Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?
SE: I describe the music I make as adventures – they are songs, but they don’t necessarily follow a songwriting format. I like them to change direction or sit with a vibe – not necessarily rush to a chorus. I make soundscapes that are beautiful to listen to, with surprising elements of light and heavy.
PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc. What is the band’s lineup?
SE: The band is just me. I play all the instruments. When I was in my teenage years and early 20’s I played the drums, I have toured and recorded drums for about 6 different artists, pop punk bands, metal bands, rock bands and a pop/folk artist or two. Once I had kids the drums kind of got put in the closet (I have a fucking epic drum kit that just sits put away) as sleeping babies don’t tend to like double kick pedals and crash cymbals. So I started playing an electric guitar (not plugged in) and given I wasn’t taught how, I kind of just follow the sounds I hear or try to find the sound or note I hear in my head.
PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences? What do you like to write about in your songs?
I think I am still working on getting comfortable with calling myself a musician, because I look at other real musicians and just think I am miles away from that. So I have always called myself a fan of music first. I have literally hundreds and hundreds of cd’s. growing up I would by a new CD every single week with the last of my paycheck. Often running out of money to eat the day before pay day. Music meant more to me.
On pay day, I raced to a place called “Sounds” music store in my lunchbreak. I jumped in the red phone booth, put the cans on my ears and I listened to the latest albums. And I walked out of the store with the most precious thing I could find. New music.
If you remember the start of the song “Black or white” by Michael Jackson, that little kid was me, with my music too loud and some annoying adult yelling at me to turn it down.
When my favourite artists had a new album coming out, I used to be there THE DAY the record came out and I had quite a different routine. I would head home with my new recording, and wait impatiently for night to settle in.
Then I could turn all the lights off, sit in the dark and just listen.
My favourite way to experience the art that these people made.
Michael Jackson, John Frusciante, Rage against the machine, Third Eye Blind, Limp Bizkit, Pennywise, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, The Doors, Jimmy Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayer, Deftones, all these artists inspired me on different instruments for different reasons. The drumming of John Otto or Brad Wilk, the guitar playing of “The Johns” or Raw power of Deftones or Nirvana. The poetry of Third Eye Blind and The Doors. I just loved to absorb it all.
PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?
SE: I always just want to improve bit by bit at each of the instruments I play and more importantly get better at compositions and really breaking out of normal ways of writing. My dream is to have a song feature in a movie that becomes part of pop culture. We all remember our favourite movies growing up and the impact a song would have on a moment. Then when we experienced a moment of love or heartbreak in real life music became our soundtrack to feeling, nostaligia and memory. I remember getting dumped by a girl friend and Wicked Game making my heart feel like it was coming out of my chest. I had “Hard to Concentrate” by the Chilis at the ceremony on my wedding day and the song just brings me such calm and overwhelming love. Music is the sound track of our lives. So if someone loved my music enough to make it a part of the soundtrack of their life or a moment in movies – I would feel like it was all worth while.
PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?
SE: I always loved hearing a song we wrote as bands recorded for the first time and being like “oh, I actually can play the drums…” and this shaped my favourite moment which was when I heard one of my personal favourite songs I recorded as a solo artist “The Adventure.” It was the first song I stood in the studio with the producer Emily and she played back to me the rough mix (I recorded the whole lot in one day) through the studio monitors and it was like, I was so proud of it, that it gave me permission to make music myself without needing to hide behind real musicians.
PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new
artists emerging from bedrooms in the day of the home studio. How is that going?
SE: Hahahaha. Its not going. I’m a 40 year old dad. I don’t know how to use social media and no one would care if I did. I don’t care about fame and fortune. I am fortunate to be well off and have my own businesses, so I am lucky I don’t need to make money off my music. I just make it, my art, when I want to because I love making music.
PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?
SE: I don’t tour or play live any more and I wouldn’t be able to play stripped back versions of my songs, they need all the complex parts to be interesting to listen to. Maybe two or three of my songs could be played with just an acoustic guitar and I could rip a surprise drum solo and then I’d run out of material haha.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?
SE: I think it is amazing that we can search for find and experience all this new music everyone makes and uploads. We are so lucky we get to search for and find new music that we get to experience. I think it has probably destroyed the industry and often stops independent or new artists from ever making any money unless they are willing to sign to a major label, take their clothes off in videos and gyrate sexually. But without it – no one would ever have heard my music. So I am grateful.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
SE: Oh man this is the coolest question I have ever been asked by all three people who ever wanted to interview me about music. So so many. But If I have to choose an artist I would go with Third Eye Blind, I wish I was as poetic as they are. Not their rock songs. Their ballads. They are just stunning image inducing songs and the guitar work is always beautiful without taking over. The drummer is amazing. So if I HAVE to pick only one song – I would go with “How’s it gonna be” (When you don’t know me).
PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?
SE: I don’t really want to be too opinionated about it, but the fact that the looks, image and marketing is more important than the music that gets recorded is kind of sad. I struggle to find new pop music that is beautifully recorded or written, because artists are put into boxes for marketing purposes then are set up using the same keys, the same chord progressions and even copying and pasting the same loops, samples and sounds. I can literally hear the same snare drums and kick samples in so much of the new music that comes out. It breaks my heart that no one wants to have someone play the drums on their music anymore. I get it is harder and takes more work, but I can usually get a song done in three takes or less plus a drop in fuckaround take. There are heaps of capable drummers that could put down real drums. I would love to record drums for pop artists 
and musicians that don’t want loops. I would even love to play drums for someone like Eminem or Cannons or Gracey Abrams – it would be so cool to match their emotion with drums that have light and shade.
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
SE: I have fallen into a Dominic Miller rabbit hole and been absorbing his solo work. So at the moment I have moved back towards acoustic guitar (I have a gorgeous Taylor that I play on my records) and I have written track/idea that kid of sounds like a Hans Zimemr track from Dune. When I play it I feel and see in my head a person lost in the expanse of stretching red sand dunes and vast sense of being lost. I have played it for a couple of people and they have been blown away. So I guess it is the start of my next project… a more acoustic focus. Electric Love (My latest album) was all build off beautiful clean electric guitar. The next one might be more acoustic and cinema like.
PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online, have you any Social Media links that you can share?
SE: I really just upload music spotify once I finish it. So my spotify or Apple Music are the best places.
I have an Instagram that I use poorly and infrequently….
https://www.instagram.com/loganwedgwood/?hl=en
https://open.spotify.com/artist/72GMAxaVblZ8Ug0qyHYo4x?si=609cfb7b9ed5417b
SOUNDS ESCAPE links:
Band/Artist location – Auckland New Zealand
Website – You Tube – You Tube Topic –
Instagram – Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer –
Check our page for SOUNDS ESCAPE
