Devon here makes damn good indie-pop guaranteed to whack a smile on your face. Having spent some of his early days in the studio with Dork fave Tarek Musa ‘out of Spring King’, he was all set to have a great 2020 until, well, y’know. He is playing Homeschool next week though, which’ll be nice, won’t it?
Hey Devon, how’s it going? Are you coping ok with this virus business?
Hey guys! Yes, I’m good thank you, hope all is well for you lot. Yeah in all honesty I am. I’m very much a “home bird/hermit” vibe kind of guy so spend a lot of time in my house regardless. Obviously, it is a bit of a struggle putting a halt to all of my plans to leave the house though however limited they were lol.
Has the lockdown mucked up many of your plans so far?
Yeah, I had a mini-tour booked for May which was going to be my first headline run of shows which was super exciting, but that has had to be pushed back now. It also cancelled a music video shoot I had lined up, so I have had to find another way to achieve that. But its no worries I’m using the time wisely and just trying to be as creative as possible really but still not trying the dreaded lockdown productivity pressure on myself that is so easy to feel when looking on the gram.
What are you up to, day to day? Do you have any fun hobbies we can ‘borrow’?
I spend a lot of my time writing and producing music I’m sooo boring, haha. I would say I’ve started watching a lot of movies I’ve been meaning to watch and recently fell in love with Florence Pugh. I do that a lot. I fell in love with Adam Driver the other week. I did try to go outside for a bike ride which was the first bit of exercise I’d done in like 5 years, and I passed out when I got home which was fun. Kind of. Recommend watching Mid Sommar or Beautiful Boy if you’re looking for good movies.
What’s your recording set up like, are you all good to go from home?
Yeah, I self produce all my stuff in my sister’s old bedroom I have a little studio set up here, so I’m all good on the writing and recording front which is a blessing. Glad I took the time to learn the craft when I was younger.
Do you have much new music on the way?
Yes, the week of this all starting properly I was in London doing the final version of my next single and when I got home and the day after the lockdown was announced. So timing was perfect, but the next single is all ready to go now which I’m super excited to release. I have also found a cool way around creating the music video for it as well given the current restrictions.
Are you creative in non-musical ways too?
Yeah, to be honest, I have always been creative, I used to draw a lot before I got into playing guitar. I don’t draw so much anymore. I’m a graphic designer as my day job and studied that through college a couple years back.
What’s been the highlight of your time as a musician so far?
My highlight was probably Truck Festival last year. Feel like that was the gear shifter for me. The morning of Truck I also signed my record deal so that whole day was super surreal and the weekend was amazing.
Who was your first ever favourite band or pop star?
My first ever favourite band was probably Paramore. I listened to them relentlessly every day through primary school into secondary school. Hayley Williams was actually my first love. I still kind of hoping I have a chance. I messaged her to ask her on a date to a crazy golf place, but she still hasn’t seen it yet. Hopefully, she reads this.
Are there any musicians or albums that you gravitate to during tough times? Like during a pandemic, for example.
At the moment I’m on a massive strokes hype so I would have to say their new album along with their album Angles. I would also say Frank Ocean’ Channel Orange’ is just a classic for anybody. I would also say one of my all-time favs would have to be ‘Blurryface’ by Twenty One Pilots. The list goes on I could give you loads, but I don’t want to bore you.
Tell us a secret about yourself?
I’ve always wanted to try acting but never have. I also am deeply in love with Hayley Williams.
Devon is taking part in new online festival Homeschool, which runs from 8th-10th May – visit homeschoolfest.com for details.
