DIERKS BENTLEY WAS a 19-YEAR-OLD from PHOENIX, You Listen to This
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SPOTLIGHT Joshua Dalsimer DEVO De-evolution is real and the future is now Gerald Casale, Bob Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh, Josh Freese, Bob Mothersbaugh DEVO’S MARK MOTHERSBAUGH synth lines, the songs are of a piece with turned the tracks over to several preeminent used to be frustrated that the band was so the band’s classic 1970s and ’80s work. artists and producers for remixing. “That idea “People come up to us all the time and they frequently misunderstood. Today, many of Yet the trademark Devo style remains just came from the song ‘Watch Us Work It,’ ask, ‘What kind of music do you play?’” she the concepts the group put forth 30 years as contemporary as it was when “Whip It” which we originally wrote for a Dell says. “I just make things up. I tell them we’re ago are all too familiar. “We talked about fi rst hit radio. “Each of us had different ideas commercial,” Mothersbaugh explains. Crash Test Dummies or we play Christian de-evolution, and people thought we were about what a new Devo album should sound “Dell’s ad agency asked if we minded if chamber pop. I’m so tired of this indie-versus- crazy,” Mothersbaugh says. “We predicted like,” says Mothersbaugh, referring to fellow [Swedish band] the Teddybears remixed it, jam thing. It’s completely unimportant and one day there would be something called members Gerald Casale, Bob Casale, Josh and we told them to go ahead. When we completely beside the point. Music is music.” Music Television, and our record companies Freese and Mothersbaugh’s brother, Bob. heard the results, we thought, ‘Wow, the On Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, and our managers said, ‘Why are you “We ended up picking the best from both Teddybears made the song sound better new dimensions of maturity in songwriting wasting money making fi lms of your songs?’ worlds—the old and the new.” than we did.’” and musicianship announce that Potter and But those things happened. Now if you ask Until now, Devo had been protective Devo finally feels it is of its time her band, formed in Vermont, have arrived someone if they believe in de-evolution, a of its music to the point of straining its rather than ahead of its time. Perhaps for for real after eight years together. “I think large percentage of people will agree with relationships with producers. “We felt like that reason, the odds are good the group there was a lot of fear over our musicianship that possibility—or that reality.” none of them understood what we were won’t allow 20 years to elapse before in the studio before, so there was a lot of Though two decades have passed since doing,” says Mothersbaugh. “We were the next release. “Making this album has covering things up,” Potter admits. “But Devo last made an album, the band’s new always reluctant to let them have their been an enjoyable process, for the most this time around it’s much more stripped- disc, Something for Everybody, sounds as way with our music.” For Something for part,” he says. “I could see us repeating down and raw and to the point.” On tracks if the group has never been away. Rife with Everybody, however, not only did the band it soon.” JUNE 2010 ISSUE like “Things I Never Needed,”MMUSICMAG.COM “Paris” and robotic beats, brittle guitars and squiggly let its fans choose the track listing, it also –Russell Hall “Medicine,” the group’s experience as road warriors shows in ways only hinted at on previous studio efforts. “We grew slowly on purpose,” she says, “because we’re from a place where immediate success wasn’t DIERKSDAdrien Broom IERKS BENTLEYBENTLEY considered success at all.” Now Potter hopes the comparisons A country star rediscovers a teenage will fi nally cease. “When I fi rst met BonnieBonnie love affair with bluegrass Raitt,Raitt, I was about 17,” she recalls. “I went up GRACEGRACE POTTERPOTTER & to her with my CDCD and said, ‘Bonnie, I hope DIERKS BENTLEY WAS A 19-YEAR-OLD FROM PHOENIX, you listen to this. A lot of people say I sound Ariz., aiming for a career as a country singer when he walked into like you.’ She said, ‘Thanks, but I probably THENashville’s Station NOCTURNALS Inn nightclub, famous as the stomping ground will never listen to it.’ And it was perfect. She Castingto many of the asidecity’s fi nest comparisons bluegrass pickers. What andhe heard coming there wasn’t trying to break my heart, she was just changed his life. “Up to that point I always thought of bluegrass trying to teach me that this is a big world intomusic astheir being anown older generation’s genre,” he says. “I didn’t and there’s a lot of people out there trying associate it with being young, cool and hip. But I walked in and to make it, and you’re never going to get sawGRACE kids POTTERmy age tearing & THE away NOCTURNALS on these instruments come and into having their soown. “This timeDanny Clinch around anywhere telling somebody that you sound muchhad always fun playing worn together. their 1960s It was likeand Columbus ’70s there’s seeing moreland—it of was an identity,” says Potter. like somebody else.” ainfluences whole other on thing their I never sleeves, knew existed.”as their “We’ve really turned the tables.” For Potter, it’s all about looking ahead charismatic frontwoman drew comparisons The band earned such comparisons now. “There’s a new rock ’n’ roll revolution 1616 to greats ranging from Bonnie Raitt to Janis in the fi rst place with its blazing live shows, going on,” she says, “and I want to be on that Joplin. But with the release of their self-titled which appealed particularly to the jam-band train and take it as far as I can take it.” third album, Potter and company have truly crowd. But Potter shakes off categorization. –Jeff Tamarkin M mag 4.indd 16 6/15/10 11:29:18 PM Bentley eventually got the mainstream country career to make all the collaborations happen in an unforced way. “I didn’t he was afterafter,, but always made sure to include a detour into want to make a record that was like Dierks Bentley and Friends bluegrass on each of his albums. For his latest, Up on the Ridge, he Do Bluegrass Music,” he says with a chuckle. “It just came together opted to pursue a sound closer to what he heard that fi rst night naturally. It was really organic.” at the Station Inn than to the sleek sounds of modern country Bentley is the fi rst to acknowledge that Up on the Ridge radio. He set up shop with producer Jon Randall and tackled is not a straightforward bluegrass album—rather, it’s a record that a set of songs ranging from his own originals to Kris Kristofferson’s combines his infl uences from that genre as well as country and rock “Bottle to the Bottom” and even a version of U2’s “Pride (In the in an acoustic setting. “Pretty much from day one I knew we were Name of Love)” that fi nds bluegrass elder statesman Del McCoury going to start breaking down the genre walls,” he says. “I said, ‘It’s singing the chorus’ keening harmony part. “Here’s a guy that’s as gonna have drums on it, it’s gonna have electric bass on it, but it’s hardcore bluegrass as they get,” Bentley says, “but I thought his obviously going to be heavily bluegrass-y.’ I felt like the record was voice would sound great on that song.” going to be what it was going to be, and everyone else can defi ne McCoury is only one in a long list of high-profi le guests that it as whatever they want to defi ne it as. I hope they’ll just defi ne it also includes Alison Krauss, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, the as being good.” Punch Brothers and Kristofferson himself. Bentley was determined –Chris Neal 17 M mag 4.indd 17 6/15/10 11:29:44 PM AS SEEN IN: JUNE 2010 M MUSIC & MUSICIANS MAGAZINE.