The Grand Rapids rockers returned with special guests to Local Spins on WYCE, which also debuted new tracks by Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers, Chris DuPont, Lazy Genius, Mark Lavengood and more.
Playing Better Than Ever Before: Devin Weber of Devin & The Dead Frets (Photo/Anna Sink)
THE BAND: Devin & The Dead Frets
THE MUSIC: Rock ’n’ roll
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE BAND: 8 p.m. Wednesday at SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids as part of the Local Spins Wednesdays series
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When Devin & The Dead Frets competed in a battle of the bands at The Orbit Room several years ago – a fish out of water among a host of heavy metal headbangers – frontman Devin Weber was so nervous about performing at the biggest venue the Wayland-bred group had ever played that he thought he was going to throw up backstage.
Fast forward several years to 2017, following release of the band’s impressive debut album last summer, and Devin & The Dead Frets are most certainly a more confident, self-assured rock ‘n’ roll bunch.
On the Air: Weber, Taber, Kerbyson and Olmos. (Photo/Local Spins)
“I feel like we’re getting more dynamic in our songwriting. Finally … after all these years, we’re featuring some background vocals, which I’m pretty proud of,” Weber said, before adding somewhat tongue-in-cheek: “I guess we’re essentially still the same people – we’re a little more beat down by life at this point, so our songs are still more full of angst. I didn’t know there could be any more. (But) we’re better playing together than we ever have been.”
Weber and drummer Jordan Kerbyson proved that in their appearance this week for Local Spins on WYCE, aided by some special guests in the studio – bassist Nathan Walton, guitarist Ben Taber and piano-pounder Ricky Olmos (filling in for regular band members Eric Batenburg and Zach Nelson).
The group churned out a new tune, “There Goes My Appetite” (which could be released later this year as part of Weber/Kerbyson duo project) and a classic, “Queens,” from Devin & The Dead Frets’ 2016 debut album. Check out the video for “Queens” here, with the full Local Spins on WYCE podcast below.
VIDEO: Devin & The Dead Frets (with special guests), “Queens” (Local Spins on WYCE)
Video by David Specht
After taking some time off this winter, the Grand Rapids band is “looking to get back into the swing of things” for 2017 as it follows up on its inaugural studio album. The band plays SpeakEZ Lounge in Grand Rapids at 8 p.m. Wednesday; get details online here.
“In hindsight, I do feel really good about it,” Weber said of that project, which took two years to complete. “I think there’s a lot of strong songs on there. But it’s like any piece of work you work on that long, you’re ready to do the next thing. We love that album and we hope to sell many more copies of it, but we’re also looking forward to writing some new music and getting something else out this year.”
Not at all surprising, of course, considering the band’s driving force.
“We don’t really know what do,” Weber said, “other than to play and record.”
This week’s edition of Local Spins on WYCE also boasted the premiere of new songs by Michigan artists including Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers (who released a new album, “Pluto,” on Friday and play 20 Monroe Live on Saturday night), Lazy Genius, Mark Lavengood, Chris DuPont and Dede & The Dreamers, as well as music from Watching for Foxes, The Connell-Brewer Jazz Band and The Legal Immigrants. Listen to the full podcast here.
PODCAST: Local Spins on WYCE with Devin & The Dead Frets (3/31/17)
Next Week (April 7) for Local Spins on WYCE: Conrad Shock & The Noise
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