Bravery takes many forms. We see it all around us. First responders running toward danger while the rest of the world runs away; closeted people coming out into a world that may not accept them; people staying in terrible relationships to give their children some sense of normalcy, and young men and women rushing onto battlefields to fight for their country. It is the latter scenario that finds its way into Juan O’Quinn’s debut single, “The Regiment.”
It is a place that O’Quinn is familiar with, having actually been in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in various capacities throughout his life. Writing from a place of experience is the agreed upon best practice, and O’Quinn (a native Newfoundlander turned BC litigator), has plenty of it; he’s been writing songs as an escape from the day-to-day since he was twelve years old and appreciates the contrast from his professional life. Courtroom drama may make excellent fodder for a songwriter, but O’Quinn does his best to keep the two separate. “I haven’t let my professional life inform my songs,” O’Quinn says, “That’s my time”. By all accounts, it has been time well spent.
The track itself is a guitar-driven excursion back through the pages of Canadian history. Recorded and produced by Gene Phillips, it lands us in the early days of the Battle of the Somme, where, in 1916 almost the entirety of the Newfoundland Regiment was wiped out on the first day of fighting. For a small island, these events were absolutely devastating, and virtually no family was left untouched. To this day Newfoundlanders, a proud and resilient people, celebrate July 1st as a time of reflection and memorial not only to the birth of a nation but to the events of this day that helped shape them and instill such a sense of pride.
Such events were heavy on the heart and mind of O’Quinn when he penned “The Regiment.”
“I want the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to hear and share this song so that they never forget the sacrifice they made to the Canadian war effort,” says O’Quinn, who is obviously as proud a Newfoundlander as you’ll ever find. You hear it in his voice, feel it in his words, and see it in this particular offering, which is as much a history lesson as it is a toe-tapping tribute to his people.
Songwriting itself requires a stiff measure of bravery. Putting words on paper, setting them to music, and sharing them with the world is no small feat. The ones who do it well can take us to places and times we wouldn’t have otherwise been privy to.
This is precisely the gift that O’Quinn bestows upon his listeners here. Close your eyes, and clear your thoughts. Now let the image of young Tommy Beckett, a seventeen-year-old from St. Brides, occupy that space. He’s an eager, wide-eyed young man who, like many others, has jumped at the chance to enlist and serve king and country. His mother taught him that some things were worth fighting for, but, beyond that, young Mr. Beckett has no real concept of what his time will look like under the command of the regiment’s Colonel Hadow.
That’s real bravery-fighting for what you believe in regardless of the dangers. I mean, let’s be honest, if we knew then what we know now would any of us have signed up? A million souls were lost in that battle alone. A million Tommy Becketts who knew nothing of the cost of war. Up until then Tommy, and most of his people were sealers. The only measure of success for them was a bloody ship deck which meant they had had a good day on the water.
Even now when a glass is raised by members of the Royal Regiment, “Bloody decks” is the accompanying toast. Pride, reverence, and tradition. These are all evident in O’Quinn’s words. He felt it was important to keep this legacy alive through song. He felt the weight of it himself; the pull to write about it. He’s passionate about songwriting, and about his people, and he has married the two exceptionally well in this effort, which is the precursor to an album he plans to release this coming fall. Far From Home is the anticipated and highly appropriate title of the album, which sees this transplanted Newfoundland troubadour tackle issues of legacy, love and loss alike.
O’Quinn says that he feels blessed to be able to work like this; offsetting the stresses of the courtroom with the tranquility of his guitar and a pen. He acknowledges that he has come a long way from those early days on ‘the Rock.’
Nowadays, he has the freedom and the means to write and record his material, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t cast a fond eye back to his homeland; a place where he met and rubbed shoulders with folks like acclaimed songwriter Ron Hynes, and the fellas from Great Big Sea. His influences shine through on this recording just like the excitement in his voice when he describes his hope of this song enduring as an educational opportunity for today’s youth. He wants them to know about these events, and he’s given them a rocking opportunity to do so. It’s ambitious in its scope. It’s as authentic as it gets, and it is indeed brave.