Christine Frances Quinlan (born May 7, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and visual artist best known for fronting Philadelphia

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band

Hop Along Hop Along is an American indie rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formerly known as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis. History Hop Along began as an acoustic freak folk solo project known as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis in 2004, during Frances Qu ...

. They have painted all the band's album art.

Career

Early life

Quinlan was raised in northern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

Quakertown, Pennsylvania Quakertown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2020, it had a population of 9,359. The borough is south of Allentown and Bethlehem and north of Philadelphia, making Quakertown a border town of both the Delaware Va ...

, and was an active reader in their youth. Their parents, whom they have described as "big music fans", introduced them to artists such as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, Cat Stevens and

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...

at an early age. They initially attempted to learn to play the electric guitar at age 13, but became frustrated and gave up. However, after their brother Andrew introduced them to musicians such as Ani DiFranco, Fiona Apple, and

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

, they revisited the instrument and were more successful. They began songwriting and working on musical projects with their brother. They worked as a house painter during this time.

Musical career

In the mid-2000s, Quinlan began a solo acoustic project in college at

Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of t ...

. During this time they released their debut EP, ''Songs of the Sea''. Quinlan recorded their first solo album, ''Freshman Year'', under the name Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, in 2005, between their freshman and sophomore years. They distributed the album on burned CDs. After graduation, another brother, Mark, joined them on drums as they continued the project, which was renamed

. Hop Along's 2015 studio album ''

Painted Shut ''Painted Shut'' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Hop Along. It was co-produced, recorded and mixed by John Agnello in at Headroom Studios, in Philadelphia and Fluxivity Studios in Brooklyn, and released on May 4, 2015. Back ...

'' was widely praised by critics for its "immediacy and emotional depth", led by Quinlan's voice. Quinlan lived in Philadelphia in the mid-2010s, where they wrote the lyrics of the band's next album, ''

Bark Your Head Off, Dog ''Bark Your Head Off, Dog'' is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Hop Along. It was self-produced, written over the course of 2016 and 2017, recorded at The Headroom in Philadelphia during 2017, and released on April 6, 2018. Cr ...

''. Quinlan's debut solo album, '' Likewise'' was released on January 31, 2020 through

Saddle Creek Records Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over hi ...

. Hop Along guitarist Joe Reinhart appears on the album performing guitar and bass. Quinlan created the album's cover art, as they have done for every prior album released under Hop Along.

Personal life

Quinlan

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

through a thread of tweets on January 22, 2021. They revealed that they chose to start going by their middle name after high school in an attempt to distance themselves from a role they claimed to have never "understood or felt agency with". Quinlan's pronouns are they/them. In between tours, Quinlan works at a housepainting business owned by their aunt.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Likewise'' (2020)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinlan, Frances 1986 births Maryland Institute College of Art alumni Singers from New Jersey People from Quakertown, Pennsylvania Saddle Creek Records artists Living people Guitarists from New Jersey Singers from Pennsylvania Guitarists from Pennsylvania Songwriters from New Jersey Songwriters from Pennsylvania 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists Non-binary musicians