FireWalkWithMe – Interview
Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: What type of artist are you?
Answer: I’m a multi instrumentalist musician.
PD: Tell us the brief history of yourself.
Answer: I was born in San Jose, Ca. In 1974. I’m 44 years old and it’s rather frightening. My first instrument was the bass guitar which I started when I was 9 years old. Mainly blues music since my dad 
was a musician and played bass in a blues band. 3 years later I became obsessed with Motley Crue and I thought Mick Mars was God so I bothered my dad for a guitar and haven’t looked back since.
PD: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Answer: Musical influences. That’s kind of tricky since I have many. Overall when I think of myself as a writer I would say bands like Jawbreaker, Samiam, Fifteen, Crimpshrine, Knapsack and Neurosis really made me look at myself as a writer. In my early like my guitar heroes were and still are Vivian Campbell, Brad Gillis and Randy Rhodes. Non musical influences would be my friend Paul Gonzales who is a successful artist and overall good person. My drummer Jason Reece who seems to have a decent handle on dealing with stressful situations. I always ask myself, “What would Reece do?” Haha
PD: What are your dreams and goals?
Answer: Ultimately I feel I’ve achieved most of my goals. I’ve had a few “Pinch Me, and I dreaming” moments. One of my dreams is to be able to set a good example for my son and let him know that it’s ok to chase your dreams if it means making you happy. A long term goal would be to leave my mark in the Rock n Roll history books.
PD: Who writes your songs, what are they about?
Answer: I write all the music for my band. I’ve experienced a lot of loss, stress and depression in my life. Depression is something I struggle with from time to time. I’m also a firm believer in the afterlife and that we are all connected spiritual beings and that all this (even this interview) has happened already an infinite amount of times. So my lyrics are often about the afterlife, fear of dying, loneliness, loss, recovery, self improvement as well as acceptance and being nice to others.
PD: How do you promote your band and shows?
Answer: Normally I would hand make fliers, FB posts, get friends to share etc. “Put the word out” and whatnot. However we are in process of changing our approach of how to market our gigs. The games 
changed therefore we must tinker with different strategies.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online?
Answer: I have no problem with online downloads. That’s just part of the industry now. It’s a means to share your music and maybe make some money off it. It’s a medium that’s utilized and I see people with major success and I see people with minimal success. Plus some things can’t be downloaded such as vinyl. People love vinyl.
PD: What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
Answer: I honestly don’t know. I rarely peek my head up and take notice of the ins and outs of the industry even though I’ve been involved in it for so long, mainly as guitar tech or your regular show going person. I can say that I hear a lot of complaining regarding the industry which tells me whatever I’m going to do with my band I need to watch my step. Luckily for me I am blessed with having people around me who’ve been around the block a few times and can coach me or be there for me to talk about stuff.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
Answer: Oh wow. “Wish you were here” by Pink Floyd. That song is the definition of a perfect song writing. Beautifully written, thoughtful and relatable.
PD: What are some of your pet peeves?
Answer: ok, let’s do two categories. Musically: Pointless guitar leads. In life: People who are nice to you only after they realize you are friends with the band they came to see.
PD: What is your proudest moment in music?
Answer: When I worked with Slayer. I was hired by Slayer to be Kerry Kings guitar tech for a week long tracking session. Kerry was cutting solos for two songs off the latest album “Repentless” in 2012. *At the studio we were at, they did not have a Marshall Cab to run though for whatever reason so I ended up running to my jam space and grabbed my Marshall Cabinet which Kerry himself used to cut leads on the songs “Implode” and “Chasing Death”. So when you hear those leads on their album for those two songs on that album that’s through my cabinet! Sick.
PD: Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.
Answer: Nothing planned at the moment. Everyone in my band has children. We are all family dudes so whatever shows we would end up playing would have to be worth it since our time and family are so very valuable to each of us. Besides I’m busy with all the band business and orchestrating a proper campaign to market our upcoming album “The Eternal Black Rainbow” to even think about gigging right now. But we will this summer for sure.
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