Gerard Quintana
Encyclopedia
Gerard Quintana Rodeja (ʒəˈɾart kinˈtanə) (born 27 November 1964, in Girona
, Catalonia
, Spain
) is a Catalan singer, songwriter, poet, writer, actor, and radio and TV personality. He came to prominence in 1986-2001 as the lead singer of the Catalan rock/pop group Sopa de Cabra
. Since the dissolution of the band in 2001, he has pursued a very successful solo career. As a singer/songwriter independent of his extensive input into the original musical repertoire of Sopa de Cabra, he has completed seven well-received albums between 1998 and 2010. These move into a different, more personal and intimate, musical genre, which is not easily classified, but may, perhaps, be characterised as music about the human condition. He also writes and publishes poetry and writes regularly as a music journalist for online Catalan newspapers and journals. He has appeared as an actor in films and on television, and as a presenter on Catalan TV and radio.
The temporary reunion of Sopa de Cabra in 2011 to celebrate 25 years since the band's formation and ten since its final appearances required Quintana to revert to his original rock-star style of singing and performance, which he did with enthusiasm and total success for the seven concerts of the tour.
in the summer of 1986, when he became the new group's lead singer, as well as the most prolific writer of lyrics for its original repertoire. The influences on Sopa de Cabra's style included classic rock (the band's name was in homage to the Rolling Stones' 1973 album Goat's Head Soup), reggae, and blues, but the combination of the Catalan language and the creative originality of Quintana and his colleagues (Josep Thió, Joan 'Ninyín' Cardona, Francesc 'Cuco' Lisícic, and Pep Bosch) ensured that the band's sound was unique: authentic rock music and yet distinctively Catalan.
In 1998 and 2000, while Sopa de Cabra was still actively touring and recording, Quintana also began to develop his own individual style apart from the band, and collaborated with Jordi Batiste on two albums presenting Catalan versions of the work of Bob Dylan, one of his own musical inspirations.
Since the planned dissolution of Sopa in 2001-2, Quintana has continued his career as a musician, writer, poet and actor. His first solo album was Senyals de fum ('Smoke signals'), in 2003. This was followed by another four successful albums and by many public performances, all in a personal and poetic style that contrasts in many ways with the traditional pop/rock music of Sopa. He has worked with many significant figures in Catalan music, including the guitarist Francesc Bertran, Quimi Portet, Albert Pla, Pep Sala
and the group Gossos
. His most recent album, De terrat en terrat ('From roof to roof') (2010) amounts to a personal musical portrait of the city of Barcelona and its lively, multicultural ambience.
In March 2011, the surviving members of Sopa de Cabra announced a single anniversary reunion concert on September 9, 2011 (celebrating 25 years since the founding of the band, and ten years since its dissolution and final performances); the huge demand for tickets eventually resulted in the planning of a tour consisting of seven concerts, three in Barcelona, one each in Palma and Tarragona, and culminating with two, on September 30 and October 1, in the band's home town of Girona.
The tour sold out in all seven venues, and was a resounding success. After a decade of quieter and more introspective musical and other creative activities, Quintana triumphantly recreated his energetic rock-star persona on stage. However, no plans have been announced for any future Sopa de Cabra concerts nor even for any new recordings, and it is to be assumed that Quintana's interrupted solo career will now continue.
Quintana is a very articulate and charismatic speaker, and has become a well-known figure in Catalan culture quite apart from his musicianship. In recent years he has not hesitated to express his personal political and ideological views, including his support for Catalan independence and for contentious and high-profile causes such as the campaign to ban bullfighting in Catalonia. He used the opportunity provided by the 2011 concert tour to make pro-independence points, comparing the relationship between Spain and Catalonia with an unhappy marriage: the audiences responded with cries of support and much waving of the estelada
flag, which symbolises Catalan independence.
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
, Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) is a Catalan singer, songwriter, poet, writer, actor, and radio and TV personality. He came to prominence in 1986-2001 as the lead singer of the Catalan rock/pop group Sopa de Cabra
Sopa de Cabra
Sopa de Cabra was a musical group from Girona, Catalonia, Spain, active from 1986 to 2002. They are considered to be one of the leading representatives of the rock català movement, though the band preferred not to be placed in the same category as other Catalan-language groups, some of whom had...
. Since the dissolution of the band in 2001, he has pursued a very successful solo career. As a singer/songwriter independent of his extensive input into the original musical repertoire of Sopa de Cabra, he has completed seven well-received albums between 1998 and 2010. These move into a different, more personal and intimate, musical genre, which is not easily classified, but may, perhaps, be characterised as music about the human condition. He also writes and publishes poetry and writes regularly as a music journalist for online Catalan newspapers and journals. He has appeared as an actor in films and on television, and as a presenter on Catalan TV and radio.
The temporary reunion of Sopa de Cabra in 2011 to celebrate 25 years since the band's formation and ten since its final appearances required Quintana to revert to his original rock-star style of singing and performance, which he did with enthusiasm and total success for the seven concerts of the tour.
Career
In the mid-1980s, Quintana was a member of a group of young musicians, writers and artists based on a squat in Girona. His role was initially more as a writer, both of poetry and in the journalistic sphere of producing fanzines, than as a singer and performer. Indeed, in a magazine interview published in 2010, Quintana revealed that in spite of his lifelong deep love of music, his initial youthful ambition was to be a writer, because as a child he was far too shy to contemplate performing in public. He was involved with the bands Hasta los huevos de Mili and Ninyin's Mine Workers' Union band before the formation of Sopa de CabraSopa de Cabra
Sopa de Cabra was a musical group from Girona, Catalonia, Spain, active from 1986 to 2002. They are considered to be one of the leading representatives of the rock català movement, though the band preferred not to be placed in the same category as other Catalan-language groups, some of whom had...
in the summer of 1986, when he became the new group's lead singer, as well as the most prolific writer of lyrics for its original repertoire. The influences on Sopa de Cabra's style included classic rock (the band's name was in homage to the Rolling Stones' 1973 album Goat's Head Soup), reggae, and blues, but the combination of the Catalan language and the creative originality of Quintana and his colleagues (Josep Thió, Joan 'Ninyín' Cardona, Francesc 'Cuco' Lisícic, and Pep Bosch) ensured that the band's sound was unique: authentic rock music and yet distinctively Catalan.
In 1998 and 2000, while Sopa de Cabra was still actively touring and recording, Quintana also began to develop his own individual style apart from the band, and collaborated with Jordi Batiste on two albums presenting Catalan versions of the work of Bob Dylan, one of his own musical inspirations.
Since the planned dissolution of Sopa in 2001-2, Quintana has continued his career as a musician, writer, poet and actor. His first solo album was Senyals de fum ('Smoke signals'), in 2003. This was followed by another four successful albums and by many public performances, all in a personal and poetic style that contrasts in many ways with the traditional pop/rock music of Sopa. He has worked with many significant figures in Catalan music, including the guitarist Francesc Bertran, Quimi Portet, Albert Pla, Pep Sala
Pep Sala
Pep Sala is a Catalan musician, songwriter and record producer. With singer Carles Sabater, Sala formed the rock català group Sau, which achieved great popularity in the 1990s...
and the group Gossos
Gossos
Gossos is a Catalan rock group from Manresa. Until 2002, their music stood out for being completely acoustic, with only guitars and bass. They later added drummer Santi Serratosa and began to electrify their sound.- History :...
. His most recent album, De terrat en terrat ('From roof to roof') (2010) amounts to a personal musical portrait of the city of Barcelona and its lively, multicultural ambience.
In March 2011, the surviving members of Sopa de Cabra announced a single anniversary reunion concert on September 9, 2011 (celebrating 25 years since the founding of the band, and ten years since its dissolution and final performances); the huge demand for tickets eventually resulted in the planning of a tour consisting of seven concerts, three in Barcelona, one each in Palma and Tarragona, and culminating with two, on September 30 and October 1, in the band's home town of Girona.
The tour sold out in all seven venues, and was a resounding success. After a decade of quieter and more introspective musical and other creative activities, Quintana triumphantly recreated his energetic rock-star persona on stage. However, no plans have been announced for any future Sopa de Cabra concerts nor even for any new recordings, and it is to be assumed that Quintana's interrupted solo career will now continue.
Quintana is a very articulate and charismatic speaker, and has become a well-known figure in Catalan culture quite apart from his musicianship. In recent years he has not hesitated to express his personal political and ideological views, including his support for Catalan independence and for contentious and high-profile causes such as the campaign to ban bullfighting in Catalonia. He used the opportunity provided by the 2011 concert tour to make pro-independence points, comparing the relationship between Spain and Catalonia with an unhappy marriage: the audiences responded with cries of support and much waving of the estelada
Estelada
The Estelada is an unofficial flag typically waved by Catalan independentists to express their support for an either independent Catalonia or independent Països Catalans...
flag, which symbolises Catalan independence.
With Sopa de Cabra
- Sopa de Cabra (1989)
- La Roda (1990)
- Ben endins (1991) (live recording)
- Girona 83-87: Somnis de Carrer (1992)
- Mundo infierno (1993)
- Al∙lucinosi (1994)
- Sss… (1996)
- La nit dels anys (1997) (live)
- Nou (1998)
- Dies de carretera (2000)
- Plou i fa sol (2001)
- Bona nit, malparits! (2002) (live)
- El llarg viatge (2003) (live)
As solo artist
- Senyals de fum (2003)
- Les claus de sal (2004)
- Per un tros de cel (2005)
- Treu banya (2007)
- De terrat en terrat (2010)
External links
- http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Gerard-Quintana/88566678083
- http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Quintana
- http://www.promoartsmusic.com/gerardquintana
- A television interview from 2010, with insights into Quintana's life, opinions, interests and work