DeVotchKa's big break came with the hit indie flick "Little Miss Sunshine" and its Grammy-nominated soundtrack, which the band scored, but its got its own story to tell, as well.
DeVotchKa performs at the Turner Ballroom on Thursday, May 8. We sat down with drummer and trumpet player Shawn King to find out how the group defies genres, what its plan is for Milwaukee, and how to sell a McRib.
OnMilwaukee.com: DeVotchKa's sound has roots in the past and traditional types of music. So, going back further, before you joined the band, what were you doing?
Shawn King: There's quite a bit of a studied side to us. Tom (Hagerman) has been playing violin since he was 7 years old -- everything from youth orchestras to the symphonies. Likewise with Jeanie (Schroder). She's been on sousaphone since she was in sixth grade. We come from some different backgrounds. Nick (Urata) and I both were doing various rock band type stuff. I was studying a lot of Brazillian and Cuban rhythms at the time. We definitely draw on a lot of scholastic stuff but we also try to do our best with editing each other when we put it together for the live shows. We're usually pretty good about knowing what to leave out as much as we're trying to encourage each other to bring some of that studied stuff in.
OMC: Your albums defy genres. Some say it follows the current indie rock trends while others classify it as world music. What do you do to avoid falling into the generalized categories?
SK: Yeah, looking at the band you'd want to put the "world music" moniker on it, but hearing the band, you know we're not trying to sound like something on a Putumayo compilation. Part of it has to do with some of the rock elements, too. Not being afraid to use some of the things that we grew up with and loved, like distorted guitars, loud drums and certain keyboard sounds. It's never ever been our goal to make this an "eclectic band" and make it "weird." That is the furthest thing from our intention. I know that Nick, when he started the band, was certainly trying to get the band to explore different instruments and get different sounds instead of regular rock instrumentation. But at no time did we say, "Let's make sure we have these pan flutes, or whatever." I think it really has to do with the rock influences that we all have and not so much of a world influence that we have.
OMC: You've toured with the gypsy punk band, Gogol Bordello. They put a lot of emphasis on the diversity of their crew, be it the Ukraine, Russia or even Minnesota. Your band is more American, but has its ethnic roots. Does this matter?
SK: We've tried to create this thing where the music is going to take you away, and it may not be clear, looking at this woman with a sousaphone, where she's from or what she's doing on stage, but hopefully the show and the music, the sound and what it looks like, is what takes people away. Being American and bringing this kind of thing over to Europe, you definitely have to prove something. But within a couple of songs, the audience realizes that what we're doing is true and it's coming from a good place. This last tour we had some amazing response, from Dublin to Istanbul. I was thinking about it when we got home and was so happy that our music could translate and that it blew all those people away and that we could get an energy in the room. That just transcends the borders.
OMC: You mentioned the look of the show. Are you bringing the stage show to Milwaukee?
SK: When I say the look we always try to make, it visually fits with what's happening sonically. Sometimes it's the instruments alone; Jeanie has this mesmerizing silver Tuba and Tom has this antique accordion. But if everything goes right we'll actually have some performers in Milwaukee. We're also using two string players from (opener) Basia Bulat and we also have a Swedish violinist, Elan Palmer. We're trying to bring them on to as many shows as possible for this tour. It always makes me feel much better when I see a band and the lights are good and there's an ambience. I've seen the opposite, and I can still be moved by that, but it's really fun when you go to a show and you can get lost in the whole package.
OMC: Which song did McDonald's want to use for a commercial?
SK: (Laughs). I don't know if you remember the McRib? They were doing a local spot so this would have aired in Denver and not much further. I guess they wanted to use the song "Dearly Departed" with the lyrics "Sweetheart, how I miss your heart." And it was kind of a horrifying image for us, because this is a song about terrible heartbreak and Nick is just belting out some of his most heartfelt lyrics, and we were just imagining someone squeezing this McRib, and getting a little sauce on their shirt and giggling or something? I don't know. We turned it down. These things are really interesting. People don't seem to care as much where their music is placed anymore. And I can't blame them, because rejecting something like a McDonald's commercial doesn't really make the headlines.
OMC: Is there an over-arching message that the band is trying to send? Or is it just storytelling? Is there an ultimate goal?
SK: We really just want to provide an escape. That can be done in many different ways and with the current record, we've put together this tale with a beginning, middle and end. It plays like a record and I think everyone in the band agrees that this is how we want to keep making music. We're not going to change the way we create our music just because everyone prefers to buy one track off of iTunes. For the most part we've been lucky. Our record label, ANTI-, lets us do what we want.
We don't have songs cut for radio length and hopefully we don't have to go that route of shortening things or making an iTunes single. That has already changed and you're going see even more change in the way people are coming out with stuff in the next few years. We came out with a vinyl record, too, which was one of my main goals. We've had other interviews ask the same question and I feel like I should call the band and ask, "Guys, what are we doing with our lives?" I just hope we can continue to expand and grow this thing.
OMC: Should we expect you to be doing any auxiliary instruments, besides drums and trumpet?
SK: I've always got a glockenspiel on hand, and Tom taught me some accordion stuff so once in a while I pick up accordion and play a song. I think there's going to be a lot of instrument changing on this tour. So we'll have to see. I'm not opposed to playing more stuff, but it depends on how much space we have. I would love to bring the vibraphone on the road someday.
Jason McDowell grew up in central Iowa and moved to Milwaukee in 2000 to attend the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.
In 2006 he began working with OnMilwaukee as an advertising designer, but has since taken on a variety of rolls as the Creative Director, tackling all kinds of design problems, from digital to print, advertising to branding, icons to programming.
In 2016 he picked up the 414 Digital Star of the Year award.
Most other times he can be found racing bicycles, playing board games, or petting dogs.
