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A Very Belated But Amazingly Blissful Musical Discovery
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JohnnyFavorite wrote:
Here a link to a new Devin interview in Guitar Interactive magazine, if you're interested, Mr. Yoon:

http://view.ceros.com/lick-library/gi24/p/12


Thanks very much for this link, Johnny. I enjoyed both the article and especially the interview. Yes, Devin is an enigma - a very interesting one at that.

I've actually been experimenting a bit with his modified "Open C" tuning. I've never had the desire to try different tunings until I discovered Devin but I may just have a guitar or two tuned permanently to this and start learning some of his stuff - perhaps on a Strandberg I've got coming. Twisted Evil

I guess the thing I can relate to Devin and his music is the whole "bi-polar" aspect of trying to combine and reconcile extreme opposites and conflicting dualities. For me, one of it is the whole East-West dichotomy. My moniker is a nod to that.

Then you have science vs. mysticism, art vs. commerce, logic vs. intuition, feel vs. technique, and on and on and on... All fascinating stuff... For me, growing up in both Korea and the US in my youth definitely shaped me in a certain way. I'm both and I'm neither. And, you know what, I like it that way although I hated having to go back and forth between the two back then. Now I'm very grateful I did. I can look at both from inside and out. It's really fascinating to explore what seem like irreconcilable antipodes and see how they can be combined and fused to create something new.

I think that's my connection with all of my favorite musicians and artists in general. That would include Guthrie, Devin, Metheny, Jeff Beck, Beethoven, Wagner, and others who would never be accused of being "purists". They deeply understand/understood what's "pure" but then combined it with other styles, genres, and influences to create something unique and their own. That's probably why I have a fascination with the great conquerors of history - they conquered and they fused all the different nations, peoples, cultures, and languages to create new worlds. Much easier said that done...
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Tue May 06, 2014 12:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And today is Devy's 42nd birthday. Saw this EMG-TV vid on YT that got uploaded today. What a funny guy (during the solo). Laughing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdNT_o5gXBI

Guthrie is like: "you really are having a full-on Devin Epiphany atm, aren't you?!"

Yes, I am, Guthrie. Just like I had an epiphany with a certain UK guitar virtuoso after he did a clinic exactly a decade ago. Wink
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JohnnyFavorite



Joined: 01 Jul 2012
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2014 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ed, have you checked out any Opeth?

Out of interest, is Guthrie a fan of Devin?
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Fri May 09, 2014 2:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JohnnyFavorite wrote:
Ed, have you checked out any Opeth?

Out of interest, is Guthrie a fan of Devin?


Yeah, I have some Opeth albums - 'Ghost Reveries' and 'Still Life'. I like some of the stuff but I can't say they've enamored me. Some of it is really good and some stuff just makes me want to move onto something else.

Like me, Guthrie hasn't had much exposure to Devin's stuff. Guthrie really isn't a metal fan although he can appreciate the good stuff for the musicianship, creativity, originality, etc.

I've sent Guthrie some of the choice Devin stuff but I don't think he's had the time to check it out yet. He said that he had heard 'Ziltoid the Omniscient' and thought there were some cool moments on there but even I'd have to say that that's not a good starting point for Devin's stuff.

He's just not a metal guy and not really into the totally saturated guitar sounds. I've always been into that over-the-top distortion to a degree so I always kept up with the heaviest bands over the years although I can't say I liked most of them (Meshuggah being a notable exception). For me, it was the singing (or growling) of most recent metal bands that turned me off.

Devin really sings and even a lot of the Strapping Young Lad stuff is actually quite melodic. I love SYL's 'City' and 'Alien' albums. That's the kind of metal I really like - super heavy and aggressive but still plenty of memorable melodic content.

I realize it's all personal taste. I just really like Devin's voice, vocal style, and his songs and compositions. He has a lot of "Euro" flavor in his music for lack of a better term. Some people aren't going to like that at all. I love classical music of all sorts and Devin's style has some of the late Romantic era vibe to it as well as Broadway musical sensibilities, which I also enjoy every now and then.

I'm not into the Yngwie-style neoclassical thing at all anymore. I used to be but it just makes me cringe now. I'm more into classical for its overall compositional sense, the moods it creates, the overall orchestrations, the timbres and textures and things like that. And I hear those kinds of classical influences in some of Devin's music - not Paganini or Liszt licks and patterns. These days, I'm much more interested in songs and compositions than virtuosic performances.

Recently, I saw some videos of the Ringers featuring Mike Landau, Wayne Krantz, and Jimmy Herring. As awesome of guitar players as they all are, I just couldn't sit through any of it. And I absolutely love Landau, but guys taking turns playing long blues guitar solos just doesn't grab my interest anymore. Songs or compositions first. If they're good, I really couldn't care less if the songs have guitar solos or not or even guitar sounds at all.

Another thing I really don't get is judging someone purely by the guitar sounds alone. There are all these guitar players who are known for their "tone", but my thinking is, "Well, if the music is not that good or memorable, what's the point of good guitar sounds?" I like and appreciate good guitar sounds like any other "tone aficionado" (hey, that's the business I'm in) but, now, good guitar tone is pretty low on my list compared to the overall songwriting, composition, arrangement, instrumentation, the mix, the vocals, the singing, production, etc.

For instance, I think Devin's guitar sounds are fine but it's not something I'll try to reproduce down to the minutest details like some guys will do with Robben Ford, Landau, Santana, EVH, Eric Johnson, Jimi, SRV, etc. I just don't get the obsession to try to sound exactly like someone else - mainly by trying to duplicate their gear when gear actually has so little to do with it. It's like budding singers trying to emulate their favorite singers' voice when they should just learn to sing properly.

Anyway, went off on a tangent there. Wink
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