Quits is a noise rock band from Denver, Colorado that got off the ground around 2016 when some veterans of other left field and weirdo punk bands finally got together to deliver splintered and thorny yet thoughtful music into the world once again. Guitarists/vocalists Luke Fairchild and Doug Mioducki had met each other in underground music circles in the mid-90s as members of the punk-adjacent Why Planes Go Down and also punk-inspired but indiepop Felt Pilotes respectively. The two would go on to form Sparkles later in the decade, an unhinged noise rock quartet that seemed as at home playing hardcore shows as well as what might be described as indie rock shows of that time. Over the next decade Fairchild took his gift for poetic manifestation of modern anxieties and feral vocals to various projects including the still oft-spoken-of sludge metal band Kingdom of Magic and the noisy post-hardcore band Git Some which is still a going concern and includes former members of Planes Mistaken For Stars. Mioducki performed in free jazz, anti-rock group Witch Doctor before taking a break from music and moving to Pittsburgh for a time.
While Mioducki was decamped to Pennsylvania, drummer Darren Kulback was becomig active in the DIY world of Denver was a member of Hot White, a group that seemed inspired by Japanese art punk, noise and 31G and Load Records bands. The classic lineup of that outfit was fronted by bassist Tiana Bernard and included guitarist Kevin Wesley and its thrilling and confrontational sound and performances made waves within the Denver underground scene and beyond before splitting in 2011. Bernard and Kulback would continue in various bands including CP-208 for a few years with Mioducki who had returned to Denver and looking to do something well outside of mainstream music. Tripp Nasty was the band’s vocalist and it made music that brought together elements of avant-garde jazz and noise rock. But Bernard, Mioducki and Kulback were wanting to do something a little different and Mioducki had been hanging out with Fairchild more frequently at the time and the foursome started writing the foundations of the new band eventually called Quits.
Quits released its self-titled debut album in 2017 having recorded with Bart McCrorey at The Crash Pad Studio but within about a year Bernard’s academic, professional and personal pursuits took her to Portland, Oregon and friend of the band Justin Ankenbauer stepped in on bass. Ankenbauer had moved to Denver from Cincinnati earlier in the decade having a background in visual art and that city’s noise scene and shortly into his first tenure with Quits he had to focus on his work for a time and the pandemic hit putting most bands on effective hiatus for over a year. But during that time Quits recruited Sweetness Itself songwriter and guitarist Cyrena Rosati on bass and it is Rosati who performed on the recordings for the new Quits album Feeling It, again recorded with McCrorey. Now the long awaited record out now through New York City label Sleeping Giant Glossolalia run by former Denver-ite Michael Reisinger is available on vinyl and digital. The band with its reconstituted lineup with Ankenbauer back I the folk now plans to take the music more widely outside of Denver in 2024.
Listen to our in-depth interview with Quits on Bandcamp and follow the band at the links below. Quits has an album release show on Sunday, October 8, 2023 at the Hi-Dive with Djunah and Almanac Man and future announced dates on October 13 at The Wolcott Galleria Theatre in Casper, WY and October 14 at Buckhorn Bar & Parlor in Laramie, WY.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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