Indie musician Quincy LePalm thanks his mom

Kimberly Spice —

Indie-folk, singer and songwriter, Quincy LePalm has been writing his own music since the age of 14 after his single mother bought him his first guitar.

“She bought me my first guitar when I was age 12 for Christmas and I still have that guitar even though it’s falling apart,” LePalm told The Bulletin. “She gave me everything I needed when I was younger, from putting food on the table. She’s always been a catalyst and supported my music.”

The story continues from the printed edition:

The young LePalm, growing up in Tweed, Ontario, was very shy and introverted. Music provided the outlet he needed and his first song—“Out on the Street”—reflected the turmoil that he faced entering young adulthood.

“It let me be comfortable with my own thoughts and being able to express these ideas in my head that I couldn’t necessarily get out in the realm of conversation,” reflected the Downtown Yonge resident. “I didn’t feel pressured socially, I had time to sit down and meticulously work out these thoughts into a rhyme to get them out. It was cathartic and therapeutic at the same time.”

The self-taught guitarist and harmonica player found that music was the best way for him to express himself, giving him the internal confidence he lacked externally.

Now the 26-year-old has a mature more scrupulous understanding of writing music.

“At one time I thought you had to be in a state of solitude to write, some kind of state of suffering,” stated LePalm. “Since then I’ve grown into analyzing every little detail about life and to draw something from that and incorporate it into the music and the songs.”

Ask LePalm about the first song he wrote and he remembers it vividly but has no intentions of recording it, finding moving forward is more important than looking back.

“I don’t tend to go back to old stuff, to old material,” LePalm commented. “I feel that at different points in your life you are a different person and I don’t think that I could relate to that. I can reflect on the person I was like when I wrote the song but I don’t revisit old material. I always like to feel I’m going forward. Maybe if there is an old melody that I haven’t necessarily written lyrics to then maybe on the off chance I might rediscover it and write lyrics. But for the most part I leave the past in the past and focus on moving forward and becoming better as a song writer.”

LePalm is now focused on writing and performing, playing at venues across the city.

“I want to keep booking shows and to write, just to grab the world by the horns and take control,” stated LePalm. “I’m just very excited by the future. I look at life as an adventure. Some people like to get bogged down by stuff but I like to be optimistic when it comes to my life and my music.”

LePalm will be playing at the Linsmore Tavern, 1298 Danforth, Jan. 9, at 9 p.m.

His music can be found at https://soundcloud.com/quincy-lepalm and additional information about LePalm can be found on Twitter @QuincyLePalm and FaceBook.