Interview: Kevin Devine

Kevin, you are a hard working musician. You’ve released seven studio albums, countless EP’s and singles and of course your side projects, all in a matter of years. Do you want to slow down? Is there this hunger or need to continue writing?
Well, I feel like I do this because it’s what I do.  It doesn’t feel like I’m pushing myself to some unhealthy place at an unhealthy speed; it feels natural – I feel compelled to it, by it, and like it’s part of a healthy routine for me when in appropriate balance with the rest of my life.  So no plan to slow down.  If anything, I sometimes have to remind myself I’m not lazy or lacking drive.  That I’m in my right space. 

Because of your lengthy catalogue of music, is it difficult coming up with new melodies, lyrics and sounds? Do you aim to keep it fresh and different for your listeners?
I just kind of aim to write things I like, to try and improve on and build out my own perceptions of what I do, what I make.  I want to keep it fresh and different for me, and hope that the listeners decide to take that trip with me.

Your ‘Nevermind’ tribute album you released online is an obvious sentiment to a band that you admired growing up. If I remember correctly, in the new Foo Fighters documentary ‘Back and Forth’ Dave Grohl said, “The writing of Nirvana was so incredibly simple and real”. Was Kurt and the way he wrote songs a big influence on your own writing?
Absolutely, they were the band that kind of skeleton-keyed an entire world of much better and more interesting music than the hair metal I was ingesting as a 6th grader.  They made two of my favorite records.  I actually think his/their songs are deceptively NOT “simple,” and in fact he had a really strange and singular melodic and structural ear, but Dave was in the band, so I defer to him on the subject.

Of course, you’re in Brisbane for the Harvest Festival this Saturday. The last time you were here was in support of your good friends Brand New early last year. How was that Australian experience for you? Did we accommodate you nicely?
Always a total pleasure.  Great cities, beautiful people, beaches, culture, nature, we’re treated real well here.  I wish you were less accommodating, so it was easier to leave.

Listening to your albums, especially Brothers Blood that was released in 2009, I absolutely love the atmospheric sounds in the background and the samples of people talking and scenes of life in the background. It almost reminds me of early Bright Eyes records in a way. Am I correct to say that? Are you an admirer of Conor Oberst? He is also playing Harvest.
I didn’t make that connection in terms of the atmospherics, and that’s not at all the conscious reference, but I do like Bright Eyes, and have a ton of respect for Conor and what they do.  I’m not as familiar with their really early stuff – I think the first thing I heard was “Fevers & Mirrors”.  But yes – I’m a fan and I like them personally as well, good people.

I’m sure you get asked this a lot, but you studied journalism at university. I’ve noticed from videos and interviews that you continually provide amazing anecdotes and really in-depth answers -which not all musicians do. Would you say you approach the media differently with knowledge in journalism? Do you find it fascinating being on the other side of the media?
I think if someone takes the time to do their job and spend time with your material in order to prepare thoughtful questions, it’s my job to respond in kind, which may just be a naturally occurring aspect of my personality or an empathy grown from my own limited work on the other side.  Seems like a respect thing to me.

You grew up in Brooklyn and you began releasing your material during a time where other Brooklyn bands were gaining some serious attention such as The Strokes, TV On The Radio, Interpol and so on. What was it like during that time as a musician in Brooklyn? Could you feel that this, I guess, indie rock scene was going to be as monumental and influential as it is today?
I think I was (and, in some ways, still am, though for different reasons) kind of insulated from that whole scene, that whole experience.  I’ve met people from all those bands, mostly very briefly, and like their music to varying degrees, but I didn’t really feel like the ascendancy of that scene had any real impact on my existence as a musician in New York.  I love where I live and I grew up there and will most likely die there but I’ve never really been considered a prototypical “New York band” or whatever.  So yes – there was a lot of excitement, and obviously amazing currents of creativity, and definitely an awareness that these bands were blowing up and casting long shadows, but I mostly felt like it was running parallel to my experience.