Key to the Highway – The Quebe Sisters
Americana Highways’ Key to the Highway series
Fans always clamor to learn more about their favorite, most beloved musicians and those who travel with them. There’s such an allure to the road, with its serendipity, inevitable surprises, and sometimes unexpected discomforts. This interview series is a set of questions we are asking some of our favorite roots rock Americana artists to get to know more about them and what they’ve learned and experienced on the road for music. We are sure they have key insights to share and stories to tell. Here’s one from The Quebe Sisters.
Americana Highways: How do you like your coffee or other morning wake-up beverage?
Sophia Quebe: Black, strong, and hot! Bad coffee is an atrocity against mankind! So, we carry our own coffee and brewing set up on the road for both cold brew and hot coffee. Sometimes I make “bulletproof” coffee with butter etc. but when I want to splurge… then it’s espresso! Sweetener is not my bag, but some cream or foamed milk is my favorite.
AH: What’s the most interesting or strangest motel/hotel or place you have stayed (while on the road for music?)
Hulda Quebe: We have stayed at world class hotels and resorts, but the sketch places make for the best stories. A motel in rural Kansas comes to mind. The door wouldn’t lock so we moved all the furniture in front of the door. The pictures were screwed to the wall up next to the ceiling and the microwave was placed on top of the toilet. Another unique experience was our first night in France. We stayed at a hotel where the check in was digital and there was no attendant present. Due to the late hour, somehow there was only one room left, with one bed. We called the number for the attendant and a Frenchman loudly exclaimed “I cannot help you; I am in Paris!” So, we slept sideways, like three sardines.
AH: If one CD is stuck in the player in the van for the entire tour, what do you hope it is? And why?
Hulda: Easy! It would be Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. This is the album that really made me fall in love with music and it’s one of the first albums that we heard as children. I truly have never gotten tired of it.”
AH: What’s one personal item you must have with you on your road trip?
Grace Quebe: Staying hydrated while traveling can be a chore at times, so we always hit the road with our Grayl water press. It’s nice to have clean, consistently good tasting water wherever we go.
AH: What is your relationship with food? How do you handle this on the road, and what’s your favorite dish on the road, (or restaurant, and what do you order there)?
Grace: We’re mostly looking for something healthy and quick, so we often frequent chains with a salad or two on the menu or taco trucks. We all enjoy breakfast, so diners are a common stop for us as well.
AH: If you could pause your life for a few weeks and spend some time living in a place you only have passed through, which would you choose, and why?
Grace: There are so many beautiful places! Once we visited Lake Tahoe, and it would be nice to spend more time there and explore.”
AH: What quote or piece of advice have you gotten from someone on the road that has really stuck with you?
Sophia: Years ago, we were opening for Ray Price, and although it’s a little embarrassing to me now, I approached him before the show to ask if I could get a picture. He politely told me he’d be happy to do it after the show but not before. I learned in that moment what it looked like for a seasoned performer to save their energy and focus before a show in order to give their best to the audience.”
Find more information and tour dates for the Quebe Sisters here: https://quebesisters.com/
See other Key to the Highway interviews here: https://americanahighways.org/category/interviews/key-to-the-highway-series/ (click here for: Vince Herman Jimmy Smith Ben Nichols Bruce Cockburn Charlie Musselwhite Nicki Bluhm Jim White Danny Barnes Patterson Hood Jerry Joseph BJ Barham Rodney Crowell Todd Snider Elizabeth Cook Tommy Womack Eric Ambel, Dan Baird, Robbie Fulks, Malcolm Holcombe Jon Langford Steve Poltz, Lilly Hiatt Sarah Shook & the Disarmers Sadler Vaden )
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