Tag Archives: Kevin Devine

Jan 28 2013
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I Hope This Song Starts a Craze Video

You + Me = Endless Possibilities

“I hope this song starts a craze/ The kind of song that ignites the airwaves/ The kind of song that makes people glad/ To be where they are/ With whomever they’re there with” -Brand New “Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t”

There are few nights that I will remember as vividly as when I saw Kevin Devine, Manchester Orchestra and Brand New play at the Warfield in San Francisco in 2007. There are few moments when you witness musicians share a stage and truly enjoy one another. There was not a single moment that night that was wasted. Yes, there was something magical about that night at the Warfield, and it has yet to be recreated.

I have found myself over the years more and more drawn to this collective of musicians, this collective of friends. They are doing what this Project hopes to create someday-a community of friends that collaborate and support one another in their individual projects. Because that’s what this whole thing is all about-supporting one another. It’s about the local bands. It’s about the bands that open for the larger bands that come through town. It’s about you and me.

So when I heard that Kevin Devine had started a Kickstarter to fund his next two albums, I was stoked. Not only could I support someone who I was artistically in awe of, I could be part of the art. And after all, isn’t that what it’s really about? Isn’t that why we go to a show and sing along to our favorite songs with a room of complete strangers because we want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves? So, be bigger and support and share because one day it’ll come around back to you.

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Jun 21 2012
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I Hope This Song Starts a Craze

Foxy

“When a girl walks along/ She’s humming your song/ With your t-shirt on/ That’s when you’re done/ Oh, that’s when you’re done” Kevin Devine (Cotton Crush)

“How was your show last night? Did you sign any girls?”, I chuckled.

He laughed, “No. It was a Foxes show. Girls don’t like us.”

I rolled my eyes and muttered, “Stupid girls.”

Flat tires, not hearing sirens, and causing general looks of confusion have all been casualties of playing my music too loud in my car. When I drive home to the Bay Area, my dad will occasionally call me during the drive, and when I don’t answer, his message is often, “I’m sure that you can’t hear your phone over your music”. There’s something so freeing about playing your favorite music so loud that it almost becomes the rhythm of your heartbeat. It has been awhile since something has captured me so severely. However, my head has been buzzing lately with the creations of some Handsome Foxes from Raleigh, North Carolina. The striking vocals and lyrics echo of Jesse Lacey and Brand New. The raw energy of this band makes you remember why you fell in love with music in the first place. There are no gimmicks or desperate attempts to appear set apart from the rest. It is unadorned and simple, and in its simplicity is something that will not leave you for a very very long time.

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Nov 11 2011
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I Hope This Song Starts a Craze, Song Birds

Thankful Waiting

“Reform don’t work; I think it’s time we tried revolt/ But I don’t got the guts to jump up and go first/ So I just shout until my throat hurts/ And I curse and I curse/ And while we fucked up in Iraq/ You say support the troops; I do/ I want them all brought back” -Kevin Devine (No Time Flat)

I normally don’t answer numbers that I don’t know, but something told me to answer this call. I hesitantly answered, “Hello?” A voice a million miles away screamed, “Amanda Polick!!!” My heart stopped, and I faintly cried, “Mike?!” He laughed, “Yeah, it’s me.” In an instant, a flood of memories rained down, and my heart ached deeply. The next hour we caught up and reminisced about old times. It didn’t even feel like my dear friend was a million miles away fighting an endless war. And it doesn’t feel like in three weeks, he will be leaving again to do the very same thing.

I have always believed that great change begins with the smallest steps. So, when I saw “The Way We Get By” (http://www.hulu.com/watch/199884/the-way-we-get-by) for the first time, my heart was bursting. This amazing documentary follows three endearing troop greeters at the Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine. It is so simple; they greet and send off every plane that is coming and going to Iraq with soldiers. They have a gift shop where soldiers can use cell phones free of charge to call loved ones, and they provide coffee and cigarettes for soldiers just returning from war. But nothing chokes me up more than watching veterans of past World Wars thanking veterans of the War in Iraq and vice versa. Because it is really that simple. We may not be able to change what is happening with this war that has gone on for far too long, but we can support each other with a simple thank you. So, to one of my favorite people in the entire world and everyone else that has served this country of ours; thank you and come home soon.

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Oct 24 2011
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Song Birds

Comfort Food

“You remind me of home.” -Ben Gibbard (You Remind Me of Home)

When I wish that Los Angeles was a little closer to a place that I used to know as home, I play the music that reminds me of those perfect moments that came and slipped away. When I go home, I try and sit in the moment for as long as possible. I try to absorb every word and image, so that when I leave I can take it all with me. So, on a day when I long to be warmed in the comforts of home, nothing makes me smile like Kevin Devine and Jesse Lacey. It’s mostly because of the meaning that they hold to some of my favorite people in the entire world. When I listen to their music, I feel like I never left. And I hope that when you really need it, you find some precious treasures to remind you of home too.

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Sep 05 2011
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Song Birds

Sitting in the Silence

“Let’s sift through the static to find a simpler sound.” -Kevin Devine (Cotton Crush)

The last of summer is rolling in, and I am trying to grasp onto the last few threads that remain. Sweet tea and a cool breeze echo of the comforts of home. It has been awhile since I have just enjoyed the silence. As much as it is hard to see sometimes, silence is always an answer. Sometimes, I forget to sit in the moment, and to just be content exactly where I am. I get wrapped up in the past or the future of what could be and completely miss the here and now. This year so far has been a bit of a flurry. And for the first time in a long time, I remember what it is like to really be me. So, on one of the last days of summer, I think it is time to close one door and sit in the silence until the next one opens.

April Showers

Perhaps, I wanted this a little too much
Maybe more than I ever needed to
I was holding on so tight, hoping that you needed me too
But the space is apparent and the silence is deafening
And you are not the one I remember
Maybe you never were at all
I don’t need words of sympathy
As much as you wish things were different
Everything is exactly the way that you need it to be
If dreams were for losing, then somehow I always knew that I would lose you
Fly high in your chariot of gold
You are the perpetuator of righteousness, or so I’m told
You were just a mirage of who I needed you to be
You were always almost, but never quite enough
Let go of me-you only want to save face and to walk away with some semblance of grace
And to be someone that supposedly knows me better than myself
The saddest day will be the one when you lose me forever
And you don’t even know it

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