Kevin Devine with special guest performances by Brianna Collins & Ben Walsh (Tigers Jaw), Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Meredith Graves (Perfect Pussy), M

Kevin Devine is an American songwriter and musician from Brooklyn, New York, who is known for alternately introspective and political lyrics and melodic acoustic guitar tunes. He cites his influences as Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith, Guns N' Roses, Brother Paramo and Nirvana, among others. He grew up in Brooklyn and Staten Island, and has spent significant time in Manhattan and Queens as well. Devine graduated Fordham University at Lincoln Center in 2001, majoring in journalism. He also played in an indie/punk/emo band called Miracle of 86 after the (Miracle) New York Mets. Even before that, he played with a popular band in the local Staten Island scene called Delusion. At Fordham he was able to hone his acoustic solo skills by playing at various open-mic and college events which made him very popular among the student body.

During this time he also appeared in regular stints at the Wetlands Preserve. Although still relatively unknown, Devine gained some popularity with his 2003 album, Make the Clocks Move. Newer songs reflect Devine's political views and the recent death of his father to a stroke. He has recorded records for Immigrant Sun Records and Triple Crown Records and has worked with Brooklyn based producer Mike Skinner, who is also credited as the drummer on his solo records as well as the drummer for Miracle of 86. He signed with Capitol Records, who released his fourth album, Put Your Ghost to Rest, on October 17, 2006. Only four months after his major label debut, Devine was dropped from Capitol Records due to EMI merging Virgin and Capitol Records.

Devine was able to gather a strong fan base as a result of his exposure through touring with Brand New. First appearing as their opening act in their 2004 spring tour, Devine made a small splash among their fan base. However, opening for them again in April 2006, and joining their 2007 Spring tour with Manchester Orchestra, Kevin's following was multiplying by the day. (Kevin also opened for Brand New as a surprise act at the Triple Crown Records 10th Anniversary Concert.)
Devine's late 2007 touring schedule included a tour with close friend Jesse Lacey (of Brand New) and Grace Read at the end of July through early August, followed by a short trip to London, a spot on the Austin City Limits Festival, and a tour with Chin Up Chin Up throughout Germany. In October 2007 he toured with Andy Hull from Manchester Orchestra and Owen.

Kevin posted numerous demos via his MySpace profile in late 2007/early 2008 and after negotiations with Capitol records, "Put Your Ghost To Rest" was re-released on April 20, 2008 by Procrastinate! Music Traitors.

Kevin toured Europe with Jenny Owen Youngs and Tournaments in May and other tours followed throughout 2008 with Jesse Lacey, Rachael Yamagata and Matt Pryor in August and September 2008.[1]

In late 2008, Kevin announced his new album Brother's Blood would be released in early 2009 on Favorite Gentlemen records, as well as a tour with Manchester Orchestra and the I Could Be With Anyone EP in support of both.


Known for their undeniably down-to-earth charm, Tigers Jaw somehow manages to be part Fleetwood Mac, part Saves the Day, working the odd-sounding combination to their full advantage. With their boy-girl harmonies, chunky guitars and shimmering organs, it's tough not to immediately feel the impact of their music and even more difficult to suppress the urge to sing along.


Matthew Caws is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of Nada Surf and is also a member Minor Alps, alongside Juliana Hatfield. Caws makes a appearance on Bad Timing Records via a part of Kevin Devine’s Devinyl Split series.


More like a conversation between friends than a collection of songs, Devinyl Splits No. 2 is an incredibly personal release for Kevin Devine and Meredith Graves. Kevin and Meredith each contribute a song that speaks to parts of their past that still haunt them today. The collaborative project takes both artists to a deeply emotional place.

"Took The Ghost To The Movies" is the first song Meredith Graves has released under her own name. The song was recorded with fellow Perfect Pussy member Shaun Sutkus in a Brooklyn bedroom, with vocals recorded in a Melbourne hotel room. Fueled by an anxious pulse and filled with echoing, heart-heavy vocals, "Took The Ghost To The Movies" is a strikingly intimate kickoff to the split.


"Wanna wake up wanting to listen to records / But those old feelings elude me / I raise a toast to the rock n' roll ghost," sings Cymbals Eat Guitars frontman Joseph D'Agostino on the hyper-adrenalized "XR," which sounds like a Tonight's the Nightouttake recorded at triple speed, with its braying harmonica and spitfire vocal delivery. It's the track that perhaps best captures the spirit of the band's third LP, LOSE, one of coping with abject loss and grief by rediscovering what you've always loved, as difficult as it may be—the redemptive power of music. For D'Agostino, this entailed coming to terms with his best friend and musical collaborator Benjamin High, who passed away suddenly seven years ago, just as Cymbals Eat Guitars began recording in earnest.

LOSE is a very apropos title because it refers not only to losing Ben, but also it's about a sort of nostalgia, a longing for a time when music meant everything to you and your friends, and it seemed like one great rock record could change everyone's life the way it changed yours," says D'Agostino. "It's about being in mourning for your long-held belief that music could literally change the world. That's the contradiction at the heart ofLOSE... You're disillusioned, but somehow you can do nothing else but rail against that feeling mightily and try, once again, to make a record that makes you and everyone else 'wake up wanting to listen to records'."

And indeed, the band, rounded out by bassist Matthew Whipple, keyboardist Brian Hamilton, and drummer Andrew Dole, alongside producer John Agnello, do little wallowing. This is a raucous affair, an Irish Wake, ultimately rooted in nothing less than a celebration of just being alive.

"Jackson" kicks off the album in prototypical Cymbals fashion—all allusions to suburban ennui, drugs, and geography, as D'Agostino reminisces, "We're riding through Jackson Pines / Towards Six Flags to wait in lines," with an agoraphobic romantic companion whom he directly addresses, "You're taking two Klonopin / So you can quit flipping / And face our friends." Yet, this is a leaner, more sinister Cymbals. The vocals are crisper, the drums more dynamic, the bass more melodic, all buttressed by a sensational see-saw guitar figure that blossoms into a lacerating yet anthemic rocker.

"I think this one is obviously more accessible than Why There Are Mountains or Lenses Alien," says D'Agostino, referring to the band's first two LPs, their debut having been awarded Pitchfork's coveted Best New Music. "The first two had a lot more stop and start," he continues. "This one has a ton of momentum. It's got fluidity and grace. I think I gave the lyrics more room to breathe, so you can kind of follow what's going on."

The record also features some radical stylistic departures for the band. "We just got tired of playing mathy, ponderous songs every night," laughs D'Agostino. This sea change is exemplified by the tranquil, gorgeous Velvets-esque ballad "Child Bride," and the soulful slow-burn of "Laramie," that finds D'Agostino crooning in a near Prince-esque falsetto, "I'll do the Kev and you can do the Charles," slyly referencing band favorite The Wrens, before admitting with contrition, "We were both in need of rescue / So who saved whom?"

And that's what's perhaps most impressive about LOSE—the manner in which D'Agostino comes clean with his emotions, tackling seemingly ineffable mourning without equivocation. "There are no $5 words that you'll have to pull up dictionary.comfor... some of the lyrics are directly confessional. Very open, no obfuscation," he explains. "I lost my dear friend a while ago and I've sort of been addressing it in song for most of my career, though you probably couldn't really tell until now. It's just a direct expression of grief. I figured if I confronted it head-on on record it'd make for some interesting music."

But this is more than interesting—LOSE is a headlong rush of regret sublimated into a grand catharsis.

"These songs are a joy to play, and hopefully they will be a joy to listen to," says D'Agostino. "I know I still get chills from every song on this record, so that has to mean something. You have to trust that feeling."