QUICKSAND and FUCKED UP to Co-Headline Canadian Tour This Fall
The trek follows the release of the band's Equal Vision Records debut, produced by Jon Markson.
QUICKSAND has announced a fall co-headline tour of Canada with fED UP, set to open Tuesday, September 22 at Capital Ballroom in Victoria, BC, and run through 10 dates across six provinces before concluding Sunday, October 4 at Overflow Brewing in Ottawa, ON. Tickets for those shows, along with remaining U.S. dates with Bane running through early September, are available now via the band's website. The tour follows the release of Quicksand's new album BRING ON THE PSYCHICS, out now via Equal Vision Records.
Marking an entirely new era for the storied three-piece — guitarist/vocalist Walter Schreifels, bassist/vocalist Sergio Vega and drummer Alan Cage — Bring On The Psychics serves as the sonic bridge between Quicksand's heavy and influential Nineties sound and the ambitious, experimental output contained within its more recent era. Produced and mixed by Jon Markson (Drug Church, Drain) across 10 days, Bring On The Psychics once again finds Quicksand reinventing the sound they helped pioneer.
It's impossible to overstate the influence that Quicksand have on the hardcore scene. Formed in New York City in 1990 out of the ashes of Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Burn and Bold, the band took the aggression of hardcore and added a more groove-driven crunch to it, unintentionally inventing the genre known today as a post-hardcore. After releasing two major-label masterpieces in the Nineties — 1993's Slip and 1995's Manic Compression — the band split up at the peak of their powers, only to reunite in 2012 and release Interiors and Distant Populations.
Inspired by a quote from scientist Carl Sagan, Bring On The Psychics, Quicksand's first album in five years and Equal Vision Records debut, sees guitarist/vocalist Walter Schreifels examining his past through his present reality. 'For this album, I was going back to a lot of my earlier influences about 'break down the walls' or 'start today,'' he explains. 'Regardless of whether you're into hardcore or youth crew, they're really cool records because they're speaking to the time and providing possible paths to a better future … with mosh parts. That's the energy that I wanted to bring to this.'
From the hook-driven heaviness of the opener 'Get To It' to the shoegaze splendor of 'Crystallize,' the band cover a lot of sonic ground on Bring On The Psychics, but it always sounds like Quicksand. Its technical virtuosity is on full display here as well, from bassist/vocalist Sergio Vega's locked-in bass grooves on 'Cool Guy' to Alan Cage's dynamic drumming on the album's title track. The band also stretched out, musically, on the album as evidenced by the breezy ballad 'Days You Run To,' a song that might even surprise longtime fans. 'To me, that is the kind of thing that Fugazi would do on their more chill kind of tunes,' Schreifels says of the laid-back feel of the aforementioned track. 'It's nice to have something that was more expansive to show the Pink Floyd side of Quicksand.'
That aspect of the band has never been a secret; anyone who has seen the band's psychedelic light show can attest to that consciousness-expanding vibe. Bring On The Psychics just sees the band encapsulating their creative vision in a fully, more integrated manner.
'I'm really psyched to play these songs live,' Schreifels summarizes. 'I feel really fortunate to still be playing music with these guys and be able to take it to different places.'
Tour Dates
August 14 — Fresno Crossing, CA — Strummer's *#
August 15 — San Francisco, CA — The Castro Theatre *#
August 16 — Roseville, CA — Goldfield Trading Post Roseville *#
August 18 — Portland, OR — Wonder Ballroom *#
August 19 — Seattle, WA — The Showbox *#
August 21 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Depot *#
August 22 — Colorado Springs, CO — Black Sheep *#
August 23 — Englewood, CO — Gothic Theatre *#
August 25 — Saint Paul, MN — Amsterdam Bar and Hall *#
August 26 — Chicago, IL — Bottom Lounge *#
August 27 — Grand Rapids, MI — The Pyramid Scheme *
August 28 — Detroit, MI — El Club #
August 29 — Toronto, ON — East End United *#
August 31 — Washington, DC — 9:30 Club *#
September 01 — Philadelphia, PA — Underground Arts *#
September 02 — Brooklyn, NY — The Brooklyn Monarch *#
September 03 — Boston, MA — Royale *#
September 22 — Victoria, BC — Capital Ballroom ^
September 23 — Vancouver, BC — The Pearl ^
September 25 — Calgary, AB — Dickens ^
September 26 — Edmonton, AB — Pawn Shop ^
September 27 — Saskatoon, SK — Louis ^
September 28 — Winnipeg, MB — Park Theatre ^
October 01 — London, ON — Palasad SocialBowl ^
October 02 — Oshawa, ON — Biltmore Theatre ^
October 03 — Montreal, QC — Theatre Fairmount ^
October 04 — Ottawa, ON — Overflow Brewing ^
* — w/ Bane
# — w/ Soul Blind
^ — w/ fed Up
BRING ON THE PSYCHICS, produced and mixed by Jon Markson over 10 days, marks Quicksand's first album in five years and its debut for Equal Vision Records. The band, formed in New York City in 1990 by guitarist/vocalist Walter Schreifels, bassist/vocalist Sergio Vega and drummer Alan Cage, released Slip in 1993 and Manic Compression in 1995 before splitting up and later reuniting in 2012 to release Interiors and Distant Populations.
Photo Credit: Annette Rodriguez
Photo Credit: Annette Rodriguez
