T.Q.D. (The Quiet Dude) is like you. Sometimes he can be vocal about a lot of things, but on the surface he's just an average guy. You...
More...

T.Q.D. (The Quiet Dude) is like you. Sometimes he can be vocal about a lot of things, but on the surface he's just an average guy. You can liken him to the dude you knew in class who was always silent, doesn't immediately make an impact on you until like your third month of your second semester in college. Suddenly with one question, he makes the most valid and poignant argument that is so well articulated, you have no option but to simply agree.

The story of David Johnson takes place at Augsburg College . But in order to fully grasp T.Q.D., it's necessary to go further back then that. “I hail from Bloomington , Minnesota ,” he says. “I went to college in Cedar Rapids , Iowa for a couple years and moved back to Minneapolis , where I currently reside.” Now at 23 years of age, and certainly after shows you may have seen him at, he is ready to take the chance of the local music scene head on. How did he get stuck with a name T.Q.D. though? “ T.Q.D. is a name I gave to myself. Basically, I shifted from name to name (Silence and Reserved being the most notable). I noticed myself signing e-mails as the quiet dude instead of just saying David and when it came to decide on a name, (The Quiet Dude) popped in to my head. And I abbreviated it, because people always like to shorten whatever name you have, I figure I'd do the work for them.”

T.Q.D. has also been a long time music fan, who loves Public Enemy with a passion, and cites MF Grimm as another influence, as well as Fiona Apple. He points out that, “Chuck D turned me onto rapping. Public Enemy was the first music, period, that I enjoyed listening to. I've been in to them since back when I was too young to understand what he was being talk about and I still follow them. You can't hear the Chuck D influence in my style, but if anyone turned me on to the possibility of rapping, it would be him.” As far as MF Grimm goes, T.Q.D. mentions that “In terms of artists who directly influence my style, MF Grimm is probably my biggest. I also grab a lot of inspiration from Fiona Apple in terms of being able to convey a tone and songwriting. With the way both of them write, and their presentation, I can't help but feel what they both say.”