Joey Quiñones

The voice of Joey Quiñones shouldn’t exist in our time. When the East L.A. native voice hits certain notes, it tends to occupy a space somewhere between an artful croon and what could be described as a soft-sounding howl with the opening notes of What’s His Name. It is the type of music that conjures up feelings of a warm, tender embrace coupled with the ability to transport you to another time and place entirely. As the leader of the modern Chicano soul outfit, Thee Sinseers, and releasing a string of singles as a solo artist, Quiñones and his crew have recently been ushering in a new era of modern soul. It is the type of music that shares a genesis with the birth from the soul, and R&B sounds emitted from the classic lowrider cruising down Whittier Boulevard to the sunshine-y vibes of traditional ska and dancehall reggae. The term Chicano Soul is a term that Quiñones and his peers are still getting used to. The term Chicano these days encompasses various feelings as the extension of the Mexican American identity but at times can feel antiquated given the current cultural climate. When asked about it, Quiñones feels hesitant to be pinned as the poster child of the genre however still feels a deep-rooted connection to the music that birthed the term. It is that sense of pride and respect that comes with playing this type of music and representing the history and culture of East L.A. “It’s about the history that we care most about.”