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Just recently I had the pleasure of getting into a lively conversation with a very remarkable man. Being part of the music scene has made me a little jaded when it comes to talking to “rockers” who look “cool”, act “cool” and basically fill the conversation with a lot of crap.
Thank goodness it was the complete opposite with this guy.
When you first meet Ian Quirante (or IQ) for short, you’ll be taken aback by the total intensity of the complete package he is as a person. He is quite tall and intimidating with his wild hair and beard at first glance.
The first time I hung out with IQ was with Jean Paul Verona. Both guys are currently in Glaiza de Castro’s band. We didn’t talk much and preferred to let our guitars sing, reliving the grunge days. His mastery of the songs was astounding. In the end JP and I relented to let him play the guitar while we just played counter point or sang along.
The second time was over a couple cups of coffee in a local coffee shop near his home. Away from the noise of heavy music, I was finally able to get a little more information about who the man, IQ is.
First off, IQ is currently the one manning the keyboards/ synths in Glaiza’s band and he provides the aural ambiance that puts people in a trance during her gigs.
IQ is not only a musical genius, he is also a visual artist and his works have been featured here and abroad. He has mastery over different media from oils to acrylic to watercolours, mixed media and charcoal. He oftentimes brings his day job along with him, so if you don’t see him socializing with the crowd after a gig, try to look for well lit, out of the way corners and you’ll probably see him trying to finish up some commissioned work that he has a deadline with.
Always up for experimentation, IQ has done many unorthodox pieces of art showcasing his creativity as well as lack of fear when it comes to portraying his art. He claims he lost that fear when he just went ahead and drew, painted and covered every available space presented to him with his creations.
On the side, IQ has a band called Switch where he is the frontman and plays keyboards/synths as well. Their type of music is far removed from what you’d normally hear in a Glaiza gig offering another insight into the man called IQ.
There are many sides to Ian Quirante and it will take many more conversations to fully understand who he is, how he works and ultimately find out what drives him to such manic heights to be all over the place without missing a beat!
So the next time you see Ian Quirante, say “Hi IQ!” and you’ll get a smile back from this totally wonderful person. Who knows, he might invite you to jam with him for a few songs backstage!