Quarters!
Quarters! is a popular drinking game in which players take turns bouncing a quarter or similar-sized coin off a table in an attempt to land it in a cup or glass containing an alcoholic beverage, with successful shots typically requiring designated opponents to consume the drink.[1][2][3] Originating in the United States, the game gained widespread popularity among college students starting in the 1980s for its simplicity and social nature, though exact origins remain unclear; some trace its roots to ancient games like Kottabos.[4][1] By the 1980s, Quarters! had become a staple at university gatherings, prompting concerns over excessive alcohol consumption and leading to bans or restrictions at institutions like Stanford University.[4] The core rules involve players sitting around a table with a central cup or individual glasses; a successful bounce into the target results in the shooter choosing a player to drink, often the entire contents, while misses may incur penalties for the shooter, such as taking a sip themselves.[1][5] Additional house rules commonly prohibit pointing at the cup with a finger—instead requiring the elbow—under penalty of drinking, enhancing the game's competitive and humorous elements.[4] Variations include Speed Quarters, where players race to make multiple shots within a time limit, often aiming to finish a beer quickly,[6] and team-based formats that adapt the game for larger groups or different settings like tailgates. Despite its association with alcohol, modern adaptations sometimes use non-alcoholic drinks to promote safer play, reflecting evolving attitudes toward responsible socializing.[7]Background and production
Concept and development
The album Quarters! was conceived in 2014 during an extended stay in the United States, where the band began experimenting with extended improvisational forms while recording their previous release, I'm in Your Mind Fuzz. This period marked a shift toward longer, more unstructured compositions, driven by the group's interest in breaking free from conventional song lengths to delve deeper into psychedelic rock and jazz fusion elements. As primary songwriter Stu Mackenzie explained, the project originated from a desire to create "pretty" yet simple repetitive structures using looper pedals, allowing for expansive exploration without rigid time constraints.[8][9] Central to the album's development was the self-imposed rule that each track must run exactly 10 minutes and 10 seconds, designed to maximize the capacity of a single vinyl side while avoiding interruptions or grooves that could disrupt the flow. This constraint transformed the recording into an experiment in long-form songs, emphasizing endurance and evolution within limited parameters. Mackenzie presented basic riffs to the band during collaborative jamming sessions in Melbourne, instructing members to improvise freely around them, resulting in three days of rehearsal followed by a single day of tape-based capture to preserve the raw, organic feel. The approach highlighted the band's improvisational ethos, with Mackenzie noting the emphasis on "lots of improvisations, jams" to maintain interest over the extended runtime. Influences drew from progressive rock pioneers like Can, known for their hypnotic, loop-based jams, and jazz fusion innovators such as Miles Davis, whose modal explorations informed the album's fluid, rhythmic layering.[10][9][11][12] The decision to limit the album to just four tracks stemmed from this quartered framework, yielding a total runtime of 40:40 and underscoring the conceptual unity of the pieces as interconnected "quarters" of a larger whole. Titled Quarters! to evoke this structural division, the album represented a deliberate pivot toward thematic minimalism, where each song functioned as a self-contained yet looping entity, encouraging repeated listens as a seamless experience. This format not only challenged the band to sustain momentum but also reflected their broader ambition to redefine album conventions through experimental restraint.[13][9]Recording process
The recording of Quarters! took place over several months in 2014, primarily at Daptone Studios in New York, with additional sessions at a ski lodge on Hunter Mountain, New York, and an apartment in London.[14] The core tracks were captured during a focused one-day session at Daptone on November 3, 2014, following three days of rehearsal, while "Infinite Rise" was recorded earlier on May 29, 2014, at Hunter Mountain, and further overdubs occurred in London on December 2, 2014.[15] This distributed timeline allowed the band to refine ideas developed during tours, aligning with the album's conceptual rule of four tracks each exactly 10 minutes and 10 seconds long.[16] The album was produced primarily by Stu Mackenzie, who handled mixing alongside his engineering duties, with additional engineering by Wayne Gordon for the Daptone sessions.[16] Mastering was completed by Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering in Melbourne.[16] The process emphasized live band performances captured in single takes to preserve raw energy, with minimal overdubs limited mostly to vocals and select effects, reflecting the band's improvisational ethos.[15] Analog recording techniques were central, including direct-to-cassette and VHS tape captures, which introduced subtle glitches and warmth to the psychedelic sound without relying on digital processing or computers during tracking.[17] Close-miking and baffles were used to combat the studios' acoustic challenges, ensuring clarity in the dense, jam-based arrangements.[17] A key challenge was adhering to the precise 10:10 track lengths, achieved through controlled improvisation, multiple live attempts, and post-session editing via tape splicing and looping to stitch sections without losing momentum.[15] This constraint demanded discipline during rehearsals to build repetitive motifs that could sustain interest over extended durations, while avoiding overly complex structures that might exceed the time limit.[15] The quick pace—effectively four days total including prep—highlighted the band's efficiency, contrasting their more deliberate approaches on prior releases, and resulted in a cohesive yet spontaneous document of their live chemistry.[18]Personnel
The album Quarters! featured core band members from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, including Stu Mackenzie on vocals, guitars, bass, keys, percussion, saxophone, and production; Michael Cavanagh on drums and percussion; Cook Craig on guitars and vocals; Ambrose Kenny-Smith on vocals and multi-instruments (including harmonica and percussion); and Lucas Harwood on bass. Eric Moore contributed drums on select tracks. No additional contributors beyond the core band are credited for this album. All tracks were written by Stu Mackenzie. Production was handled by Stu Mackenzie, with engineering by Wayne Gordon and Stu Mackenzie, and mastering by Joe Carra.[16][19]Music and track listing
Musical style
Quarters! blends psychedelic rock with jazz fusion and progressive elements, featuring extended improvisational jams, complex time signatures such as the 5/4 in "The River," and repetitive motifs that build hypnotic intensity.[20][10][21] The album draws influences from modal jazz, fostering an immersive, trance-like atmosphere through fluid transitions and organic song development.[10] Band members' multi-instrumentalism shines through prominent harmonica lines, and layered guitar work, enhancing the psych-jazz fusion sound.[20] Comprising four side-long tracks, each precisely 10 minutes and 10 seconds, Quarters! prioritizes continuous flow and uninterrupted listening over traditional verse-chorus structures, evoking a sense of endless exploration.[10][20][22]Track listing
All songs on Quarters! were written by Stu Mackenzie.[16] The album consists of four tracks, each lasting exactly 10 minutes and 10 seconds, for a total runtime of 40:40.[23]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The River" | Stu Mackenzie | 10:10 |
| 2. | "Infinite Rise" | Stu Mackenzie | 10:10 |
| 3. | "God Is in the Rhythm" | Stu Mackenzie | 10:10 |
| 4. | "Lonely Steel Sheet Flyer" | Stu Mackenzie | 10:10 |