Bluesy rock-and-roll singer Miss Quincy knows how to wrangle a line-up of local babes
Kristi Alexandra
@kristialexandra
Though the band name might fool you, Jody Peck — frontwoman of Miss Quincy & The Showdown — is more inclined to camaraderie than competition.
The singer-guitarist, better known to some of her fans as Miss Quincy, greets Loose Lips Magazine with a big, open hug and exclaims, “We’re going to be friends!”
One can only imagine this may be the case with Peck and many people in Vancouver — local musicians included. That very quality is what spurred the bluesy rock-and-roll singer to wrangle a lineup of local friends to play the year’s first installment of Fuck Fridays at the Cobalt tomorrow (Thursday, Jan. 7).
“I wanted to play a show in Vancouver with people who are my friends, who are also super rocking babes, who also have their own empires,” Peck says of Thursday’s show, which also features East Vancouver rockers Savvie and Cobra Ramone.
“I find within the music community, there’s not a lot of competition, but there’s a lot of supporting each other.”
An easy feat, it seems, when you’re basically the Snow White of rock and roll. Peck gives a polite, “Oh! Hello, sorry to bother you,” when we accidentally walk in on the Pack A.D. during their jam. The revered duo happens to share a lockout space with Miss Quincy & The Showdown at Vancouver’s Pandora’s Box Rehearsal Studios.
Peck’s reputedly friendly demeanor mirrors her attitude on making music; the more voices, the better.
“The type of person who’s going to live a creative lifestyle and be a musician as a career, it’s just more fun when you get to do it with other rad people. I would rather be friends with that person than their enemy, because look at how fierce we are,” she says. “It’s a really inspiring community to be a part of.”
Such is the case for Miss Quincy & The Showdown’s upcoming record, with equal parts writing collaboration from Peck’s bandmates Jessie Robertson (bass) and Jen Foster (drums).
The band’s previous album, Roadside Recovery, was a combination of dirty blues and straight-up rock ‘n’ roll, inspired by years on the road. That sound, Peck says, was a natural progression from her 2010 country-bluegrass debut Your Mama Don’t Like Me.
“In those days, people weren’t coming to see us, they were just coming to the bar and somebody just happened to play music. It as hard to be heard over a loud bar and so I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’ll switch to electric guitar because it’s louder,’” she reminisces with a laugh.
“It was still very rootsy, and then I started playing some really bluesy, groove-based music and slowly the music got louder. We really learned how to be a rock and roll band. It felt like three little girls against the world.”
Released in 2014, Roadside Recovery is Miss Quincy’s third album, featuring gritty tunes such as “Bad Love” and “Wild Fucking West.” The record was produced by Matt Rogers of The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, which Peck often sings back-up vocals for.
What’s to come for 2016’s hopeful (and as-of-yet unnamed) release?
“The new songs are a little more mature,” Peck confesses. “There’s been so much collaboration on this album, and I work with people who I think are great songwriters, so that really broadens the scope of the writing, because you have input from more perspectives.”
Given Miss Quincy’s predilection to collaboration over competition, along with her country roots, we’re more likely to see a rock and roll hoedown than a “showdown” Thursday — but we’re excited to find out.
Miss Quincy & The Showdown perform the Cobalt on Jan. 7 with Cobra Ramone and Savvie. Doors at 8 p.m. Tickets $10. More info at the Facebook event page.
Kristi Alexandra is an unabashed wino and wannabe musician. Her talents include drinking an entire bottle of cabernet sauvignon, singing in the bathtub, and falling asleep.
