The music of Quicksilver Night is probably best described as “distilled progressive rock” because it often incorporates elements of progressive rock such as exotic modes and composite meters but it generally eschews extended song structures in favor of a more concise songwriting style than is usually associated with the genre.
“Although I am deeply involved in every facet of all things Quicksilver Night at every step of the way the simple truth remains that I cannot – and do not – do this alone; I depend heavily upon the support of my song-specific collaborators and tech-savvy friends in order to bring this music into existence. I am immensely grateful for their support.” – Warren Russell
Quicksilver Night is guitarist/composer Warren Russell and a small but widening circle of musical collaborators around the world. The next definite release on the Quicksilver Night horizon – coming March 5th – is “Hephaestus the Cuckold”, an advance single featuring Farzad Golpayegani from the forthcoming full-length “Asymptote” album. It’s an incredible blend of power and subtlety and I greatly look forward to unleashing it upon you. 🙂
Sometime shortly after that (I’m aiming for April 20th) will come the “Mr. Wizard” mini-EP, three songs of guitar-driven instrumental music powered by the amazing guitarist Jason Cale. Heavily laden with progressive elements, the songs of “Mr. Wizard” rock in a classic vein colored by jazz sensibilities … blue notes and modal playing abound! This is the album art, edited and licensed from an original photograph by Larry Ferdinande Photography.
Panel 1
Biography
I am Warren (“Chip”) Russell. I was born and raised in and around the city of Olean on New York state’s Southern Tier. Those Allegheny foothills are forever embedded in my soul. I joined the US Army in 1986 – right before my 21st birthday – and retired in 2009 after a 23-year career, most of that as a guitar player in various US Army bands in several different countries, sometimes under arms.
Original photo above by Larry Ferdinande Photography
My career as a military musician had its fill of ups and downs but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. It provided me with a wealth of musical experience and wide circle of supportive friends plus my subsequent retirement affords me the opportunity to pursue the production of my own music from a position of relative financial security and more or less free from any constraints beyond my own judgment.
I am wholly content with where my life seems to be heading. I am very happily married to Renée, a wonderfully engaging, highly intelligent, and undeniably beautiful woman. She and I currently make our home in Yorktown, Virginia. I have three very bright and talented children from a previous marriage, grown now and moved away, and two awesome grandchildren thus far.
Panel 2
Presque Vu
PRESQUE VU, OCTOBER SKIES, & HOMECOMING
Available at digital outlets everywhere, Quicksilver Night’s “Presque Vu” mini EP is a trio of drivingly melodic songs, progressive but rooted in classic rock with Celtic overtones and Gothic undercurrents. Go to https://quicksilvernight.hearnow.com/presque-vu
All three songs feature Meagan Finning on vocals and Jason Cale on lead guitar, details below.
The title track “Presque Vu” describes the sense of impending change, the feeling that some almost seen truth is about to make itself known, that some life-altering event is about to occur. “Still I can’t help but feel there’s more intended for me by this life.”
Celtic-tinged with classic rock roots, “October Skies” is about the sense of home as a place where one’s very bones seem to resonate with the landscape. I wrote it to describe my distant childhood home in the Allegheny foothills, the overwhelming feeling of belonging there when I visit and the absolute surety that I will return someday for good.
“Homecoming” speaks to mortality and nostalgia when a return to a childhood home is necessitated by the death of a close family member. “Stand in the open doorway. Breathe of the dust and shadows and then say goodbye to the ghosts that fill this room, turn and walk away…”
The ringing crystalline timbre of Meagan Finning’s voice can be found throughout much the Quicksilver Night catalog going back to the beginning and was last heard on Quicksilver Night’s 2016 single “Exeunt” as she had moved away during post-production. Happily for us here at Quicksilver Night she’s back in her hometown of Newport News, VA now and singing once again.
Jason Cale is a singer/songwriter and guitarist from South Mississippi. After traveling the world performing all styles of music he now makes his home in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Eclectic beyond measure and a consummate professional, he regularly performs throughout the region with different groups in various configurations in a dizzying array of musical styles.
Meagan Finning performed lead and harmony vocals throughout the album
Jason Cale performed lead solo guitars throughout the album along with acoustic guitar on “October Skies” and backing vocals on “Presque Vu”
Warren Russell performed rhythm guitars and everything else throughout the album, real or virtual, including harmony fill guitars on “Presque Vu”
Music & Lyrics by Warren Russell (ASCAP)
Recorded by Alex O’Loughlin at Sandcastle Records in Nashville, TN and Jason Cale at Crabhouse studio in Hampton, VA
Mastered by Borislav Dimitrov (aka Boro) at HiZ Productions, Los Angeles, CA
Produced by Warren Russell and Alex O’Loughlin
Album art by Randall Lee from original 2019 photo courtesy Bella Amori Photography by Victoria Holden, All Rights Reserved
