Singing Siblings

By Matt Smith/Staff Writer

June 28, 2007 06:25 pm

— Burleson may, thankfully, soon have a musical act besides Kelly Clarkson to champion if the Quebe Sisters Band have their way. And, while not yet a household name, the sibling trio plus two have amassed an impressive résumé in a short time.
The band recently opened for Merle Haggard at Fort Worth’s Bass Hall. So impressed was Ricky Skaggs with a chance backstage meeting and impromptu performance the band reeled off that he hired them on the spot as his opening act, also at Bass Hall. Skaggs next invited the quintet to play the Grand Ole Opry. Somewhere in between all that, the Quebe Sisters Band performed with the Reno, Nev., Philharmonic, recorded in Johnny Cash’s studio and, oddly enough, shared a stage with billionaire businessman Warren Buffet.
So, who are the Quebes? They are the fiddle-playing, songstress sisters, Hulda, 16, Sophia, 19, and Grace Quebe, 21. Guitarist Joey McKenzie and bassist Drew Phelps round out the band.
Seeing the band for the first time reminds one of the Beach Boys tune “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times.” Both quaint and as out of place as black and white TV and milk bottles in image and sound, the band plays a mix of Western swing, country, jazz and vintage ’40s pop standards. Think the soundtrack to “Oh Brother Where Art Thou,” or just picture the Andrews Sisters and Django Reinhardt hopping on stage with Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.
“We don’t really listen to the teenage music around today,” Sophia said.
Which sounds swell and cute if a bit gimmicky and cornball. I thought so too. But here’s the deal, the Quebe Sisters Band kills live, and I’m betting few people, whatever their music of choice, could walk away unimpressed from a Quebe Sisters’ gig.
True to form, last Saturday’s release party for the band’s new CD “Timeless” at the Burleson Borders bookstore drew a crowd that packed the store’s cafe and magazine section. Certainly much of the crowd looked like they hit their wonder years about the time the songs the band performed were new. Most of the rest — young to middle aged — hardly appeared to be the type one would peg as country, let alone swing music, fans. And yes, most probably wandered over out of curiosity. But a large number remained throughout the three sets and crowded the table to meet the girls who signed CDs in between.
“One guy came up to us after the Bass Hall show to say how much he liked us,” Grace said. “He said he wasn’t really into country and just came along with his dad but said he’d never heard our type of music.”
Such reactions often occur, the sisters said.
“We’ve had people you wouldn’t guess would like this type of music, punk rock and hard-rock kids who say they’ve never heard this style of music,” Sophia said. “And I think that’s it. Some people aren’t going to like this just because they prefer pop or whatever but I think a lot of people don’t know about it just because it’s not out there in a very accessible form.”
Band members say they hope to keep such classic music alive and introduce it anew to a younger audience. And their love of such music appears genuine.
“No, I don’t pay much attention to what, I guess, you’d call modern or regular music,” Hulda said when asked if she or other band members harbored a secret affinity for rap, techno or top 40. “I like the older music.”
That older music Hulda and company cite includes a list of artists most people the girl’s parent’s age probably don’t remember. Favorites named by the band include Bob Wills, the Sons of the Pioneers, Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Christian, Benny Thomasson, Patsy Cline and, well, you get the idea. Push for anything recorded this century, and the best they’ll give is a love of the Beatles and Asleep At the Wheel.
A new group of young-uns discovers the sounds of the 1960s and 1970s every year. Still one wonders how three Johnson County girls fell so hard for music created some 40-50 years before their births.
“I like that music because it’s played and executed so well,” Hulda said. “There’s just something very energetic and exciting about it.”
The Quebe Sisters Band formed in 2000, just two years after the girls discovered music and began fiddle lessons, Hulda explained.
“It’s funny because no one in our family is really musical,” Hulda said. “When we were younger I remember listening to the radio, of course, but I don’t remember any of us being that into music or wanting to play it.”
That all changed in 1998 when Hulda — the girls are named after grandmothers and great-grandmothers, she explained — and her sisters accompanied their parents to a Denton fiddling competition showcasing husband and wife Joey and Sherry McKenzie.
“We just thought, ‘Wow, that’s so cool,’” said Hulda who was all of 8 years old at the time. “And we knew we wanted to take lessons and learn to play.”
Joey would go on to join the band, which Sherry runs booking and publicity for. But that came later. The Quebe girls initially just wanted fiddle lessons, which the McKenzie’s teach out of McKenzie’s Music and Instructional Studio in Mansfield.
“At the time I was pretty full and teaching about as much as I wanted to,” Joey said. “But the girl’s mother, she’s very nice but also quite persistent. She said the girls were home schooled and had a flexible schedule so Sherry and I agreed to meet them. We hit it off and that was the beginning.”
Joey won honors as World Champion Fiddler three times and Texas State Guitar Champ five times before joining the Quebe Sisters Band. (“We’re the homely Quebe sisters,” Joey joked by way of introducing himself and Phelps during the Borders gig. “Quebettes,” Sophia suggested.)
Soon enough the girls went on to win several state, regional and national fiddle championships.
“We knew they had something special right off,” Joey said. “And just enjoyed teaching them so much, but now they’re good enough that they’re more like band mates than students.”
Forming a band seemed the natural next step. An instrumental CD, “Texas Fiddlers” preceded the recently released “Timeless,” both of which are independently released. Joey and Sherry went so far as to create FiddleTone Records before “Timeless’s” release.
“We’ve been approached [by major labels],” Joey said. “But some of our friends who’ve had experience with labels recommended we release our own for now. It gives us control of our music.”
Joey wouldn’t rule out interest in the band signing to a major label in the future. He said several radio stations play the band’s CDs despite their being independent releases.
Bassist Drew Phelps joined the band between the two CD releases. Phelps previously played with, among others, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Dixie Chicks, Sarah Hickman and Bob Hope.
Both CDs contain the band’s versions of classic standards.
“We want to keep this music alive, and we’re respectful to the style, but we make it our own,” Joey said. “It’s a very creative process. We don’t want to just copy a Bob Wills, or whoever, arrangement.”
Live, the sisters’ voices cascade and soar in pure, clear harmony, albeit harmony with a pronounced Texas twang. Thankfully, they eschew the over-the-top histrionics practiced by way too many current female singers. Phelps’ fingers fly up and down his upright bass with a quiet intensity and dexterity. Joey, who rates as one of the most interesting and exciting guitarists I’ve seen on the local scene, steals the show at times. Listening to technically brilliant guitarists often feels about as exciting as reading an algebra textbook while many not-so-technically-great guitarists are great nonetheless because they have the right spirit and attitude. Joey represents the rare player who possesses both the chops and the personality.
Texans can next catch the Quebe Sisters Band July 7 at the Town & Country Coffeehouse in Lake Dallas. Past that, the band has no tentative plans to return to the area until an Oct. 26 show in Fort Worth. In between shows are scheduled for New York, Canada, California and points in between.
“We always love playing the [North Texas] area,” Joey said. “And may be scheduling additional local dates. We’ll post them on our Web site as soon as we know.”
Band members admit to being pleasantly surprised, and a bit shell shocked, by the recognition they’ve received so far. As for the future, more albums, tours and possibly a stab at writing original material, they say.
“We’re just really happy with the direction we’re going as a band right now,” Grace said. “If getting big is part of our future, I think we’ll love it, as long as we’re all still enjoying what we’re doing.”

On the Web: www.quebesistersband.com

Matthew Smith can be reached at
817-645-2441, ext. 2339, or
msmith@trcle.com.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.