Sam Quinn and Japan Ten in Border Bash 2009 Finale

When Elton John sang “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” surely Knoxville, Tenn.’s Sam Quinn was on his mind.
“I spend the majority of my time in my house thinking that the world is going to end,” Quinn said by phone recently from his home in Knoxville.
Mercy.
There’s nothing sad about Border Bash, though. The free, summer-long, monthly concert series completes its first decade on Aug. 28 with Brian McGee and the Hollow Speed opening for Sam Quinn and his band Japan Ten.
To paraphrase the Grateful Dead, what a long great decade it’s been. Eric Blevins of Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, along with Leah Ross of Rhythm and Roots and Bill Hartley of the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, booked the bands for Border Bash.
“Border Bash is a pure showcase,” Blevins said.
Each act booked to appear during Border Bash was already booked to perform at next month’s Rhythm and Roots Reunion festival.
“It’s a living advertisement,” Blevins said. “It’s a little teaser.”
Take note would-be bands for next year’s Border Bash. As with Quinn and McGee, each act booked for Border Bash must satisfy certain criteria, Blevins said.
“It has to be an original band playing original music by touring bands,” he said. “We’re not booking any weekend warriors or private party bands.”
On to Quinn.
On hiatus from his critically well-received band The Everybodyfields, Quinn debuted his solo act and backing band Japan Ten in Bristol.
“We played right off State Street,” Quinn, 29, said. “That got me out of the house. It was great. I like this town. Bristol has the festival and some so many great things going for it, like its history.”
By December, Quinn will have his first solo album going for him. Titled “The Faith That Sunk A Thousand Ships,” the album features songs dipped, dyed and dead in the middle of a sea of sad.
“It’s gloom and doom,” Quinn said. “It’s twangy, and it’s got some poppy moments.”
Gloom and doom, huh? As in?
“There’s a song called ‘The River’ that’s bare bones, gets right down to it and talks about the great beyond,” Quinn said. “Yeah, this new project is pretty much gloom and doom with no real happy ending.”
Now that’s fine by Blevins. In addition to helping book Quinn for Border Bash, he’s a bona fide fan of the man who even speaks with sadness on his tongue.
“I’ve never heard a songwriter be able to tell a painful, heartfelt story as well as Sam Quinn does,” Blevins said. “It’s so real. He’s emotional, honest. It’s pure poetry.”
Fans of Quinn’s Everybodyfields have probably heard that. However, Quinn said that his solo music strikes as much more raw, unvarnished and uncluttered lyrically and musically.
“The songs are darker,” Quinn said. “There’s kind of an underbelly to these songs that’s not really a happy place.”
Some may wonder. How can songs soaked in sad touch a chord, or even make a person happy? Easy.
“I’m trying to make little soundscapes where, albeit sad, people can go to live for three minutes,” Quinn said. “Maybe it’ll conjure something up that might touch them in some way.”
Think about this when thinking about a sad song.
“Not everybody loves,” Quinn said, “but everybody hurts.”

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .

IF YOU GO
What: Border Bash
Who: Sam Quinn + Japan Ten, and Brian McGee and the Hollow Speed
When: Aug. 28, 6 p.m. with music at 7 p.m.
Where: State Street, downtown Bristol
Admission: Free
Info: (276) 645-0111 or (423) 573-2200
Web and audio: http://www.myspace.com/samquinnjapanten