The Quailhunters
The Quailhunters - An Interview with Logan Bolling and John Allin
By Danny R. Phillips
For casual listeners, country music is a mere fascination, a fleeting fancy that can pass as quickly as a head cold or light poles rushing by along the highway as you speed into the night. However, there is a segment of the population in which country and roots music touches at a deep level.
It grabs us in our DNA, where there lies an engrained need to embrace the past, venerate it, and build on it for the future. Logan Bolling and John Allin (the duo known as The Quailhunters) are two of those souls pulling from the past while marching forward.
I sat down with the pair at an undisclosed location to discuss their music, the explosion in popularity of country music, and whether or not John will get to the Stetson Outlet before it closes.
The story of The Quailhunters begins like many others: two like-minded musicians drinking beer and a jam breaks out.
“This bar, FatBoys, that we all loved was closing, so they had a big party, a BYOB type thing,” Bolling said with a half smile. “There were lots of people there having a good time, drinking a bit too much, jamming. Pretty liquored up night. That’s when I wound up jamming with John.”
John Allin wound up to be a fellow Quailhunter multi-instrumentalist. While Bolling looks to outlaw country of the 1970s and the new school of country led by the likes of Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers and Billy Strings, Allin looks to the deeper past for enlightenment. He embraces the old songs, the old ways, becoming entangled in the roots of the music’s heartbeat.
A Civil War re-enactor in his off-time, Allin reaches back to the beginning of music in America; the rhythms, the melodies, the inherent sadness that comes with struggle, the instruments brought with immigrants and their stories. Poems that would become songs, songs that would be legacy. “I learned a lot of the old songs, ‘Camptown Races’ stuff like that,” Allin shared.
Allin and Bolling both draw inspiration from the past of country, with John culling from the deep past like The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, Bolling goes for the gritty 1960s and 70s with the likes of Waylon and Willie. “I love Townes Van Zant, Blaze Foley. I love Waylon (Jennings) for the vibe, his sound, his demeanor, the vibe he brought. Hell, he hung out with The Hells Angels.”
A long time solo performer, Bolling is now part of a unit. “Man, it is different. I’ve played with other guys before but playing in a band takes you out of your comfort zone,” he continued, “I think that’s what helped me grow as a musician, playing with other musicians. You get to know each other, learn each other’s cues. It just makes you a better musician.”
Leaning into the country side of the musical spectrum, The Quailhunters are part of a rising tide of interest in the genre and its many branches.
“Country seems to have maybe the most sub genres.” Allin says with a wry chuckle. “I think it all starts with the bluegrass craze when Mumford & Sons brought in the banjo. Now, there are is a lot of Grateful Dead influence with guys like Billy Strings, more jam band, blues influenced stuff.”
This writer may argue that the push toward a bluegrass resurgence began with the soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” but I digress.
Bolling added, “It’s weird because bluegrass is one of those genres that has had multiple revivals since it started. There was a big one in the 60s with bands like The Byrds and it continues now.”
We end with a thought.
What is the appeal of country? Why are so many answering its southern twang call home?
“Country is the realist music. It’s all out there. Three chords.” Allin said.
“Country music tells a story in a universal way,” Bolling said. “A way everyone can understand. You don’t have to be from the country for the music to hit home. It’s something on a very human level.”
I don’t think we can sum it up any better.
-Danny R. Phillips
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