That's because producers Brad Siefert and Will McNair, known as the Quest, didn't produce a top-40 song…they put their funky twist on the Police's "Roxanne" to make the DJ's theme song.
Roxanne is one of a growing number of Chicago personalities to grab a hold of the Quest and send them up the ladder of success. When Roxanne heard the band's demo, she handed it off to Don Brasco, head of Brasco Records. Brasco passed the band off to Maurice Joshua, Grammy winning Chicago producer.
"We just clicked with Mo," McNair says, "he was feeling our vibe, and really enjoyed our music, and liked our style and so we started working together."
"He really has been like a big brother and a mentor, and taught us a lot about music," McNair added. "And, so, he's got a Grammy, so we just shut up and listen."
Working with Joshua and hanging in Chicago studios have quickly led to many more collaborations for the Quest. They've jammed with Max-A-Million, remixed Mary Mary's "Heaven" from the Gospel group's forthcoming album, and are currently working with Chicago rapper White Boy on his sophomore album.
While these big names have been in hip-hop longer than Siefert, 23, and McNair, 21, the Quest gets plenty of respect. They can write, produce, and can play their own instruments. Siefert on guitar and bass; McNair on drums and keyboard.
"We get the spectrum of a lot of respect, because we're very different, and we do things that people can't do," Siefert says. "But they also treat us like kids', like we're somebody's younger brother."
But the Quest has been playing and writing much longer than you'd think. Since their mid-teens, they played together at Calvary Assembly of God in Crystal Lake, Ill., where they learned their chops playing all different styles of music, from '90s punk like MXPX and Ghoti Hook to Gospel, hymns to top-40 covers. Through all these influences, the Quest's sound formed; a hip-hop groove surrounded by melody that sticks with listeners.
"Hip-hop a lot of times has strong beats, but a lot of times a track might lack melody," McNair says. "And I think part of our style is we try to always hone down a melody, make sure that's hot in the track first, because that's what people are going to remember and that's what they're going to be humming."
That spin on hip-hop is without question what makes the Quest's opportunities mount quickly, and why their young ages are an advantage instead of a roadblock.
Along with earning their album credits with major label acts, the Quest is working on getting their own deal.
"I'm going to be honest," McNair says, "we definitely want to be working for a label, looking definitely to sign a production deal, and to work with artists, and develop our own artists, too."
The Quest loves the creative input, and loves writing the grooves and meshing with their accompanying rapper, vocalist, or remix voice. Integrating artists' vision with theirs is the ultimate.
"Learning more production and the ideas that come out, that's just the best feeling," Siefert says. "I could do that forever, that's just the greatest thing. To make new songs, write new licks, and 'this is hot' and the creativity, that's the best part of it for us, because we work so well together. It's just not as much fun to do it alone."
Photos by Megan Sullivan
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