Interview: Hulda Quebe (The Quebe Sisters)

For nearly 20 years, Dallas-based Grace, Sophia, and Hulda Quebe have blended a trio of fiddles and three-part harmony as The Quebe Sisters, bringing a fresh take on old-time country and western swing music to audiences around the world.

Getting a rare break before returning to the road, including a Saturday, May 21, headlining stop at Isis Music Hall, Hulda Quebe (pronounced “kway-bee”) spoke with Asheville Stages about bringing innovation to an old style, the benefits of taking a sabbatical, and deep dives into songwriters’ discographies — and the MCU.

Edwin Arnaudin: Your self-titled album came out about half a year before the pandemic, and that got me curious about what plans the band had for 2020 and beyond and how the pandemic impacted them.

Hulda Quebe: Well, it stopped them all. [laughs] The pandemic was bad from a sense that we’re not working, we’re at home, we can’t go anywhere — just like everyone else — but it gave us time to practice. I didn’t feel like I was out of a job, per se, because we all live near each other, so we decided to kind of quarantine together. Other than our houses, we really just went to the grocery store, especially during the really dark times.

But it really did give us the opportunity to work on different skills and learn a lot of different things. Sometimes when you’re on tour, you don’t have much time to dig into an idea because you don’t have as much consistency. So, during the pandemic, it was like, “Well, OK — what are we going to do? Let’s practice.” I bought an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar and taught myself how to play. And we worked a lot on songwriting and our sound and overall feel. It gave us a lot of time to break down goals we had for our band, so it did kind of jump-start things for us in that way.

EA: Restrictions were pretty tight in North Carolina, especially that first year. There were some outdoor concerts, but not many. Were you still able to perform a good amount in Texas?

HQ: Not really. During 2020, we didn’t perform at all. Then we played one or two shows in the beginning of 2021 — like late spring, that were socially distanced and I think both outdoors. But then we were one of the first bands to get back out there. We started touring in July 2021 and were many venues’ first or second show, and many venues’ first touring band.

There was risk involved in that, and we knew that. Talk about taking every supplement you can possibly take! [laughs] Of course the vaccine, but then every kind of herbal remedy. But we followed all the rules and had great success with it. Some were socially distanced shows and others weren’t — it just depended on what the community wanted to do, so we rolled with the punches.

I remember those first shows back, it was just like, “Woo! Woohoo!” [laughs] And that sentiment has carried on this year. People are so excited, and that’s made it extra special. Our job has always been one that we know is very unique, and the pandemic really taught me that music in times of down times is so necessary. I remember reading an article in Time that Jimmie Rodgers, during the Great Depression, sold over a million records!

EA: Wow!

HQ: Can you believe that? It’s because people want music. That’s what we go to when we need something to keep us going.

EA: For sure. And it sounds like y’all used your time well.

HQ: We definitely did a lot of skill learning during that time. Like I said, I learned guitar and my siblings learned other instruments. We’re in the process of learning those and putting them into our show now. There were a lot of different things that we didn’t have time to work on — like, yes, I need to work on my bow arm, but there was no time to deconstruct it. All of a sudden, I had all the time to deconstruct it. [laughs]

So, more nuts and bolts stuff. And, of course, songwriting, arranging — it’s been really fun. Being a western swing band, it’s our goal to be one that really swings, so we worked on that a lot. It’s a style that’s a bit “dead,” in that there aren’t a lot of masters that have done it who are still alive. We got to study with the great Duffy Jackson, an incredible swing drummer who played with Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Count Basie, and the pandemic gave us time to dig in to the wealth of information he bestowed upon us.

EA: Y’all have spoken about western swing being rooted in innovation. In what ways have you seen innovation manifest in your creations since the self-titled album?

HQ: Well, I listen to a lot of different things. The western swing guys are always listening to all the genres around them, and I would probably say the genre we’ve delved into the most is jazz. We’ve listened to so much jazz — of course, just the jazz of Django Reinhardt, and we’ve also studied the greats. That’s basically what western swing is. And we’ve also studied a lot of songwriting, too. We’ve delved into people’s catalogs, like Willie Nelson, and dove in head first. It takes forever to listen to all of Willie Nelson’s catalog. For-ever — and I’ve done it! [laughs] That’s a fun exercise if you’ve never done it.

EA: I don’t know his work that well. Sometimes I get tempted by becoming a Bob Dylan completist, but that would take forever.

HQ: Oh my gosh! Yes.

EA: And then there’s all the Bootleg releases where you can hear the, like, 7th take of “Like a Rolling Stone” or something if you really want to.

HQ: Yes! I forgot I did that with Bob Dylan, too. There are so many artists where it’s like, “Let’s get into this person!” Or Randy Newman? Gosh, I got on such a Randy Newman kick. Love him!

EA: Same.

HQ: I like songwriters that just have so much meat in their songs. So you’re just like, “Oh!”

EA: It sounds like you followed a few fun detours over the past few years! Any other skills you’ve developed or big projects you embarked upon during the pandemic that may not have arisen in “normal” times?

HQ: Oh yeah. I actually did take a sabbatical early on in the pandemic. We were child performers and, me being the youngest, I started playing gigs when I was 10 years old.  And I was competing in contests when I was 8, so I’ve always had that intensity to stay focused. And I took my very first sabbatical ever, and didn’t touch my instrument and focused very heavily on writing — and not just songwriting, but writing in general.

It’s always been a goal of mine to just be a better writer. It was great! I worked at community garden and did a lot of writing and I got really into fitness. I was really fit there for a while. Now I’m like, “Dang, I need to get back to that.” And I watched all the Marvel movies from start to finish.

EA: Yep, we did a lot of that, too.

HQ: And I’d never seen any of the superhero movies, but I was like, “If we’re going to make it all the way to [Avengers:] Endgame, you’ve got to start at the very beginning. And it’s a lot of movies! But we did it — and it was fun. Now I’m a fan. [laughs]

I had kind of destroyed my brain by watching Breaking Bad. It was so good, but it was the end of 2019 and I had watched the whole thing and was like, “I cannot watch any TV or movies for a minute.” It was too intense. I love that show — it’s probably the best I’ve ever seen, but I had to take a break.

EA: And lastly, Merlefest just happened last weekend. And I was thinking your sound would be a great fit there, so I did a little searching and was glad to see that you have indeed played there. Are there other big festivals like that that are kind of bucket list places for the band?

HQ: Oh yes — i have my list. I have many lists… [laughs] We’ve gotten to play a lot of cool festivals, and this year we’re actually playing a lot of festivals we’ve never played before. That’s always a lot of fun.

I really enjoy festivals just because you get to see your friends. Musicians, we know each other and we talk online and text each other, but we really never see each other. I’ve been trying to hang out with Katie Shore, who plays fiddle for Asleep at the Wheel. We keep talking about how we need to hang out, and every time we text her, she’s like, “Well, I’m leaving on tour,” and I’m like, “Well, I’m leaving on tour.” And it’s like, “Dang it!” And we literally only live two-and-a-half, three hours away from each other — but we’re never home! [laughs] So when we actually play shows together, we’re like, “Oh my gosh! This is so fun!” So, yeah, that’s what’s makes festivals the best.

IF YOU GO

Who: The Quebe Sisters
When: Saturday, May 21, 8:30 p.m.
Where: Isis Music Hall, 743 Haywood Road, isisasheville.com
Tickets: $22 advance/$25 day of show

(Photos by Katherine Chiu & Bill Stipp)