Debra Devi Talks About DEVI and The Language of The Blues

By: Rick Landers

DEVI guitarist and author, Debra Devi - Photo credit: Guzman

Rock musician Debra Devi is a force to be reckoned with and one who is building a solid reputation with her group, DEVI, and it’s highly regarded album, Get Free. Deb’s also a graduate of Columbia’s School of Journalism and the author of the ASCAP award winning book, The Language of the Blues, an informative and fun romp into the catch-phrases and blues terms that have evolved over the history of the blues.

Successful working musicians tend to be multi-talented and workhorses. Not only do they need to be able to master their instruments, but most dive into writing, producing videos, endorsing product and developing their business acumen.  Debra moves in those multi-disciplined circles where hard work and talent result in success.

Debra’s the singer and guitarist for the New York City rock power trio DEVI, with brothers Kevin and John Hummel on bass and drums. Their Get Free album has earned her comparisons to singers Sheryl Crow and PJ Harvey, and guitarists Jimi Hendrix and George Harrison. She’s a Fender Girl Rock Nation artist, and the first female guitarist to record for Guitar World’s Lick of the Day iPhone app. Former associate editor of Blues Revue, Devi has also written for The Village Voice, Rolling Stone.com, Guitar World, Vintage Guitar, and Yoga Journal.

We caught up with Debra recently to talk about her career, as well as her new eBook, The Language of the Blues, that Guitar International agreed to publish having been pumped about the depth and sheer entertainment value we discovered once we started turning the pages.

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Rick Landers: What motivated you to begin working on your book, The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu?

Debra Devi: When I was associate editor at Blues Revue magazine, the editor-in-chief was Andrew M. Robble, who’d been a very close friend of Chicago blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield. Andy told me some great stories, like the one in The Language of the Blues about a young Bloomfield being shocked to hear his mentor, Muddy Waters, talk about how much he liked to “suck cock”…until Bloomfield realized Waters was referring to female genitalia!

I became curious about the meanings and origins of words like “mojo” and “hoodoo.” Since I’m a musician, not a scholar, I thought maybe I could make a contribution by talking to blues musicians directly.

That this was needed became clear when I interviewed blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin for Blues Revue. Sumlin had been Wolf’s guitarist and friend for many years. Every reference I read claimed Wolf’s song “Killing Floor” referred to Chicago slaughter houses. But Sumlin told me “Killing Floor” had nothing to do with Chicago slaughter houses! You’ll have to read Sumlin’s hilarious story about Wolf’s actual inspiration for “Killing Floor.”

I did lots of research, too–the book has 385 freaking footnotes!

Rick Landers: Who are some of the artists you interviewed for the book?

Debra Devi: Elder blues legends like Robert Jr. Lockwood, Henry Gray, Hubert Sumlin,  “Little” Milton Campbell Jr., Alvin “Red” Tyler, Mardi Gras Indian Chief Howard “Smiley” Ricks, and Jody Williams. Also prominent artists like Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Jimmie Vaughan, Robben Ford and Bob Margolin.

Lockwood was one of my favorite interviews. He was so sharp and shed real light on a seminal blues figure, Robert Johnson. Lockwood was Johnson’s common-law stepson—his mother lived with Johnson for seven years.

Lockwood said Robert Johnson was a voracious reader who was always getting ideas for his songs from things he read. That really counteracts the romantic view of country blues musicians as illiterate modern primitives.

Rick: While doing your research were you ever surprised to learn about the origins of some of the blues history or terms?

Debra Devi: Constantly! Dr. John told me musicians appropriated slang from the lottery business (illegal gambling) for street cred, much as rappers borrow language today from drug dealers. Guitarists started calling their guitars “axes”, for example, because the lottery men called their guns axes.

Another fascinating piece of information was that some African Americans who traveled regularly for work, such as Pullman Porters, banked at whorehouses because they trusted the madams more than white-owned banks. The houses were called “buffet flats” because they offered a buffet of services – from banking to prostitution and sex shows.

Bessie Smith hung out at buffet flats when she was on her train tours, and sang about one in “Soft Pedal Blues.”

I also loved discovering how much African language has seeped into American English. Terms like funk, jazz, to bug someone, to dig something, rap, hip, cat (for musician) and more can all be traced directly to African words.

The enormous African influence on this country is what makes us uniquely American, and it is seriously underrated.

Rick: What’s the ASCAP award all about that you received for the book and was that a complete surprise?

Debra: The Language of the Blues won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for Outstanding Book on Popular Music and yes, that was a wonderful surprise. The award is named for music critic, journalist and composer Deems Taylor– but he’ll always be Fantasia’s narrator to me!

I was able to invite my family and friends to a lovely award ceremony at the Rose Theater at Lincoln Center. Les Paul was there to accept an award, too. Milwaukee in the house!

Rick: As the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the Jersey City-based rock trio DEVI, what kinds of recognition have you gotten from the music world?

Debra: As a brand-new, totally indie artist, I really didn’t expect the overwhelmingly positive reviews our debut album, Get Free, has received. We’ve received great write-ups from Guitar International, Vintage Guitar, Metal Hammer, JamBase and other publications in the US and Europe.  Get Free even made NYC music blog Lucid Culture’s list of “1000 Best Albums of All Time.”

We’ve gotten airplay on a few commercial rock stations, too. The first time I heard Devi on the radio, DJ Lindsay Klein of 105.5 WDHA-FM (“The Rock of New Jersey”) played us between Incubus and Guns N’ Roses. Kinda neat!  It’s been great to discover mainstream DJs like Lindsay who genuinely love music, and will give “homegrown” bands a chance.

Recently, I was invited to record some video lessons for Guitar World’s “Lick of the Day” iPhone app. For a self-taught guitarist who’s been reading GW forever, that was pretty dreamy.

Rick: You’re also involved with Fender guitars, right?

Yes, I’m a Fender Girl Rock Nation artist. Girl Rock Nation is a program at Fender to motivate young women to rock in whatever they do! Girls still face societal pressure to be quiet and polite and suppress their creative energies in favor of pleasing their parents, or supporting their boyfriends’ aspirations. I love being part of an effort to change that.

Plus, my candy-apple-red 1986 Fender Strat is my main axe, and holds a very special place in my heart. I also endorse Engl Amps, which are killer, and DR Strings.

Rick: You must have been pretty pumped when you found out that Bob Margolin, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Bonamassa and other top blues artists liked reading The Language of the Blues.

Debra:  I had to pinch myself! I deeply appreciate their generous comments. This must be the only book ever blurbed by both Bonnie Raitt and Ministry’s Al Jourgensen, which kind of encapsulates the incredibly wide influence of the blues on American music.

Rick: When I first heard of the book I figured it would be a lot like a dictionary, but you really dug deep to discover some interesting aspects of a lot of the blues terms and phrases, making this a book that I read in one setting.  How tough was it to write the book and how long did it take to finish it up?

Debra: I’m so glad you found it that interesting! The book took 14 months to research and write. That included an intense 6-week stint of 16-hour days before the deadline. And the funny thing was that I was blissfully happy the whole time. The blues means so much to me that it was a joy to ponder it all day long.

It also helped that my boyfriend at the time liked to cook.

Rick: How did Dr. John wind up contributing the Foreword?

Debra: I’d interviewed Dr. John in the past and was struck by how knowledgeable he was, but I didn’t think to touch base with him about the book until it was almost done. He’s a total street-language nut, so he would call me up and say, “What about this, do you have this?” Man, I should have been talking to him from the start!

He was able to answer several questions I’d been tussling with for months. Like, where does the word “gig” come from? He knew that it came from the lottery business – a gig was a three-number (like a musical trio) bet and you didn’t know if it was going to pay off (like a musical gig!).

If you enjoy Dr. John’s Foreword to The Language of the Blues, you have to read his book Under a Hoodoo Moon: The Life of the Night Tripper. It comes with its own wild glossary of New Orleans slang!

Rick: I’ve been surprised when talking to some guitarists and they’ve never heard of Charlie Patton and others. Your book covers Patton and a lot more.  You must think it’s important to not only play the blues, but to keep the blues alive by knowing its traditions and its rich history.

Debra Devi on stage - Photo credit: Guzman

Debra:  I agree, yet I don’t want to see the blues get stuffy or preserved in amber.  I’m glad every generation seems to produce some great new blues artists to carry the torch forward. I’m a fan of Shemekia Copeland, The Kinsey Report, Derek Trucks, Jeff Healy—and also guys like Jack White who dig into the blues and come up with their own crazy sound. As Robben Ford says, “the blues is a big house.”

And I don’t mind musical artists who avoid the blues because they’re searching for a brand new bag, either. But if you’re moved by the blues, yes, become conscious of artists like Charlie Patton, and of the potency of the African musical, vocal and rhythmic devices country blues artists like him carried forward into a new day.

I do think it’s important to understand where this stuff comes from and to respect the blues. But go ahead and disrespect it, twist it and convolute it, too, if you feel the need for artistic reasons. It can take it.

Rick: Your new GIG published ebook of The Language of the Blues includes a link to a free download of your group’s album, Get Free. What can you tell us about the album and is it a blues recording?

Debra: Actually, Get Free is a rock album—and I think The Language of the Blues readers will dig it because it does have a bluesy vibe. Beat magazine called it “Sheryl Crow meets Queens of the Stone Age,” which I thought was pretty funny.

There’s a heavy ‘70s vibe to our sound that nods at everything from singer-songwriters to punk rock. I do think my love for the blues kinda soaks through it all.

Devi’s also been called “a rock power trio” because we like to stretch out and jam. I can’t speak for John Hummel (drums) or Kevin Hummel (bass), but I’m trying to reach that place where soloing feels like flying. When I was growing up dancing my face off to blues guitarists like Son Seals, Albert King, and Luther Allison, that’s what I felt them going for live.  That’s what grabbed me and moved me. I’m after that bliss.

I’m definitely not a blues singer, though.  I hope I’m a soulful singer, but I’m a white chick from Milwaukee and there’s not much that sounds worse than a white chick from Milwaukee trying to sing the blues!

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