Kevin Devine
Encyclopedia
Kevin Devine is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 from Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, who is known for alternately introspective and political lyrics and melodic acoustic guitar songs. He cites his influences as Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jeff Mangum in the early 1990s. The band was noted for its experimental sound, obscure lyrics and eclectic instrumentation....

, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

, Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...

,
Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...

 and Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

, among others.

Beginnings

Devine grew up in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 and Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

 and has spent significant time in Manhattan and Queens. Devine graduated from Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...

 at Lincoln Center in 2001, majoring in journalism. He played in the band Miracle of 86 (named after the 1986 New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

), as well as the popular Staten Island band Delusion. At Fordham he was able to hone his solo, acoustic style by playing at various open-mic and college events. Devine released his first solo album, entitled Circle Gets the Square
Circle Gets the Square
Circle Gets the Square is Kevin Devine's first studio album as a solo artist. It was released in 2002 through Immigrant Sun Records. The songs featured here contrast those of Miracle of 86's...

, in 2002 under the record label Immigrant Sun Records, as well as being produced by Bill Manoudakis. During this time he also appeared in regular stints at the Wetlands Preserve venue in New York City.

His brother, Dan Devine, is a columnist for Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...

 Sports.

Increased Success (2002–2007)

Although still relatively unknown, Devine gained some popularity with his 2003 album, Make the Clocks Move
Make the Clocks Move
Make the Clocks Move is Kevin Devine's second studio album. It was released in 2003, being the first of two albums released on Triple Crown Records...

. This album's songs reflect Devine's political views and a growing introspective style, inspired by recent death of his father to a stroke. These two styles would become a staple in Devine's music that followed.

It is the first of two albums released on Triple Crown Records
Triple Crown Records
Triple Crown Records is a New York-based record label. It is home to Hit the Lights, The Receiving End of Sirens, The Dear Hunter, Moving Mountains, and As Tall as Lions, among others...

. It is also the first of three albums produced by Chris Bracco and Mike Skinner (ex-Miracle of 86). In 2005, Devine released his third full length album, Split the Country, Split the Street
Split the Country, Split the Street
Split the Country, Split the Street is Kevin Devine's third studio album. It was released in 2005, being the second of two albums released on Triple Crown Records. It is the first solo record released after Kevin was no longer in Miracle of 86...

. He signed with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

, who released his fourth album, Put Your Ghost to Rest
Put Your Ghost to Rest
Put Your Ghost To Rest is Kevin Devine's fourth studio album. It was released on October 17, 2006 through Capitol Records. It was his first and only major label release as of 2009...

, on October 17, 2006. Only four months after his major label debut, Devine was dropped from Capitol Records due to EMI merging Virgin and Capitol Records.

Devine was able to gather a strong fan base as a result of his exposure through touring with Brand New
Brand New
Brand New is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 2000, the band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Jesse Lacey, guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Vincent Accardi, bassist Garrett Tierney, drummer Brian Lane, and guitarist/keyboardist Derrick Sherman.In the late...

 (who were also formerly signed to Triple Crown Records). First appearing as their opening act on their 2004 spring tour, Devine made a small splash among their fan base. However, opening for them again in April 2006 and joining their 2007 Spring tour with Manchester Orchestra
Manchester orchestra
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. The group is currently composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathan Corley, and drummer Tim Very...

 greatly increased his fan base and affected his career.

Brother's Blood and Bad Books (2008–2010)

After negotiations with Capitol Records, "Put Your Ghost To Rest" was re-released on April 20, 2008 by Procrastinate! Music Traitors
Procrastinate! Music Traitors
Procrastinate! Music Traitors is an American record label started by the members of the band Brand New. Little is known about the label other than its first release, a rerelease of Kevin Devine's 2006 album Put Your Ghost to Rest ....

. Several new demos were featured on his MySpace page around this time. A majority of the demos would later be properly featured on Brother's Blood
Brother's Blood
-B-Sides:The I Could Be with Anyone E.P. features 2 b-sides, "The Weather Is Wonderful" and "What's Keeping Us Young", along with a demo for "She Stayed As Steam"....

 and a single for Another Bag of Bones
Another Bag of Bones
Another Bag of Bones is a single by Kevin Devine released on August 20, 2008 via digital retailers and a 7" vinyl record on the label Academy Fight Song. The single features the song "Another Bag of Bones" and a lyrically revised cover of Phil Ochs' "Love Me, I'm a Liberal", inspired in part by...

 was released in August 2008. The tours throughout 2008 were in support of the Put Your Ghost To Rest re-release and the new material.

In December 2008, Devine announced in an interview with Popwreckoning that his new album Brother's Blood
Brother's Blood
-B-Sides:The I Could Be with Anyone E.P. features 2 b-sides, "The Weather Is Wonderful" and "What's Keeping Us Young", along with a demo for "She Stayed As Steam"....

 would be released on April 28 on Favorite Gentlemen records. He also announced a tour with Manchester Orchestra
Manchester orchestra
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. The group is currently composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathan Corley, and drummer Tim Very...

 and the release of the I Could Be With Anyone
I Could Be With Anyone
I Could Be With Anyone is an EP released by Kevin Devine in support of his fifth album, Brother's Blood, and his winter 2008 tour with Manchester Orchestra. The title track is featured on Brother's Blood, while the other 3 tracks are exclusive to the EP...

 EP in support of the upcoming album.

In an interview with Manchester Orchestra
Manchester orchestra
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. The group is currently composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathan Corley, and drummer Tim Very...

's Andy Hull
Andy Hull
Andy Hull is an American singer, guitarist and song writer for the indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. He also has a side project Right Away, Great Captain, as well as co-founder of a side project with friend and folk musician Kevin Devine by the name of Bad Books.Hull was born in Atlanta, Georgia...

, Hull confirmed that Manchester Orchestra and Kevin Devine would be releasing a split EP entitled "I Could Be The Only One
I Could Be the Only One
I Could Be the Only One is a split EP released as a digital single by Manchester Orchestra and Kevin Devine on January 26, 2010. The EP features the artists covering each other's songs, with Manchester Orchestra covering "I Could Be With Anyone" and Devine covering "The Only One".The songs featured...

". He later confirmed in a January 2010 interview with AbsolutePunk that Manchester Orchestra and Devine had finished a currently untitled album featuring eight songs, with four songs written by Devine and the other four written by Hull. The album with will be released under the band name "Bad Books". In August 2010, the band officially announced their self-titled debut album, "Bad Books
Bad Books
Bad Books is an American indie rock supergroup formed in early 2010, and is composed of folk/indie artist Kevin Devine and members of indie rock band Manchester Orchestra...

" with a release date of October 19, 2010. A small east coast tour in support of the album was also announced.

He toured extensively in 2009–2010 for Brother's Blood, including dates with Manchester Orchestra, Brand New, Thrice
Thrice
Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school....

 and Nada Surf
Nada Surf
Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band. Formed in 1992, the New York band consists of Matthew Caws , Ira Elliot and Daniel Lorca .-Early years:...

. He also played a number of major music festivals, including Coachella, Lollapalooza, The Bamboozle and Bonnaroo. On July 6, 2010, Devine released the She Stayed As Steam
She Stayed as Steam
She Stayed as Steam is an EP by Kevin Devine, featuring outtakes and alternate versions of tracks from Brother's Blood.The two outtakes featured are the title track, "She Stayed as Steam", and "Big Bad Man"...

 EP, featuring outtakes from Brother's Blood
Brother's Blood
-B-Sides:The I Could Be with Anyone E.P. features 2 b-sides, "The Weather Is Wonderful" and "What's Keeping Us Young", along with a demo for "She Stayed As Steam"....

.

On October 19, 2010, the self-titled debut album
Bad Books (album)
Bad Books is the debut self-titled album from the folk/indie rock collaboration project by folk artist Kevin Devine and members of indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. It was released digitally on October 19, 2010, and with a physical CD copy following on November 9, 2010 through Manchester...

 by his new project Bad Books
Bad Books
Bad Books is an American indie rock supergroup formed in early 2010, and is composed of folk/indie artist Kevin Devine and members of indie rock band Manchester Orchestra...

, featuring members of Manchester Orchestra
Manchester orchestra
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. The group is currently composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathan Corley, and drummer Tim Very...

 was released. The band supported the release of the album with a 4-date east coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...

 tour. Another short acoustic tour followed in December 2010, with only Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra
Manchester orchestra
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. The group is currently composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathan Corley, and drummer Tim Very...

 frontman Andy Hull
Andy Hull
Andy Hull is an American singer, guitarist and song writer for the indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. He also has a side project Right Away, Great Captain, as well as co-founder of a side project with friend and folk musician Kevin Devine by the name of Bad Books.Hull was born in Atlanta, Georgia...

 playing Bad Books
Bad Books
Bad Books is an American indie rock supergroup formed in early 2010, and is composed of folk/indie artist Kevin Devine and members of indie rock band Manchester Orchestra...

 songs, as well as solo songs, acoustically.

Between the Concrete and Clouds (2010–present)

On August 26, 2010, Devine announced on his Facebook page that he had begun writing his sixth album. A post made on his Facebook page also revealed tentative song titles which include "Between the concrete & clouds", "The first hit", "Off-screen", "A story, a sneak,", "The city has left you", "11-17", "I used to be someone", "Sleepwalking through my life", "Wait out the wreck", and "Merry Levov". The song "Merry Levov" was possibly renamed "Awake in the dirt", as it does not appear on the album yet would explain the lyrical content of the later renaming. Several rough draft lyrics of these songs have been added to his Facebook notes page. Recording was completed on March 6, 2011. This is the first record he's made that is fully backed by a band, featuring musicians Brian Bonz (keyboard), Chris Bracco (a.k.a. "Plosive") (bass, keyboard), Mike Fadem (drums, percussion), Russell Smith (electric guitar), and Mike Strandberg (guitar, mandolin). It was recorded in 10 days over a span of a month, being produced by longtime collaborator Chris Bracco and mixed by Rob Schnapf
Rob Schnapf
Rob Schnapf is an American record producer and musician. He was the co-producer of Elliott Smith's albums Either/Or, XO , Figure 8 and From a Basement on the Hill, for which he was recruited by Smith's family to complete after Smith's death.Schnapf, along with Rothrock and partner...

.

In March 2011 Devine toured with River City Extension, and released a split 7" EP. Devine's songs on the EP are an acoustic version of "Between the Concrete & Clouds" and "Walls", a Tom Petty cover.

Two 7" singles, "Luxembourg" and "Part of the Whole", were announced and are due for release on May 17, with the album, Between the Concrete and Clouds, to follow later in the year.

During an Alt Press interview on July 6, 2011, "Between The Concrete & Clouds" was officially announced for a September 13, 2011 release in the US on Razor & Tie/Favorite Gentlemen Records. He performed some of his new material on tour starting in spring 2010.

A few songs on the album (most notably "Awake in the dirt") are influenced by the book American Pastoral
American Pastoral
American Pastoral is a Philip Roth novel concerning Seymour "Swede" Levov, a Jewish-American businessman and former high school athlete from Newark, New Jersey. Levov's happy and conventional upper middle class life is ruined by the domestic social and political turmoil of the 1960s, which in the...

 by Phillip Roth.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's classic album "Nevermind", Kevin Devine covered the entire album, and let fans download it on his website for free.

Albums

  • 2002: Circle Gets the Square
    Circle Gets the Square
    Circle Gets the Square is Kevin Devine's first studio album as a solo artist. It was released in 2002 through Immigrant Sun Records. The songs featured here contrast those of Miracle of 86's...

  • 2003: Make the Clocks Move
    Make the Clocks Move
    Make the Clocks Move is Kevin Devine's second studio album. It was released in 2003, being the first of two albums released on Triple Crown Records...

  • 2005: Split the Country, Split the Street
    Split the Country, Split the Street
    Split the Country, Split the Street is Kevin Devine's third studio album. It was released in 2005, being the second of two albums released on Triple Crown Records. It is the first solo record released after Kevin was no longer in Miracle of 86...

  • 2006: Put Your Ghost to Rest
    Put Your Ghost to Rest
    Put Your Ghost To Rest is Kevin Devine's fourth studio album. It was released on October 17, 2006 through Capitol Records. It was his first and only major label release as of 2009...

  • 2009: Brother's Blood
    Brother's Blood
    -B-Sides:The I Could Be with Anyone E.P. features 2 b-sides, "The Weather Is Wonderful" and "What's Keeping Us Young", along with a demo for "She Stayed As Steam"....

  • 2011: Between the Concrete and Clouds
    Between the Concrete and Clouds
    Between the Concrete & Clouds is the sixth studio album by American indie rock musician Kevin Devine, his first album since 2009 and second release on the Favorite Gentlemen record label...

  • 2011: Nevermind

Live Albums

  • 2005: Live At Schubas 05/13/2005 (Digital only)
  • 2006: Live At Maxwell's 02/08/2006 (Digital only)
  • 2007: Live at Austin City Limits Music Festival 2007: Kevin Devine
    Live at Austin City Limits Music Festival 2007: Kevin Devine
    Live at Austin City Limits Music Festival 2007: Kevin Devine is a digital only release of Kevin Devine's performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on September 15, 2007. It was released through iTunes and other digital music stores...

     (Digital only)
  • 2009: Kevin Devine: Live At Looney Tunes 4.16.09
    Live at Looney Tunes (Kevin Devine album)
    Live at Looney Tunes is a live CD of Kevin Devine's in-store performance at Looney Tunes CDs in Long Island, NY on April 18, 2009. The CD was a special Looney Tunes exclusive for Record Store Day 2009...


EPs

  • 2003: Travelling the EU
    Travelling the EU
    Travelling the EU is a European EP released by Kevin Devine. It was initially released in 2003 through Defiance Records as a limited CD and 7" and later became available through digital retailers. Both physical versions are now out of print...

  • 2006: Buried By The Buzz
  • 2007: 2007 Tour EP
    2007 Tour EP
    2007 Tour EP is a tour EP by Kevin Devine released during his 2007 U.S. tour opening for the bands Brand New and Manchester Orchestra. The EP contains mostly covers, along with a new version of "Wolf's Mouth" and an acoustic version of "You'll Only End Up Joining Them" ,The EP contains songs played...

  • 2008: I Could Be With Anyone
    I Could Be With Anyone
    I Could Be With Anyone is an EP released by Kevin Devine in support of his fifth album, Brother's Blood, and his winter 2008 tour with Manchester Orchestra. The title track is featured on Brother's Blood, while the other 3 tracks are exclusive to the EP...

  • 2010: I Could Be The Only One
    I Could Be the Only One
    I Could Be the Only One is a split EP released as a digital single by Manchester Orchestra and Kevin Devine on January 26, 2010. The EP features the artists covering each other's songs, with Manchester Orchestra covering "I Could Be With Anyone" and Devine covering "The Only One".The songs featured...

     (split with Manchester Orchestra)
  • 2010: She Stayed As Steam
    She Stayed as Steam
    She Stayed as Steam is an EP by Kevin Devine, featuring outtakes and alternate versions of tracks from Brother's Blood.The two outtakes featured are the title track, "She Stayed as Steam", and "Big Bad Man"...

  • 2011: Kevin Devine/River City Extension Split

Singles

  • 2008: Another Bag of Bones
    Another Bag of Bones
    Another Bag of Bones is a single by Kevin Devine released on August 20, 2008 via digital retailers and a 7" vinyl record on the label Academy Fight Song. The single features the song "Another Bag of Bones" and a lyrically revised cover of Phil Ochs' "Love Me, I'm a Liberal", inspired in part by...

  • 2009: Splitting Up Christmas
    Splitting Up Christmas
    Splitting Up Christmas, originally from 2003's Make The Clocks Move, is a UK Christmas single by Kevin Devine released in support of the 2009 Big Scary Monsters Christmas Tour. At each date on the tour, an exclusive CD single was sold, limited to 25 copies, hand-numbered and signed by Kevin...

  • 2011: Part Of The Whole (7"/digital)
  • 2011: Luxembourg (7"/digital)

Music videos

  • 2006: Brooklyn Boy (directed by Paxen Films)
  • 2006: Me And My Friends (directed by Paxen Films)
  • 2009: I Could Be With Anyone (directed by Sherng-Lee Huang)
  • 2009: Another Bag Of Bones

Miracle of 86

  • 2000: Miracle of 86 (Fade Away)
  • 2003: Every Famous Last Word
  • 2005: Last Gasp (EP)
  • 2005: Kevin Kolankowski

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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