Before You Hear Them On Sons of Anarchy, Stream an Exclusive Quaker City Night Hawks Track.
A couple weeks back, I'm checking out Quaker City Night Hawks at the Prophet Bar, trying to listen to the band perform yet another astonishingly tight set filled with rich, gritty harmonies and absurdly memorable hooks — only, this label rep I know standing behind me won't let me.
He's too busy complimenting the band.
It was his first time seeing them, but, within seconds, he learned what so many around North Texas have known for some time: Quaker City Night Hawks just might be the best band in the region. And he would just not shut up about them.
Frankly, after I gave in to his chatter, neither could I. The band deserves the kudos.
Over the course of the past year, the band, now in its third year together, has hit a stride few area bands ever approach. They're gritty, soulful and just plain good. And through charm and strong songwriting, they've accomplished the near-impossible feat of becoming fast-adored around town and without any signs of a backlash.
And they're not slowing down, either. Tonight, thanks to the mixing engineer of their first record (Torquila Torquila) passing along their music to a music placement agent, the band will reach another milestone in its strong 2012. Their song “Cold Blues” earns placement on tonight's episode of the hit FX series Sons of Anarchy. Even better: Next week, the same thing will happen with their “Ain't No Kid” song.
“We're pretty excited about it,” Quaker City Night Hawks bassist Pat Adams says this afternoon before acknowledging that he and his band have actually gone so far as to plan a watching party for tonight's episode at their home base of Fort Worth's Magnolia Motor Lounge. After the show airs, QCNH co-songwriters Sam Anderson and David Matsler will perform a set in the venue, too.
That spot really is their home: In addition to performing at that venue on a seemingly weekly basis, the band's upcoming album, Honcho, slated for release in early 2013, was recorded at Dallas' January Studios with some help from Magnolia Motor Lounge owner and ex-Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses drummer Matthew Smith (along with Ryan Bingham front-of-house engineer Grant Jackson Wilborn).
Honcho will also be released on Smith's upstart Magnolia Records label. And, Adams promises, it should come across like a nice evolution from the band, too.
“We recorded our first record after being a band for three months,” he says. “Now we've been a band for three years. So it's all in the same vein, but it's different. If you've ever seen us live, it's like that.”
If that label rep's reaction is any indication, that's a good thing. You can find out for yourself below, though, as the band's been kind enough to pass along a new song from Honcho for us to stream exclusively for Central Track readers. Check it out.