Interview
with Andri Leonardo by Sergio Vilar for
Nucleus (nucleus@netvek.com.ar)
February 22, 2004
Question
- When and how was Devas formed?
Devas
was formed in 1997 in Boston. At first it was a project band. We played
mostly studio sessions for several different projects. We had no name and
the members were coming and going.
Guitarist Devrim Eldelekli and I started co-writing a few
songs, two of them ended up on the current album: “Run” and
“The other side”. We recorded an EP in spring 2001 with Arnold
Mischkulnig. Most members left after that, in order to pursue their
own musical careers. Bass player David Lindeman and I continued
writing and found new musicians: On guitar Gianni Chiarello,
on keyboards Emir Isilay, and on drums Kaoru Suzuki.
We played in New England, mostly around Boston and we started recording
our new cd True illusions.
Question - How did you find the name Devas?
The name “Deva”
is Persian for shining one. In Sanskrit it means a resplendent deity. I
got the idea from a book I read a few years ago, “The Deva Handbook”
by Nathaniel Altman. Devas are spirits of nature, like
the spirit of a waterfall, a mountain or a tree. I felt Devas
was a good name for a rock band, it has this mystic sound to it.
Question - Who would you say are your influences?
Generally I believe
that musicians are always inspired and influenced by everything they ever
heard in their lives. The person who inspired me the most though, is Freddy
Mercury from Queen. I think he is a great singer
and songwriter, and an awesome performer. But there are others like Yes,
Dream Theater, Van Halen and Rush,
Gentle Giant, and Frank Zappa, whom I
believe to be the Mozart of our days. There are many.
Question - Was True illusions a concept
from the beginning till the end?
Yes and no. We had a
pretty clear picture of what we wanted and what not. But during the recording
process of True illusions things started to change and
I felt drifting towards a new sound. I think we only scratched the surface
of that “new sound”, but it is something I’d like to explore
and work on. I have a better picture now, of where I want it to take me.
I believe this to be the magic in music, when you let the music take you
where it wants to go.
Question - Is Devas your only project?
All of Devas’
members have their own projects which makes it difficult to keep Devas
together. Everybody has another band they play in and these are scattered
throughout the world. Gianni is London, David
is playing with a band called Degree Absolute in Austin
TX, Kaoru returned to Japan and is gigging there and Emir
plays in fusion bands and writes for film here in LA. I have had my own
side projects, from writing for theatre and musicals to being the keyboardist
of a latin pop band called Patje.
Question - How is the work within the band distributed
when composing? Do all the members compose or is there a main composer?
Since everybody has their own projects, everybody writes, but not necessarily
for Devas. I do love to co-write. The band really comes
in when we arrange the songs. The line between writing and arranging is
a fine one. So everybody has an influence on our music.
Question - Are you thinking about publishing another album
this year? Is there a tentative date of release?
There will definitely
be a new album, there is a lot of new material I have been working on. An
exact release date does not yet exist.
Question - What can we expect from your next album? With
what will Devas meet?
As I said before,
this “new sound” I discovered by making True illusions
is what I am exploring right now. Turning this into rock music and put it
on a record is our new goal.
Question - A final question. What is the most important
quality of Devas?
I think the diversity of the musicians in terms of cultures we grew up in,
is what gives Devas its strength. As long as we are true to ourselves, nothing
can go wrong.
