"A Gentle Goading" by Paul Quillen

Paul Quillen hails from the Sierra Nevada Mountains of central California. He moved to Eugene in 2004 to attend the University of Oregon to study History and Scandinavian Studies. Since graduating has striven to become an active member of Eugene’s music scene.

He started off playing punk and rock music in grade school, but began to write down-tempo acoustic guitar songs as well, which ended up his greater stylistic focus. Following a religious spell of listening to the likes of Leonard Cohen and Swedish Falk great, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Paul took classical guitar lessons and transitioned to playing a nylon string guitar, which remains his sole instrument.

Lyrically he has shifted from personal love songs and vague poetics to more socially conscious and occasionally, humorous content. Stylistically he ranges from introspective and romantic ballads to hoppy, word-heavy rants, while more recently writing some faux-Bossa Nova. A long-time, avid music lover, there are influences from many directions that make fleeting appearances in his oeuvre.