Alumni Profile: David "DQ" Quinones '02

When you first meet David “DQ” Quiñones, you’ll immediately notice his high energy level and positive personality. Since earning his MP&E degree from Berklee in 2002, applying all of his skills and personal attributes has enabled Quiñones to become a fast-rising top-liner (melody and lyric writer) and vocal producer in Los Angeles. Additionally, Quiñones contributed to songs recorded by Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, the Pussycat Dolls, Jason Derülo, Jesse McCartney, and many others. Also, Quiñones, Evan “Kidd” Bogart, and Erika Nuri are the nucleus of the successful Writing Camp, a songwriting collective formed in 2007. Since then, the members of the Writing Camp have gotten a number of songs cut and expanded to offer publishing services as well as music supervision for TV and movies.

While growing up in Sterling, VA, Quiñones discovered his singing voice and enrolled at Shenandoah Conservatory to study opera and music education after high school. He soon found himself gravitating toward the school’s commercial music program. During a conversation with a friend about his interest in recording, Quiñones learned about Berklee’s MP&E program. “So I went to Berklee’s Five-Week Summer [Performance] Program and loved it,” he says. He decided not to return to Shenandoah. “I transferred to Berklee for the fall semester.”

When he arrived at Berklee, Quiñones wanted to become a performing artist, but then felt drawn to the behind-the-scenes work. “I majored in MP&E, and learning about producing bands and engineering opened my eyes up to a world I didn’t know about,” he says. “I let the idea of being an artist go. Now, producing vocals gives me a bit of the artist experience. I can sing, but I don’t have to be the singer.”

After graduating in 2002, Quiñones returned home to Virginia, and removed the bed from his room to install studio gear. “I wanted a studio more than a bed,” he recalls, “so I replaced the bed with a couch and slept on the couch for the next couple of years.” Working on a demo with a friend prompted him to dive into songwriting. “I’d only written one song before that, and we needed songs, so I just started writing.” He was paying his bills working full-time as a manager for Target and then Banana Republic as he honed his writing and producing chops and pondered whether to move to New York or Los Angeles.

After he paid a visit to friends working in the music industry in California, Quiñones decided to make the move. He started working at a Banana Republic store in Los Angeles to support himself while looking for a break. “I saved up enough money to quit my day job and began taking jobs as an engineer demoing songs and tuning vocals.”

 

Setting Up Camp

Soon, as Quiñones explored various career options, doors opened. Sky Luan, a music editor for the TV shows CSI Miami and Entourage, called on him to help him with season three of Entourage. “I was floating around doing a little bit of everything,” he says. He hustled, doing three writing sessions daily collaborating with various people. He got a call to do some engineering for producer Greg Ogan ’03. From there his path led to producer J.R. Rotem ’96, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, and Evan Bogart. Quiñones and Bogart began writing together and formed the Writing Camp with established and up-and-coming writers.

Quiñones and Bogart, Erika Nuri, along with Jerkins and Victoria Horn, penned “Right Here (Departed)” for Brandy. That release was followed by “Hello” for Beyoncé. “She cut the song, but it took a whole year for her album I Am . . . Sasha Fierce to come out,” Quiñones says. “Luckily our song lasted through all the changes made to the album during that year. Having our songs cut by Brandy and Beyoncé and then come out within months of each other was a nice way to start.”

The Writing Camp became busy enough that it established a publishing partnership with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. The camp has since notched a number of cuts with top artists and signed writers Greg Ogan, Shari Short, and Eric Bellinger to its publishing company. Quiñones and the camp have also made forays into television. Quiñones served as executive producer for music competition shows such as the Bravo series Platinum Hit and Majors & Minors on the Hub Network.

Recently Quiñones has also done vocal production for Jennifer Lopez on the song “Goin’ In” from the movie Step-Up Revolution. He’s been in the studio producing vocals for Kevin McHale of Glee and Nicki Minaj and David Guetta for the song “Turn Me On.”

While business is booming on several fronts for Quiñones, he never loses sight of what matters most. For instance, the Writing Camp’s members abide by the motto “Hits before splits.” Their practice is to divide the writing credits evenly among a song’s collaborators. This egalitarian approach keeps the focus on creating a good song during a session. It avoids distractions of participants trying to keep track of which portion they contributed or lobbying for their idea for a chorus or lyric even when someone else’s may be better for the song.

For Quiñones, maintaining integrity in his work and a fair-handed approach with collaborators is paramount. “It’s best to surround yourself with people who are successful overall in life—not just in music,” he says. “Music is such an emotional thing. I can listen to a song and know whether or not the people had fun at the session. You can’t hide those energies.”