By Alisha Woolery
Enquirer Contributor
for Cincinnati.Com
The musicians in Jeff Goins' Hamilton basement are creating what they call acoustic progressive pop.
The sound is softly soothing, with layered instrumentation and storytelling lyrics. Using a variety of instruments, from an Irish bouzouki and 12-string guitar, to a viola, flute and tambourine, the five members of the group VDQ are making their own varied version of modern folk.
"We don't restrict ourselves to a single form because it's limiting," Goins explained. "We do so many different genres—we just write whatever comes to mind, play whatever our hearts tell us to play."
Goins, along with Jeff Bentle on guitar and Joyce Bentle on viola, are original members of the pop band Collins Gate. The three left the band in 1998 and struck out on their own as the Vic Daniels Quartet. There was never a fourth member in the band, despite its designation as a quartet. So when two new members joined the band in April, the band decided to switch to shorten the name to VDQ.
Percussionist Randy Williams and bass player Kyle Lipps have added a new element to the group, Bentle says.
"We were worried it would change our songs and how we played, and we didn't want that," he said. "But Randy was more concerned with fitting in and helping things to grow."
Challenging one another is an important part of VDQ. Everyone participates in songwriting, each creating music for his or her own instrument and adding it to the mix. They break rules, expanding the range of their instruments and their songs. Penny whistles, recorders, and all kinds of percussion instruments are included in their arsenal of sounds.
VDQ's CD "With the Crows," never officially released, is continually being reinvented. As the group obtains new instruments or better equipment, the songs are re-recorded in Goins' basement. With the addition of Williams and Lipps, Goins says the songs will be recreated with the new sounds.
Email this story to a friend
