When looking back on the career of Quasi, it's striking to see that the group's been in existence for a full 30 years with Janet Weiss and Sam Coomes as the group has two constants. Though marking three decades as a band is impressive, moreso is the fact that the group has been able to weather pauses in activity, with Weiss, in particular, taking time out for high-profile recording and touring gigs in acts such as Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and Bright Eyes.
The group's most recent reconfiguration came about in an unusual fashion, as Weiss was severely injured in a traffic accident when her car was struck by another. The prospects for her full recovery were in enough doubt that Weiss considered the possibility of a life without drumming.
Instead of giving into that possibility, she leaned hard in the other direction. She was determined to regain her chops while her longtime bandmate Coomes provided a key role in the comeback from injury.
Thinking back to the fall of 2019, Weiss, in a recent interview, said, "I broke both of my legs and my collarbone, and I realized that the best way to recover, the best therapy, would be to play the drums as much as possible. Sam and I started practicing every day. And he started bringing all of these amazing songs to practice. Very quickly, we amassed this new body of work that seemed really vital and exciting.
"We decided to keep it really simple and leave it at keyboards and drums," she added. "We came at it from more of a live approach, where we capture the energy that we can muster live."
What occurred along the way was the formation of an unlikely album, "Breaking the Balls of History," the pair's first in a decade. It wasn't so much a plan as a happy series of rehearsals in their compact practice space, with songs taking shape and then a well-regarded label, Sub-Pop, showing interest.
"The toughest part of the process was the uncertainty, not knowing if I'd be able to play properly, if my kick drum leg would work." -Janet Weiss
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"The album started taking shape, and as I got better, we got more songs completed and then the pandemic happened," Weiss recalled. "We kept practicing, and it was important for me to play a lot, and I'm really appreciative that Sam had the time to spend with me and my recovery."
Weiss said the duo went into the studio still masked and Covid-aware and emerged from the creative process into a new world, with open, non-vax-card touring the norm. The Portland-based duo toured the United States and Europe throughout 2023 and is back this summer for another run of dates, including a date Sun., July 14 at Volcanic Theatre Pub in Bend.
"Our hope is to really connect with people who've come to the show," Weiss said. "We love playing live, the old songs as well. We really just want to have a special, unique experience with the people. We want to empower people, for them to like this music, to make them happy, to make things better somehow. And we can't do it without people coming and participating with us. I see some kids in the audience, some young people, and the crusty old folks who've stuck with us all of these years. Hopefully, we can pick up some new people being on Sub Pop, which'll help get the music out there. We're a legacy band, as it's called at this point, and we're still happy to keep doing it."
Best for them, they feel that the new music they've created is on par with the band's prior albums.
"In the process of rebuilding, the new songs were written quickly and were really good songs," Weiss said. "This is our 10th record together, and we've tried a lot of different things. That's the fun of being in a band. You get to try things and experiment. Sam's a guitar player first, and an excellent guitar player, but we always felt that the keyboard/drums duo was more easily accomplished, and he can play bass with his left hand. It's stripped down now, and direct. That's the vibe we were really going for: confident, direct, raw, potent. It's not sprawling like other records, it doesn't meander. It's direct."
Reflecting on the album's unorthodox start, Weiss couldn't be happier with the results: The songs that came from the experience; the renewed kinship with Coomes, with whom she's always shared a close friendship, even during Quasi's lulls; and the touring that is happening this summer.
Essential to all of this is the strength and fitness that she's regained throughout the process, putting her back on path to her previous, acclaimed skills on the kit.
"I feel really good," she said. "The toughest part of the process was the uncertainty, not knowing if I'd be able to play properly, if my kick drum leg would work. The not knowing was really, really, really hard. But working at it and rehabbing to see if I could play the drums to the level I wanted to play was a huge, huge, huge relief. I was very determined to get there. I feel strong and in shape, and though I won't say I'm 100% perfect, I'm good enough."
