Local Spins spotlights the Grand Rapids band and its long-awaited recording, while also debuting music by The Rebel Eves, The Mollusks, Deadbeatdad, August and more.
Rising from the Ashes of the Dead Frets: Devin Weber and The Local Commuters. (Photo/Local Spins)
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As a young musician, Devin Weber leaned toward rock ’n’ roll as a sort of rebellion against the country music stereotype of his rural upbringing in Hopkins, Mich.
So, the band he later formed with lifelong friend and drummer Jordan Kerbyson, Devin & The Dead Frets, uncorked energetic, blues-propelled rock that even saw them compete in a metal-dominated battle of the bands.
A dozen years ago, Local Spins even described the fledgling group as a cross between The White Stripes and The Black Crowes.
But as that band faded away and he sowed the seeds of The Local Commuters as COVID-19 set in, Weber found himself organically creating songs with his bandmates inspired by country music, Southern rock and legendary singer-songwriter John Prine.
The Band: Playing The Pyramid Scheme on Saturday with special guests. (Courtesy Photo)
“I guess we’d call it alt-country with some rock. Our influences are all over the place,” Weber said.
“We really derive inspiration from many genres and eras. In our live sets, we’ve done everything from Thin Lizzy to Jerry Jeff Walker to Dire Straits to Alan Jackson to REM to Richard and Linda Thompson and everything in between.”
Weber also described it as “rock ’n’ roll country. It’s all kind of the same to me, honestly. We’ve got a pedal steel guitar on it, so I couldn’t say that we tried to sound like anyone. I would say maybe it’s like a Drive-By Truckers, Allman Brothers, but also we all kind of bonded over our love of John Prine.”
In addition to Weber and Kerbyson, the core band features lead guitarist and singer Ben Erhart (The Jetbeats, Brie Stoner), bassist Matt Allen (Boss Mustangs) and guitarist-singer Sam Starkie (Brie Stoner). Pedal steel guitarist Justin Wierenga and singer Alistair Beerens also are featured on the band’s debut EP, which was recorded at Tommy Schichtel’s Goon Lagoon studio in Grand Rapids.
PLANS FOR A ROBUST ALBUM-RELEASE SHOW AND ANOTHER EP
Local Commuters officially releases the five-track “Tired of Everything” EP at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, with Brother Adams and Silver Creek Revival also on the bill. Advance tickets are $17.98 and available online here.
Keyboardist Tim Bober and pedal steel guitarist Andy Szumowski will join The Local Commuters on Saturday.
“It’s the biggest band we’ve ever played with live. I’m really excited about it,” said Weber, who conceded the writing, recording and releasing of this long-awaited project took more than two years to complete.
Hundreds of Songs in His ‘Voice Notes’: Weber (Photo/Local Spins)
“To be honest with you, we have so many more songs now that we really want to get back into the studio. … We’re looking to go in and do another EP before the end of the year and get that out. This is the best stuff I’ve been involved in and it’s a really collaborative effort. … The idea is to hit the ground running, but in a realistic way.”
As for the songs themselves, Weber said they morphed into a theme that’s lyrically “about aging and reckoning with life not going exactly the way you planned it.”
In recent years, Weber has been a key part of tribute bands created by Grand Rapids’ Hazy Past and Brian Haik, something that’s helped hone his guitar and vocal skills.
“Certainly, as a player and singer, it’s helped immensely,” he said. “But in my heart of hearts, the thing that’s most important to me is making my own songs and our own songs, and kind of getting ’em out there for the people or maybe just for us.”
For this week’s edition of the Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase – which airs at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org, and on Interlochen Public Radio at 7 p.m. Saturdays – Weber spotlighted the tracks, “Debutante” and “Young Man” from the debut EP.
The show also features new music from The Mollusks, Deadbeatdad, Matthew Borr, Horizon Theory, The Rebel Eves, Yolonda Lavender, August and Elisabeth Pixley-Fink, as well as a 2019 single from Brother Adams (which plays The Pyramid Scheme with Local Commuters on Saturday). Listen to the full show and interview here.
PODCAST: Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase (7/28/25)
VIDEO: The Local Commuters, “Young Man” (Live)
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