Debra DEVI Interview

Debra from the New York City rock group DEVI hit the road from Wisconsin to work on a degree in journalism. While living in the East Village she joined a punk band and hit the concert tour in both the U.S. and Europe.

What set Debra apart from many of her female counterparts was her passion for the guitar – lead guitar.  In time she would form DEVI, a group that steers toward rock storytelling that can be hauntingly melodic rock.

The group’s debut album, Get Free, was released on the bands label,  True Nature Records, which is digitally distributed by Redeye USA.  For the past month, Guitar International has featured a track off of Get Free, a cover of Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done,” that’s as much a ballad as a bit of a scorching rocker with Debra on guitar cranking out the riffs.

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Rick Landers: Growing up in New York in and of itself has got to be a pretty vibrant experience, but finding your way into the NYC music scene must have offered up a lot of unique experiences and opportunities. Tell us about it.

Debra: I love New York City. I didn’t spend my childhood there, but I do feel like it’s where I grew up. Or at least had a prolonged delayed adolescence! Living in the East Village and being part of the punk scene felt like home to me.

I met some of my heroes, like Joey Ramone and Allen Ginsberg, and I discovered new ones, like avant-garde guitarist Elliott Sharp. I’ve played in his Syndakit ensemble a few times now. To me that’s what NYC is all about—raising your game until your heroes notice you and go “hey, I like what you’re doing there!”

I could barely play guitar when I moved to NYC so to keep up with the first band I joined I would go to the rehearsal space four hours early and practice until everyone else arrived. I was challenged to grow really fast as a player and be as original as possible. That was a lucky break.

Rick: We’re you a typical teen growing up or were you one of those “different” kind of artsy kids?

Debra: I was a closeted artsy kid! An A-student cheerleader trying to please my folks. I felt passionately about music but didn’t know what to do about it. When I listened to the radio I sang the guitar solos instead of the lyrics.

When I was 15 and finally got up my nerve to ask my mom if I could get one, she was somewhat horrified. “That would be unladylike!” she said. She didn’t feel it was appropriate for girls, you know? My parents got me a lovely acoustic guitar but playing it kind of depressed me. Something was missing.

Rick: This may sound a bit sexist, but in my experience, most women end up on the folk scene strumming chords and not delving into the world of lead guitar. What influenced you to focus on six-string riffs?

Debra: I just had this mad passion for lead guitar! I finally got my hands on an electric guitar and to me it was the coolest thing ever. I bought a Fender Mustang for $100 and my best friend’s boyfriend spent hours teaching me the pentatonic and some basic licks, like the double stop bends in Honky Tonk Woman. He was a very patient dude. That’s how I learn; I ask guitarists I meet to show me stuff.

I started going to this raucous local jam session where the only rule was “No Rush.” They mostly played the Clash, Chuck Berry and the Stones. “Fade Away” was the first song I got down. Victor DeLorenzo from the Violent Femmes used to stop in to play drums sometimes and one day he took me aside and said “just because these guys are louder than you doesn’t mean they’re better.” That really bolstered my confidence!

I was profoundly influenced by Chicago blues players I saw come through Milwaukee. The first club gig I ever saw was Koko Taylor with Son Seals on guitar. I was absolutely floored by his playing. Floored! He could flatten the entire room with just one note. Because it was the right note.

I was very intimidated by the fast, technically advanced playing I was hearing on the radio. Son’s approach was different. And it moved me a whole lot more. I began to think maybe I could learn to find the right note, too.

Rick: Your vocals have been compared favorably to those of Sheryl Crow. Has she been a major influence or was that just coincidental because of your voice sounds similar? What artists help you find your own voice?

Debra: I’m honored to be compared to Sheryl Crow; she’s a wonderful singer! But no, she wasn’t an influence. I heard her hits on the radio but that was it. I saw her play live for the first time last summer and was extremely impressed with her singing at that show. I had no idea she had such range and power. I’ll try to be worthy of the comparison!

My favorite singers as a kid were Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin and Chrissie Hynde. And Johnny Rotten! I love to sing Aretha Franklin’s greatest hits—but only when no one is around to hear me.

DEVI – Another Day from the CD Get Free

Rick: New York has always been a major music center, whether it be jazz; blues; folk or rock. Where are you hanging out these days and is there a major rock scene in town?

Debra: I moved to Hoboken, New Jersey a few years ago and now I live in downtown Jersey City, which has a happening art and music scene of its own. The East Village is a little depressing these days; it’s become a bohemian theme park for trust fund babies. Lots of velvet ropes and boring people dressed to the nines. The rock music scene has decamped to clubs like Spikehill and the Trash Bar in Brooklyn and Shrine in Harlem.

We’ve been involved with Boston Fielder’s Urb Alt Festival, which brings downtown jazz and rock artists to venues in Harlem. It’s inspiring to share a bill with a gifted jazz guitarist like Ben Tyree, or Harriet Tubman (bassist Melvin Gibbs’ band). These are crazily proficient jazz artists who also get rock and hip hop. That mix is very New York right now.

I’ve been so involved in making our first album that I haven’t been hanging out much. Most artists I know are like that…we get pretty reclusive when we’re working!

Rick: Tell us about ”DEVI” – Is that an Indian name or does it have some particularly unique meaning to you?

Debra: In Hindu mythology the universe is divided into Devi, the feminine, and Deva, the masculine. Devi is everything that takes form—mountains, trees, animals, people, sound waves. Deva is the life force that enters these forms and animates them. Devi (pronounced “Davey”) is Sanskrit for The Goddess.

Devi-Sullivan Hall NYC - Photo credit: Sirena Mercado

I’ve been practicing yoga for awhile. The goal of yoga practices like meditation and asana (those pretzel postures!) is liberation from the small self—our obsessions, conflicts and neuroses. We work to get free of these so we can feel our innate connection with the bliss, unconditional love and Self-confidence we call God.

Get Free is about the longing for love and the longing for God and all the crazy things we pursue—from sex to drugs to relationships—to try to appease these longings. When, in fact, if we could uncover our true nature, we’d find a wellspring of joy.

Rick: Who’s in the group?

Debra: Devi is me on guitar and vocals, John Hummel on drums and Keith Mannino on bass. Dan Grennes played bass on the album—he’s fantastic but got hired to play in a musical so we brought in Keith, who’s a very powerful rocker.

I saw John Hummel playing drums in a tiny Hoboken bar and knew he was the guy. I never auditioned him; I just gave him a demo and invited him to rehearsal. He showed up wondering where the lead guitarist was and why we were starting rehearsal without him!

John is my hero; he’s an angelic, mellow soul who plays like John Bonham meets Ginger Baker.

DEVI members (Left to Right): John Hummel, Debra and Keith Mannino

John and Keith played together in Black Market Radio with Peter Cornell (Chris Cornell’s brother) so when Dan left we invited Keith to join Devi. Keith’s playing is very sinuous and sexy and rhythmic. He holds down the fort. When we stretch out and jam I’m in heaven. They are really good. And cute! Live, we add Rob Clores on keys and Pat Catino on percussion and backing vocals. Pat owns JC Studios, where we rehearse in Jersey City. We also love to invite album guests like Wynne Paris (Indian sarod), Wiser Time singer Carmen Sclafani) or clarinetist Perry Robinson to sit in if they happen to be in town.

Rick: What gear did you use on the release?

Debra: I recorded the guitars at SST Studios with producer Jerry Ramos. SST has just about every guitar amp ever made. It was like being a kid in a candy store, only the candy was amps!

I used my Fender Strat on ten tunes and my Les Paul Special on one (“Love That Lasts”). My Strat is a cherry-red poplar ’86 Fender Strat with a rosewood fret board. I outfitted it with jumbo frets, 2 Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails, a Seymour Duncan Hot Rod humbucker in the bridge—and a mirror pickguard so I can check my lipstick!

Debra recording at SST.

My ’92 mahogany Les Paul Special is tuned to C# G# C# F# G# C#. I took out the original pickups and installed a P-90 in the neck position and a Gibson 500T humbucker at the bridge. It sounds heavy! I use DDT strings from DR Strings on it; they really hold their tune even in drop tunings.

I also used my ’64 Gibson acoustic and borrowed a Taylor 12-string from SST. I borrowed a Strat with a maple neck from producer Wayne Dorrell while we were mixing to add the funky clean guitar on “C21H23N03”. I wanted that super-clean/dry Prince vibe and the maple neck delivered.

I used my own Marshall TSL for some rhythm tracks. I also used everything from a Vox AC 30 to a Mesa Boogie Rectifier, including a Marshall JCM 800, a Fender Bassman and a Super Reverb and a Fender Hot Rod DeVille for slide.

I fell madly in love with an Orange Rockerverb head that we ran through a Marshall 4×12 or anOrange cab, depending on the tone I wanted. That was my lead sound for quite a few songs, including “Get Free” and “When It Comes Down.”

I used my Boss Metal Zone pedal to get some super-cranked-up tones and an Electro Harmonix fuzz box for the big riff in “Another Day.” On “Welcome to the Boneyard” I wanted a Leslie-type tremolo so Jerry put the guitar through an actual Leslie speaker from a Hammond B3 organ. That was awesome!

Get Free album guitar gear by song – http://s72492.gridserver.com/get-free/get-free-guitars-amps-used-by-deb/

Photo Journal: Recording Get Free: – http://www.flickr.com/photos/devirock/collections/72157608817032106/

Rick: I understand that you endorse DR Strings. How do situations like that come about?

Debra: I’ve always used DR Strings because the way they are wound makes them easier to bend, which lets me use slightly higher gauges for better tone. I use 9.5s on my Strat and 10s on my Les Paul Special. I love that DR makes a 9.5!

I was referred to DR Strings by Dave Ordas, who works on my guitars and has guitar tech’d with everyone from Metallica to Sisters of Mercy. I’ll never forget watching Dave stand on my Les Paul’s neck to straighten it out. I thought I was going to pass out!

It helps to have a referral but if you’re genuinely enthusiastic about a product, just call the company. Ask what it would take to be considered for an endorsement deal. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!

Rick: You played at NAMM in Anaheim during the Winter 2009 convention. Any plans to get back to Winter NAMM?

Debra: Yes the band was selected to play NAMM last year, to our shock! We had a blast. Wynne Paris was also there so he joined us on stage on the sarod (26-string Indian lute), which was really cool. I went back this year solo and some nice things happened.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to duplicate all the cool guitar tones I was able to get on the album when we play live–with just one amp! Last year at NAMM I met Michael Berger, the Artist Relations guy for Engl Amps. He showed me that Engl’s Invader amp totally has the versatility and authenticity of tone that I need. I really couldn’t believe the quality of the tone, I was blown away!

This year at NAMM he told me he listened to our album and really likes it, and invited me to get involved with Engl. I also started a relationship with Fender, so I’m pretty psyched! Fender is starting a program called Girl Rock Nation that I’ll be involved in later this year.

I highly recommend getting to NAMM. You can’t beat face to face contact with people for developing real relationships.

Rick: I was just talking to another singer-songwriter and asked him if he was looking for a record deal and he suggested that those kind of deals are mostly history and that he’s looking for his distribution channels for his music independent of major labels. Where are you as far as pushing your music onto the airwaves or into the homes of your prospective and current fans?

Debra: The record industry is in flux, for sure. It’s a scary yet fantastic time to be independent.

I’ve seen friends like The Damnwells from Brooklyn go through hell with major labels–check out the documentary Golden Days about their relationship with Epic. I decided it would be wiser to make the album on our own and then find partnerships to cover the roles a label plays, like distribution, marketing, tour support etc.

A scout for indie distributor Redeye USA took Get Free to them and they offered to distribute it digitally. If they see some significant downloads, they’ll get involved with marketing and physical distribution. So if you’re reading this, puh-leeze go download the album from iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody, Napster or www.devi-rock.com ! We give away some free downloads on our site, too.

Artists should spend half their budget on recording and save the other half for marketing. Which I so didn’t do! Then we got pummeled by the recession like everyone else, so it’s been tough. Now we do have a great publicist, Drew Granchelli, who reps the Disco Biscuits and HeadCount.org. And a genius online marketing guy, Eric Hebert from Evolvor Media. You need both.

We’ve been getting airplay on commercial/classic rock stations like WDHA in New Jersey and KONI in Hawaii. The next step is finding a partner to help us tour and promote the album more widely. In this new world that partner doesn’t have to be a record label.

Rick: Do you get access to the demographics to gain some insights as to who’s buying your music and where they’re located? If so, does that give you assistance in planning or strategizing your career aspirations?

Debra: We don’t know where people live who download the album but because we use Reverbnation to manage our mailing list, we can see where people are from when they sign up. We can see how many fans we have in Philly or Baltimore, for example, and we can email them when we play near them. That’s really helpful!

Rick: Have you found it a challenge to move beyond the New York City zone of performing to get your name “out there” in the States and internationally?

Debra: Our music sounds so freaking mainstream that I think we’ll do better outside of New York City, actually. As a former punk rocker, I’m almost embarrassed by what a commercial album we made. It just came out that way, I swear!

A good friend who’s a publicist in Italy sent the album around over there and got us a ton of great reviews. We were just in Crusher, a UK rock magazine. We seem to be getting press from all over.

Rick: What’s on the platter for the near future?

Debra: We’re making our first music video, for “All That I Need,” with director Jill Morley. Jill’s using that song to close her new documentary, Fighting It, which is about female boxers. It’s a raw emotional film, and the boxing footage will leave no doubt that female boxers are as serious about the sport as male boxers.

Rick: What other groups or artists do you think are getting traction around town?

Debra: Real rock is having a resurgence in NYC! I’m a new fan of GSX, a propulsive hard rock band led by singer/guitarist Sarah Greenwood. I like Hooray for Goodbye a lot too. The guitarist, Sora An, is great. It’s so cool to see more female guitarists now who grab the guitar and play the shit out of it. I also love Earl Greyhound, Hey Tiger and M-Lab. My friend Kevin Hunter plays guitar in M-Lab and he’s amazing. He has a white double-heck Gibson; I’m so jealous!

DEVI – Runaway from the Album Get Free

Rick: Have you found members of the audience a bit startled when they see that you can crank out some great guitar riffs?

Debra: Sometimes! I can almost hear people holding their breath when I start to play a solo, like “is this going to be any good?” Because the audience wants you to be good, they want you to be great! Not that I haven’t been the target occasionally of some violent…objections to my being a girl playing rock guitar. I’ve had men AND women try to slug me. They didn’t get very far with that.

Mostly, though, people are thrilled to see a woman playing. At this point there are enough phenomenal female guitarists–like Orianthi, Jennifer Batten and Theresa Russell– that the days of asking “Can a woman play lead guitar?” are OVER.

Rick: Making a living as a musician can be pretty daunting, to say the least. These days it seems you really need to be an “all rounder” and have several things going to not only keep food on the table, but to build a life that offers up some long-term security. Do you manage your career from both the short term and long term aspects of a life strategy?

Debra: Going in the hole to make the album of my dreams is not a sane strategy for long-term security! But it made me very happy, and that’s worth a lot.

Honestly, I “kiss it up to God” every minute of every day. I didn’t have a plan when I started producing Get Free, yet somehow the perfect studios and co-producers appeared. I trust that type of guidance will continue as long as I keep my cool.

Surviving as an artist requires a high tolerance for financial stress and also the humility to do what you have to do to pay the bills. William Carlos Williams was a doctor, but that’s not what we remember when we read his poetry.

Rick: Any plans on releasing another CD soon or maybe a DEVI “LIVE” DVD?

Debra: There’s talk of us possibly doing a live video/multi-track recording at SST. I’ll keep you posted!

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Related Sites

DEVI

Get Free at iTunes