2008 Woodie Awards
Jim Quinn is anything but "Blue"
Xavier Andrews
Issue date: 3/2/08 Section: Entertainment
Albert "Jim" Quinn was born and raised in Newport, Rhode Island and is proud to call the seaside city his home. The 1982 Salve Regina University graduate has been an officer for the Newport Police Department for 28 years. However, he is best known in the city because of the club and restaurant he runs, the Newport Blues Café.
Quinn and wife Catherine, hold the establishment very close to their hearts. Quinn says that music has always been his passion, but he put down the guitar when he got married and began to raise a family. Nevertheless, Quinn's passion eventually caught up with him and he opened the café 14 years ago.
The restaurant upstairs from the club has received a five-star rating and does exceptional business. Rhode Island Monthly named the café the top destination for live music in Newport County for the past three years. Newport Life magazine named the café the best venue for live entertainment so many times (12) that they retired the category.
Today Quinn works for the police department during the day and manages the café at night. The café is open weekend nights for shows. Starting Memorial Day weekend it will be open seven nights a week.
Q: Rachel Dratch, Jim Belushi and Steve Carell have all been to the Blues Café . Who else?
A: Dane Cook was here last summer. The whole improv cast of Saturday Night Live was here for the International Film Festival. Nick Nolte, and recently, we had Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers; he played drums one night with a band that was playing. Bill Parcells, former coach for the New England Patriots, has been in the club many, many times. Morgan Freeman and Matthew McConaughey.
Q: How do you choose who plays at the Café? Do people approach you or do you approach them?
A: I get approached by many, many, many people. There's a standard thing called a press kit when somebody wants to come in and play at the café. They have to provide a press kit, which consists of a biography of the band and a CD. Those things will be submitted to the café, along with locations and different venues that they've played. We'll research the band, and possibly go out and scout the band if it's a band we're interested in. We generally receive anywhere from 30 to 40 press kits a month.
Quinn and wife Catherine, hold the establishment very close to their hearts. Quinn says that music has always been his passion, but he put down the guitar when he got married and began to raise a family. Nevertheless, Quinn's passion eventually caught up with him and he opened the café 14 years ago.
The restaurant upstairs from the club has received a five-star rating and does exceptional business. Rhode Island Monthly named the café the top destination for live music in Newport County for the past three years. Newport Life magazine named the café the best venue for live entertainment so many times (12) that they retired the category.
Today Quinn works for the police department during the day and manages the café at night. The café is open weekend nights for shows. Starting Memorial Day weekend it will be open seven nights a week.
Q: Rachel Dratch, Jim Belushi and Steve Carell have all been to the Blues Café . Who else?
A: Dane Cook was here last summer. The whole improv cast of Saturday Night Live was here for the International Film Festival. Nick Nolte, and recently, we had Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers; he played drums one night with a band that was playing. Bill Parcells, former coach for the New England Patriots, has been in the club many, many times. Morgan Freeman and Matthew McConaughey.
Q: How do you choose who plays at the Café? Do people approach you or do you approach them?
A: I get approached by many, many, many people. There's a standard thing called a press kit when somebody wants to come in and play at the café. They have to provide a press kit, which consists of a biography of the band and a CD. Those things will be submitted to the café, along with locations and different venues that they've played. We'll research the band, and possibly go out and scout the band if it's a band we're interested in. We generally receive anywhere from 30 to 40 press kits a month.
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