Issue 04: Fearless Musician Breaks The Mould
Fearless Musician Breaks The Mould
Young Artist Bringing Back The Times
The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Devon is a rising star on the New York music scene, whose songs aim to create and spread a message of self-love through her own inspired self-discovery of life.
I got together with the vivacious Devon, at a quaint suburban train station in the small town of… Devon in Philadelphia. This immediately sparked up a conversation. Laughing, she told me that she was not named after it and that her parents decided to live in the next town.
Devon’s dream began when she was 4 years old, at a Billy Joel concert in Philadelphia. This great experience drew her into the music Industry.
“I’ve always been surrounded by music. As a little kid I learned guitar from my older brother and piano from my dad, and over time I figured out how to put it all together, ultimately learning to write and produce my own music, as well as becoming a collaborator for other artists.”
Devon is inspired and thankful for the incredible art and artists that exist around the world, this has given her many wonderful opportunities to share her work. From a lyric’s perspective, she admires and looks for inspirations from songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Sam Melo, Sara Bareilles and Adam Duritz. Her dream would be to open for Sara Bareilles. “She builds an entire world within each performance, and it would be unreal to be a part of the architectural process.”
While Devon was pursuing her aspirations in music, she continued on with her education, studying economics with a concentration on entertainment and intellectual property at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania which helped her become more effective with her music career.
All the hard work paid off, Jason Floom, Chairman of LAVA Media, LLC. hired the accomplished musician right out of college and is a mentor for her both in life and also in the music industry. Jason’s guidance and knowledge taught Devon invaluable wisdom “He took a chance and has taught me not only the art of making records but also the importance of doing well by doing good.” Her A&R job involves scouting for unsigned talent and working with existing artists on the roster to provide them with the resources needed to create their best art.
Kimberly is conversing with Devon.
Where do you have the time to fit everything in, busy lady? What does your typical day look like?
I don’t fit it all into my life – it IS my life! A typical day for me starts with a yoga practice and some gratitude journaling, and then I work on my full-time music and A&R responsibilities for the rest of my waking hours. Conversations with friends are scattered throughout the day, and if I have time, I try to watch a little comedy and smile before bed.
Devon told me that her parents declared her tone-deaf when she was younger. Fortunately, she did not realize it and kept singing at every opportunity. Her persistence and passion helped make her into the wonderful performer of today. “You’d be hard pressed to find a situation in which I’m not singing or thinking through songs that I’m currently working on,” exclaims Devon.
“Being with you is like sitting up straight, I just can’t do it, sometimes,” I’m so tired of making the same mistakes of ambushing through it, with a smile…. this is some of the first verse from her recent EP, Sitting Up Straight.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0H5iRV9jbs0zPnVbtTM6m5?si=4SYm2ds9T3aL-RIUaM-TOg
“I like to think of my music as alt-pop. It has the melodies and the beats of poppy bops, but I aim to keep my lyrics pretty transparent, more in line with alternative / singer-songwriter style.”
When Devon writes a song, she typically begins her process with the stripped back acoustic tune. Then she starts creating a track to express her sentiments of the lyrics. This flow helps her pull the song together.
Devon continues to explain that, “It’s exciting to be able to build more elaborate musical worlds in which my ideas can exist, but I often end up coming back to the acoustic versions of my songs because I’m a singer-songwriter at heart. I actually released the piano version of “Careful” last year because I wanted to share the original expression of the bop and let listeners into my creative process a little bit more.”
Watch “Careful (Piano Version)”: https://youtu.be/JPR1cQB8BJM
Devon prepares herself mentally and physically before each performance with yoga, meditation, and vocal warmups, so that her body and mind can handle the gig and allow her spirit to have fun and be focused on the vibe. “The most important aspect of a live show for me is the energy,” she says.
Do you ever get the jitters before you go up on stage? If so, how do you deal with it?
Of course! If I have too much free time before a show, I start to overthink the performance. I deal with jitters by surrounding myself with friends before I go on stage and keeping my mind focused on the smiling faces around me.
Devon told me about one of her special experiences that happened a year ago. She was invited to support The Warning at Mercury Lounge in New York City. They had two sold-out nights back-to-back. “It was surreal to be performing in one of my favorite venues, supporting one of my favorite bands, surrounded by my friends and family. It was also awesome to be a part of a concert totally fueled by girl power!” replied Devon.
This extraordinary young musician has landed her music in several tv shows in the USA and is currently working on her new bubbly Indie-pop EP Helium, which will be released this summer! She loves collaborating with other artists and being part of their special journeys. Writing and producing with other talents has opened up her artistry expression, creative techniques and alternate perspectives.
Is there anything you would like to change about the music business, and do you feel that the internet has impacted this Industry?
During this unprecedented time in the music industry, it has been tricky for artists to share and promote their projects because everyone’s been stuck at home – but being at home has led to an awesome change in the industry, in my opinion. It has required people to expand their reach via the internet and get connected to people they never would have considered reaching out to because of the distance! I am blown away by the amount of global collaboration I’ve experienced and witnessed this year due to everyone’s newfound willingness to create in virtual rooms.
If any young women would like to follow in your footsteps, what words of advice would you like to share with the IMTAC Magazine readers?
The music industry is an incredible community of creative and motivated people, and I find the network of women within the music industry to be especially inspiring. I think my favorite piece of advice that I’ve received is to celebrate the successes of your peers because we’re all on the same team. We’re all on the side of creating and sharing great art, so above all, keep creating art that you love and keep sharing it! And let us know if there’s anything I can do to help – we gotchu girl!
What words best describe your personality style?
Buoyant & Effervescent
Do you have a certain dress style that you have created as a performer and a brand?
I tend to dress like I’m going to a concert because in one way or another, I always am.
