Kevin Devine Band • Page 11

also w o w at him saying they were going for a Built To Spill show kind of feel for their live shows circa Brother's Blood that must've been a thing to see sounds cool

 

Yeah, I saw him open for Manchester Orchestra around that time, and he and the band were mindblowingly good. It's what got me into him in the first place.

 

Just snagged Split the Country, Split the Streets vinyl brand new and sealed for $10 + $4 shipping.

 

When's this new song supposed to drop? Its lunchtime and I'm hungry.

 

How? Where? I want this

 

Don't they always drop everything at 2PM EST

 

Someone just put it up for that price on Discogs, there was only one though. I got really lucky basically.

 

Kevin Devine starts something special on new single “Instigator” — listen

 

Song is alright.

 

Feeling like a follow up to Bulldozer

 

it def sounds like that at times

 

You mean bubblegum?

 

Both

 

I personally don't hear bulldozer on this at all except maybe the title track which I always felt like kind of belonged on bubblegum anyway in fact they even played it on the bubblegum tour

 

Love Instigator, can't wait for the whole album.

 

Might go to the in store in fords nj only an hour away

 

He's doing a Reddit AMA on Wednesday, 2pm Eastern –

 

No history might be my favorite song he's ever written

 

So I'll likely be chatting with Kevin sometime this week, and I was wondering what kind of questions y'all have about the new album and his career?

 

I'd like to know if his progression on his guitar playing and singing was conscious. He came from a punk/hardcore kind of upbringing, even if he didn't really play that type of music, but even at his rawest his voice and playing were more melodic than that type of upbringing would suggest. Was that a choice, working within his range or maybe just letting his influences shine through more than upbringing? Or just what he felt he was capable of and so that's what stuck?

After nine albums, is writing songs a process he's got down pat? Is it the same process every time? Does he match the vibe of a piece of music he's written with lyrics on purpose? Does he start from lyrics? Do vocal melodies just come from his head or does he write them on guitar? Does he focus on writing good songs within the confines of what he knows or does he ever try to write innovative songs and "reinvent the wheel," in a way? When is a song complete to his satisfaction, and does being complete mean he thinks it's good? Does he have a ton of b sides that have never seen the light of day?

When writing lyrics, does he ever think there's a point that he's revealing too much, and maybe scales it back accordingly?

He sometimes employs some guitar parts (chords specifically) and arrangements that are pretty complex without being, like, showy, which you can see often. Did he discover these things through experience / trial and error, or was it like a conscious learning of theory that goes into these decisions?

Is there a subject matter you wouldn't broach in a song, whether because you think you couldn't do so in a satisfying way or because you think the subject matter might be trite or something?

You've often referred to some of your older protest/political songs as "clumsy." What makes a protest/political song clumsy to you, and what makes a song like 'No Time Flat' fall into that category but maybe not songs like 'Private First Class,' 'Nobel Prize,' 'Freddie Gray Blues' or even 'No History?'

sorry if these questions are generic, I just genuinely wanna know the answers haha

 

I will definitely have some questions for you later, ha

 

Interview might be tomorrow so definitely PM me!!

 

Please post it when your done. I always love hearing how Kevin speaks about music and life.

Along with the other questions I mentioned earlier, I'd always be curious to find out if he'd do a cover album or ep. He's done a nice variety of stuff covering Nirvana and Elliot Smith to name two.

 

Have you ever heard his complete album of nirvanas Nevermind?