Music can take you on quite the ride.
And one of Knoxville’s best attributes is its variety of musical vehicles.
East Tennessee boasts an array of independent radio stations and a few of the specialty shows that these stations present are truly special. One of BLANK’s favorites is the “Indie Isle,” which takes place each Monday evening from 8:00-10:00 PM on 90.3 The Rock.
Occasionally I’ll hear something on the show and like it so much that I call in to find out the artist and title of the song.
A few months ago I did just that, but had no idea that anything would come of it.
The song was fun and sunny, and just what I needed to finish the ride home.
As I walked in the door, I made the call and a cheery young lady gave me the info I was looking for. “That was ‘Yell it Out’ by The Derevolutions.”
With the new info in tow and a pep still in my step from the tune, I Googled the song and perused the entire catalogue of this cool new band I had discovered. I found a couple of other nice tunes and even found one that I enjoyed more than the one that had turned me on to the band. From there I went to Facebook and gave the band the old fashioned ‘like.’ But after not being able to find out much of anything about the act, I took it a step further and reached out.
After trading a few messages, I find that The Derevolutions isn’t a band with several members. Instead it’s the work of a single person with a diverse taste in music and only enough time to record these exotic and fluorescent tracks on nights and weekends.
After he agreed to an interview, his first ever with this project, I worked up some questions but a deadline hit and I forgot to finish the job.
Then a month later, as I was falling asleep to ESPN, something caught my ear. I snapped up out of bed like The Undertaker would from a 1990’s wrestling mat and realized it was the same song I had called the station about.
The man behind the band is Brett Boucher, 26, who has a normal day job in Northhampton, Massachusetts and his song, “Yell it Out,” had been chosen by ESPN for a campaign promoting the station’s signature show, SportsCenter. The commercial puts The Derevolutions song behind a myriad of the sporting world’s fastest rising, young stars and is a perfect fit for the concept of the ad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJMDBnq34nE
After reconnecting and congratulating Boucher on the commercial, I grow to realize that I’m not dealing with the average musician. He owns an atypical ability to deflect compliments while retaining a tinge of bravado in regards to his craft. He seemed completely unfazed by the commercial and the opportunity that it could present in the future. There was, above anything, his appreciation for being able to make music and if people liked it, that just seemed to be a bonus.
As you’ll come to find if you continue reading, he’s just as quick to reference Duane Eddy or The Ronettes as he is Eminem or Outkast, granting each an honorary position in his list of influences.
Here is my conversation with the most laid-back perfectionist I’ve come across in the music world to date. And it’s one of my favorites.
BLANK: How long have you been playing music? What’s the first instrument you learned to play? What’s the first instrument you loved?
DR: I started playing guitar and writing songs near the end of high school. I’m 26 now so I’d say 8 years. I didn’t get serious about recording and writing until a few years ago. In tandem with learning to play guitar, I learned to record and sample sounds, which is important when you don’t have a band. So, the winner is both my guitar and computer.
B: Where are you from? What’s the music scene like there?
DR: I like to say The Derevolutions are based out of Northampton, MA. It’s the closest hip town around. The music scene sorta sounds like it did in 1988, I’d imagine. Indie punk alt rock. I don’t play live (not to say I wont, but I don’t have time between work and recording), so I can’t really comment on being a part of it. I live in my own music scene, which transcends geography and time. I think it’s healthy to be going up against the greats instead of limiting myself to a particular city or scene in 2013.
B: Have you played in any other outfits other than what you’re doing now?
DR: I had one band before. I won’t mention the name because I wouldn’t have stopped the project if I enjoyed the recordings we released. The songs were good but my production style wasn’t so much a style yet. One of my best buddies played lead guitar, and ironically, we split after he gambled away all of my bitcoins on this stupid 50/50 flip on a coin site. No joke. That was when they were worth $2 a piece. I guarantee there was some man on the other side of the Internet manually clicking “win”, or “lose”.
B: Have you employed your love for other musicians work into your music? What veins of music do you most enjoy?
DR: Of course, isn’t that the essence of music or anything really? Man, I listen to everything pretty much. I really like doo wop, and early soul, and Tropicalia like anything Rogerio Duprat produced, and The Beatles, and The Pixies, and Wu Tang, and David Bowie, and Wire, and Lee Hazlewood, and LCD Soundsystem, and Jorge Ben and Fela Kuti, and The Strokes, Eminem/Dre, and Serge Gainsbourg, and My Bloody Valentine, and Damon Albarn, and Geoff Emerick and The Ramones. Nobodies better than The Beatles though (except maybe the first 2 Eminem/Dre albums. Those are psychedelic pop masterpieces).
B: How long has The Derevolutions been around?
DR: Since I chose a bandname for that album I put up in May.
B: How on Earth did someone in Knoxville, TN find and play your stuff on the radio when it didn’t seem like you were pushing it very hard? Were you surprised when we looked you up?
DR: I dunno, man. I’m already skeptical of someone who likes my songs because I don’t even think they’re that good yet. Instead, take my advice and find all of the old, hardly discovered music being put up on youtube by elderly record nerds. There is one Youtube user that has 15,000 of the most mindblowing doowop and northern soul 45’s I’ve ever heard. I tried contacting him and asking what the deal was and he says, “ALL SONGS FROM RECORDS I — USE TO OWN BACK IN THE 90’S”
Like, what does that mean? He’s uploading dozens of digital 45’s a week, but he owned them in the 90s? Very cool. You should be interviewing this guy, not me.
I’d initially contacted him to mention that a sample I ripped from him ended up in the ESPN spot, (to which he replied) “YOU’RE VERY WELCOME BRETT.”
How heartwarming is that? There’s so many archivist heroes like him. I wonder if they know they’re securing their own place in music history by providing such a wealth of almost forgotten material.
But to answer your question, I’m always surprised when people find me because I try to stay hidden. It makes me seem cooler and more mysteeeerious, right?
B: Do you do everything in Derevolutions from a recorded standpoint and do you play out? If you play out, do you have a band with you?
DR: Like I said before, I don’t really have time for a band right now. Practicing and all that hullabaloo. But, I want one because I write a different kinda song when I play with a band. I’m looking to cover all my bases with The Derevolutions.
B: You recently had ESPN choose your song for SportsCenter’s signature commercial. How did that come about?
DR: I’d previously been in contact with the music supervisor who worked with Wieden and Kennedy (Ad Agency) on this project. So I sent him “Yell it Out” in July because it was a fresh sounding pop song. He liked it and pitched it and then this happened like 2 months later. But, my original version, the one that I have online, used samples. I had to go and rewrite/re-record those. W+K helped me find a “work for hire” band to redo the horns. I added some more flare to that bleep lead and had a lady friend redo the vocals. In the end, it only used a tiny sample, which had to be cleared and paid for.
B: Have you noticed a big difference in attention since the commercial first aired?
DR: No, I still only have 170 facebook fans. Self promotion is embarrassing and I know I’m an idiot for not capitalizing while the iron is hot. Or, maybe I’m doing it right? Just stewing until my songs start getting to a boil. I like being able to hone my skills under nobody’s radar. Michael Jordan probably heard the song right? Do you think Kim Jong Un heard my song when he was watching bootlegged ESPN?
B: Do you have any thing planned for what’s next in terms of this project?
DR: Probably gonna keep on plugging. I’ve got a pretty big buildup of songs now but they’re so all over the place I’ll probably just start barraging soundcloud as I get more fans. Don’t wanna let the dam open too soon.
B: “Living in the Not World” is probably our favorite track of yours. It’s a very smooth, sunny song melodically, which seems to be present in a few of your tracks. What was going on in your world when you made that first run of tracks? They always put us in a good mood.
DR: That was a b*tch to record. All of the other songs were written/recorded over a weekend or two (I keep extremely long hours on weekends), but this one was a monolith. I probably sank about 4 separate ideas into it. It’s tropicalia meets doowop meets why the f*ck did I use autotune?
B: How do the songs come together? Words first? Melody first?
DR: Always a chord progression or melody in my head, or on guitar. Then either record guitars, or sample some sounds to make that progression. Then add all the extras plus mixing. The mixing/adding all the tiny intricacies is what takes up most of my time. But it’s what makes each of my songs a world of their own.
B: Lyrically, the words are pretty witty, but not always as sunny as the sounds are. How did that end up being the formula for you?
DR: Well I want to be catchy, but I don’t want to sound like too much of a wuss, plus I need to seem a bit risky.
B: Who is someone that has helped you musically along the way that deserves some credit?
DR: Probably that youtube user I mentioned earlier. In the past year or so I’ve found most of my favorite songs from his uploads. Listen to “She’s A Heartbreaker” by The Chandeliers. It’s the best song you’ve never heard. But wait until you hear the new stuff I’ve got cookin’.
More info and music can be found at https://soundcloud.com/the-derevolutions
Go forth with it.
