Frequently Asked Questions about Brendan, Blue Caboose and the music here

1. Who is Brendan?

Brendan is me, Brendan I am. AKA Brendan Quinn. I'm a musician who lives in London, England but used to live in and around Boston, MA, USA. I've been in a number of bands, the most successfull being Abunai!

2. What is Blue Caboose?

Blue Caboose is a partnership style collaboration between Brendan Quinn and Scott Campanella. Tracks tend towards extended jams, often based on rock or folk standards, and sessions tend to be extrememly loose. All tracks labeled as Blue Caboose have all parts played by Brendan Quinn and Scott Campanella

3. Who plays on what?

Well, this may become quickly out of date, but as of the time of this writing:
Adrian Shaw plays bass on Protest Song and Ghost Story
Nick Saloman plays lead guitar on Protest Song
Stuart Barton plays bass on Falling, In A Grain Of Sand, Clear, and Horizon
Scott Campanella plays guitar on Protest Song and Ghost Story
Niall King plays keyboards on Ghost
Liz Zitzow sings on Primrose Hill, Ladies Don't Go Thieving, Clear, and Falling
Joe Turner plays drums on Primrose Hill, and Clear
Dan Parmenter plays bass on Primrose Hill
I sing, and play everything else

4. What's the deal with Primrose Hill

Primrose Hill is basically an old folk song called Buttermilk Hill or Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier. I'd been playing with the song and realized that for the first time in history (at least in the US), women were going off to be combat soldiers in Iraq. So I rewrote a couple of the verses, changed Butermilk Hill to Primrose Hill (both a neighborhood in Somerville, MA, and the part of London where I now live), and there you go.

5. What's the deal with Ladies Don't Go Thieving?

Ladies Don't Go Thieving is a broadsheet ballad, probably from the late 19th century. Due to the opening of the large department stores, "Respectable" (i.e. middle and upper class) women could, for the first time, go out shopping. Many of these "respectable" women, took to shoplifting for the thrill of it. The author of "Ladies" decided to take these women to task. My wife actually discovered this song while reading a book on the history of the period, and showed it to me. I was amused, and decided it needed to be revived.

6. What's the deal with The Death of Mother Jones?

I'd been wanting to do a union song of some sort, as it's an important part of the folk tradition of the 20th century, and rabble rousing has been a part of the folk tradition for ages. I finally ran across The Death of Mother Jones a song of unknown authorship, that appeared in the mining camps shortly after Mother Jones died. By 1931 it had become so popular that it was recorded by a young Gene Autry. I've rewritten (folk processed) the lyrics, and the tune and arrangement are entirely mine.

7. What is the hypnogogic state?

The hypnogogic state is the state between waking and sleeping when the mind is beginning to hallucinate and drift into dream. It was also the name of my live band for a while.