By: Rick Landers
Debra Devi – Photo credit: Capacity Images
Rocker, singer-songwriter, award winning author, music workshop leader and more, Debra Devi, hits all cylinders with her hi-test drive that’s made her talents highly sought after for on-stage performances and workshop presentations. And her book, The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu (foreword by Dr. John) is an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award winner, that has grabbed the attention and accolades of some of the best blues masters of our day.
Devi’s rolled out a new EP called, Jamification Station Vol. 1, that’s rocks with some of the coolesst grooves you’ll here these days.
“Imagine you’re preparing a list of today’s top female blues/rock guitarists. No doubt you’ll include Bonnie Raitt, Samantha Fish, Susan Tedeschi and Ana Popovic. If you don’t include Debra Devi, your list is not complete. ” – Bill Graham
Debra’s stage persona runs the full spectrum of what we want from live music, her on-stage range can be described as ferocious, heavy fueled pop, sweetly crafted love balladry and everything in-between.
She can crank out her own powerful originals, as well as offer refined versions of vintage rock, like Del Shannon’s “Runaway, ” or her hot licks on Jimi’s “Crosstown Traffic.”
And, she’s recently cut a classic track made famous by The Marvelettes (Marvin Gaye on drums) on Tamla Records in 1961, and The Beatles, “Please, Mr. Postman,” that stands tall with the rest of them.
Deb’s shared the stage or opened for her friends that include Gov’t Mule’s bassist, Jorgen Carlsson, Cindy Cashdollar, Marshall Crenshaw, Kate Pierson (B-52s), Devon Allman, Joan Osbourne, Jesse Malin,, Joe Louis Walker and Ana Popovic.
Devi also meticulously digs into the production side of the business producing all of her own work, getting the signature sound that draws us in to her music. Her talent has been recognized with endorsements with Fender , Homestead amps, and more.
******
Rick Landers: I’m glad to see your passion for rock is still on fire with live performances, literary projects and your new four-track live EP, Jamification Station Vol. 1, that has stayed on the Relix/Jambands.com Top 30 Radio Chart for three months, reaching #5. It seems to me that you’ve always embraced an entrepreneurial life-style digging into the roots of rock, the blues, and other things close to your heart. What drives you with respect to your values, your artistic inclinations and ambitions?
Debra Devi: I value my freedom; I’m miserable if I’m not doing creative work; and my ambition is to pay my bills doing what I love. That takes a lot of hustle–but I’m up for it!
I love being self-employed. Writing books and playing music balances me out, because writing is so solitary, and being in a band is super-social.
Debra Devi: One lonely night during the lockdown, I started live-streaming from my living room. Connecting with viewers cheered me up, and seemed to ease their isolation, too.
This morphed into a full-band livestream, “Jamification Station,” hosted by American Blues Scene on Facebook and YouTube. With Kevin Jones on bass and Martin Schmid on keys, we streamed bi-weekly from drummer John Roccesano’s Hoboken studio, using masks, tests, and eventually vaccination, to stay safe. It gave us something to look forward to – and we loved seeing people having fun in the chatrooms!
Johnny recorded the streams to ProTools, so when we ended the series, we chose four performances and mixed Jamification Station Vol. 1. No overdubs, no autotune!
Debra Devi: I wanted to knock down barriers, because I’m a girl who wanted to play electric guitar in my teens, but received the loud and clear message that it was not “ladylike.” I felt incredibly frustrated by that.
I finally bought a Fender Mustang in a pawn shop and moved to NYC. I started going to band auditions just to try to make some friends. I was auditioning for a punk band when I nicked my knuckle on the guitar’s bridge. Blood spurted everywhere but I kept playing. That got me in the band!
After shows, men would say, “you’re pretty good for a girl.” My male bandmates heard uglier things behind my back like, “Who’s the slut in the band?” The misogyny can still be quite thick at times. I’m thrilled to see guitarists like St. Vincent and Sophie Lloyd getting mainstream recognition.
Rick: Let’s lighten it up a bit and talk about guitars, since I’ve known you, you’ve been tethered to that red Strat. Tell us about it and what mods have you made to it over the years, and I recall you with a little, maybe Gibson B-25. Any more you’ve got hanging around?
Debra Devi: I do love my red Strat! I’ve customized it with jumbo frets, two Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails and an SD Hot Rails pickup at the bridge, and a mirror pickguard. It’s a super versatile guitar. I play my mahogany Les Paul Special when I want a warmer tone.
Lately, I’m playing a gorgeous new 24-fret guitar called a Stylus, designed by luthier Aaron Green. It reminds me of a PRS guitar. I’ve got a prototype and I hope it goes into production.
I have a Fernandes Telecaster for open-E slide songs like “One Way Out,”, and a maple Les Paul Junior I keep in DADGAD. It has a neck like a baseball bat, so it stays in tune really well.
Rick: How did your endorsement with Homestead Amps – the brand founded by Peter McMahon from Diaz Amplifiers that makes amps for Gov’t Mule, Jimmy Herring etc.– happen?
Debra Devi: A friend who had given my book The Language of the Blues to Warren Haynes for his birthday introduced me to Peter McMahon. Peter and his wife came to see me play, and invited me to their workshop, where I fell madly in love with their amps.
I play the Homestead HS50, a 2×10 combo that is very responsive with warm, liquid sustain. I also use the germanium-transistor pedals Peter recently launched, including The Preacher, The Undertaker and the RIpple Creek. These pedals are game-changers. When you A/B them with silicon-transistor pedals they win hands down for tone, clarity and power.
DEVI guitarist and author, Debra Devi – Photo credit: Guzman
Rick: How did you connect with Gov’t Mule bassist Jorgen Carlsson, who played on your previous EP, A Zillion Stars Overhead. What was it like recording with Jorgen? Any other collaborations in the works?
I met Jorgen backstage at the Beacon during Gov’t Mule’s NYE 2019 run. We talked about audio production, mics etc. –stuff we both love – and he suggested we record together sometime.
We spent a day in the studio with drummer John Hummel (Amfibian) blasting through some of my songs and a rock/jam take on “The Needle and the Damage Done.”
We weren’t necessarily trying to make a record, but the chemistry was there. We got great basic tracks that I produced into A Zillion Stars Overhead. This was a special project, so I reached out to my dream mixer, Sylvia Massy. I was over the moon when she agreed to mix it!
We’ve talked about recording together again at Sylvia’s Studio Divine–but that will depend on Jorgen’s busy schedule.
Rick: What’s the music scene like where you live and are there any “shout outs” to folks who have been supportive of you through thick and thin?
Debra Devi: I live in Jersey City. We have a wonderfully diverse music scene from hip hop to punk rock. I’d have to shout out Todd Abrahmson, the WFMU DJ and booker at White Eagle Hall who has let me put on several “Jersey City Rocks” concerts spotlighting our best local bands and visual artists in that 800-person venue.
Rick: As you know, as a performer, most people see the fun side of being in the spotlight, but you’ve always proven yourself to be a savvy business agent. This can be a huge burden on someone with an artistic bent, but there are pitfalls to not taking care of your own business, including finding your not working business stuff with others who have your best interests.
Have you experienced the good, the bad and ugly of the music business, and walked away with helpful lessons you’ve learned for others?
Debra Devi: It does feel like a heavy burden at times, but you really do have to take responsibility for your own career. I look for solid partnerships, like with the distributor for my record label. Hopefully, as I grow, more good partners will come on board. Work hard, have fun and define success on your own terms. You just may find your peeps!
Rick: It seems you’ve expanded your performance territory, reaching out maybe beyond a day drive to get to gigs, yes? Any plans to do something national or beyond American shores?
Debra Devi: Yes, we’ve been hitting festivals and venues around the East Coast. I’m looking into touring in Europe, as the new EP has gotten some lovely press overseas.
Debra Devi: We are testing out new songs live now, and that’s super fun. “I Wanna Fly” expresses how much I wanted to play guitar as a girl. “Riot Love Song” is inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Rick: I know you work hard, and when that’s coupled with passion, that can wear you out, and good as good stress can be, it’s not always healthy stress. What do you do to keep yourself mentally and physically balanced?
Debra Devi: Yoga is my touchstone. It keeps me flexible and grounded, and helps me avoid getting injured slinging a 12-pound guitar around my neck. I also love aerial yoga. I set up an aerial rig in my apartment to keep from going totally bonkers during the pandemic. You might find a few clips of me upside down on my Instagram!
Debra Devi on stage – Photo credit: Guzman
Rick: Politically, I’ve found you very astute and straightforward with respect to your sense of
fairness and equitability, has music given you a platform or have you found your more effective compartmentalizing different swim lanes?
Debra Devi: Thanks! We play benefit concerts when asked. I’ve done PSAs for HeadCount, which registers people to vote at music festivals, as that’s dear to my heart. I don’t hang out on a soapbox, but I do make it clear that I support, for example, keeping the government out of my uterus.
When my band was livestreaming during the pandemic before vaccines were widely available, we invariably had a few cranks in the chatroom shrieking, “Take off your masks!” Sometimes you become “political,” just by doing what you do. Or being who you are, in my case a female guitar player.
Rick: What’s the most exciting stuff you’re working on at the moment and what projects do you have on your “to do” list that you want to get to?
Debra Devi: Johnny and I are starting to mix Jamification Station Vol. 2, the next live EP culled from our pandemic livestream recordings. I’m super excited about that!
The other big project is pitching my screenplay adaptation of the book Goodbye Homeboy that I co-authored with Steve Mariotti. It’s about Steve’s early career as a special ed teacher in the South Bronx in the early ‘80s. Hip hop is a big part of this story, as Scott La Rock from the seminal rap group Boogie Down Productions was Steve’s friend and a mentor to his class until Scott was murdered.
Debra Devi: I love how sweet and enthusiastic our fans are, and how much fun they have with each other. After our livestreams, we loved reading their hilarious comments in the YouTube and Facebook chat rooms the next day.
At one show, a fantastic jazz guitarist who readers of Guitar International will recognize, Ben Tyree from Burnt Sugar Arkestra, was in our audience. My band was going full blast, jamming on a heavy rock song. Ben was standing near the front of the stage head banging. I took off my Strat, handed it to him, screamed “F sharp!” in his ear and hopped off the stage. Ben was like, “Wha??” but he got up there and played a burning guitar solo!
Rick: You’ve worked with some great musicians, but if you’ll allow me to ask about one of my favorites, Ana Popvic, who you’ve opened for…what did you learn from her approach to maintaining a sustainable career in music?
Debra Devi: Ana is such a powerhouse. I was inspired by her take-no-prisoners approach to her career. She mentioned that she always studies, wherever she goes. If she’s in Memphis for a couple days, for example, she’ll book a guitar lesson. She also said that if she senses that a band member is losing enthusiasm and phoning it in, she replaces him/her promptly to keep the band fresh and exciting. Tough! But right on.
Rick: Thanks Deb, always fun!
CHECK OUT DEB’S JAMIFICATION STATION VOL. 1 HERE!
