group has won a record 10 Austin Music Awards.

“Our first show ever was at South by Southwest 2006, and it was one of those kind of makeshift venues,” Muse said. “I think it was actually a church at the time that they had turned into a stage.”

Muse, Weathers and Ackors are all from Texas originally, and the group gradually formed over a period of years after Muse, who initially set out on his own solo career, realized he wanted other musicians on the stage with him.

“I’d already made the first record by myself as a solo thing, and then I put a band together to play live shows,” he said.

“I found Tommy [Blank] on Craigslist, and years later I found Matt [Parmenter] there as well. Cody [Ackors ] was a fan of ours that came to our shows, and once we found out he played the trombone, we wanted him to join the group. We had been looking for some kind of horn player.”

Quiet Company’s last full-length album, “We Are All Where We Belong,” came out in late 2011, and they put out a Christmas-themed EP in December 2012. After being unavailable for purchase for nearly three years, the band has just rereleased it’s debut album “Shine Honesty,” along with two bonus tracks. Now called “A Dead Man on My Back: Shine Honesty Revisited,” this and all others can be found on the group’s website, quietcompanymusic.com.

They said they have more music on the way, with the group currently putting together the pieces of a new album, and are set to return to the recording studio in the near future.

“We’ve made three full-length records and I like to think that there’s a progression with each one,” Muse said. “We’re writing for a new album right now and we’re really excited to be doing that. We’re trying to make it different from what we’ve done in the past, and so far we’re really happy with what we’ve come up with.”

While their previous work has all been self-produced, Muse said they were looking to work with a producer who could potentially shop it out to various labels. But they want to take their time, and Muse clearly has a deep love and respect for music.

“I would say, especially when you’re young, there’s something about music that lets you know you can get through the discovery of how things really are. It makes it feel like the world is open to you,” he said. “The real power of music is it unites people in a real way. There’s always kind of [the] overall message that you aren’t alone; we’re all experiencing similar things in life.”

The bands Rainbow Jackson and Orange Anima lead off for Quiet Company, with doors opening at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $7, and Soda Bar is located at 3615 El Cajon Blvd. For more information visit sodabarmusic.com.