ifitbeyourwill S04 E23 • Devarrow

What if the key to understanding life's circular beauty was found in an apple orchard? Join us as we explore the artistic world of Graham Ereaux of Devarrow, an indie singer-songwriter hailing from Liverpool, Nova Scotia, whose music is deeply rooted in nature and folk traditions. Graham takes us on a journey from his bohemian upbringing to the European tours that tested his introverted spirit. Through a series of candid reflections, he reveals how his teenage angst and freedom forged the path for his creatively charged life. From his first song, "The Apple Tree," to planting a real orchard, Graham's story is a poignant reminder of how art and life intertwine in unexpected, meaningful ways.

Graham also unlocks the secrets behind his songwriting process and the evolution of his musical voice. We uncover how the pandemic has left its mark on his work, influencing the themes of his albums "A Long Distant Wave" and "Heart-Shaped Rock." Both projects capture contrasting essences of the human experience, from the solitude of 2020 to the joy of unbridled freedom. As Graham gears up for a Canadian tour, he shares his excitement about performing with a full band, promising to bring his latest songs to life on stage with newfound energy. Tune in to hear Graham's refreshing perspective on music, life, and everything in between.

Transcript

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Graham Devereaux

Speaker 1 0:02

One , two , one , two , three , four . I just wake up and I just wash my face , go downstairs and make my breakfast Coffee and some bacon and eggs and everyone is asking me where I'm going . But I don't even know where I'm going .

Speaker 2 0:40

Welcome to yet another episode of the CWU Podcast . I'm coming to you from Montreal , quebec , and I'm reaching over to Nova Scotia , liverpool , is that correct , graham ?

Speaker 3 0:56

That's correct . One would say maybe in the middle of nowhere , but to me it's everywhere .

Speaker 2 1:05

It's your everywhere and you're nowhere too right . I mean like , hey , make it both , that's right . I have Graham , amazing singer , songwriter , indie bogey . I mean there's so many different textures and we'll get into all that of Devereaux . So , graham , thanks so much for hopping on here and talking to us about what you do with your music .

Speaker 3 1:31

Oh , thanks very much . It's a pleasure . It's really it's one thing to release music and to share the songs , but it's another to also be able to share a bit about the story of how the songs came to be . So I appreciate it .

Speaker 2 1:50

Absolutely , and the stories are the some of the better parts . I must say , though , um art tape rock came out last week . Um , we're , you know , in between fall and winter here in eastern canada . Um , and it just came with such a warm heart to it that it's keeping us warm these colder days as we roll into the winter . Graham , tell me a little bit about your beginnings before we delve deeper into your songwriting . You grew up in Eastern Canada , and what were your first introductions to music , and what role did that play in you deciding that this would be a career that you might want to explore .

Speaker 3 2:36

Yeah , I mean , music had always been a part of my life . I grew up in a household where there was a lot of music being played not necessarily instruments being played but my parents are , you know , I guess you could say somewhat kind of hippie bohemian and are fond of music and fond of the outdoors . So I grew up spending a lot of time listening to music and spending a lot of time outside and I think those two things , and I think especially the time outside really influenced the type of music I started to listen to . When I started to listen to music , I think there is inherently some connection between folk music and our care and love for the environment .

Speaker 3 3:26

So I naturally gravitated towards folk music as I started to play and that would be the origin , and I think it was , you know , getting into the teenage years and perhaps full of a bit more angst than I'd care to admit , that threw me to playing a lot more music and that kind of fell at the same time of maybe finding a bit more freedoms , being a bit older and being able to have a car and drive around , and I think that combo of feeling a sense of freedom and also learning an instrument brought me to um , early on , a kind of a style of music that I've , I kind of fell in love with , which was , I guess , like driving folk music . Musically , you want to put on when you go for a drive and um , and it's something that you would be okay putting on if you were out in the woods or in nature , and I I like other genres and I have experimented with other genres , but I would say that that that has always kind of stuck with me through the through the years , right .

Speaker 2 4:32

And does that thread carry through from your first recordings , the earliest recordings that you did , up until present day ? Like has that always been kind of the thread that connects all your music together ?

Speaker 3 4:47

I would say so . Yeah , I would say that there's always been a , a , a deep um , appreciation and and inspiration for the environment and and for and the quest to kind of know what it is to live a good life . Um , and I think in , in ways , every record I've made has has tried to ask those questions and , with differing results , find answers to those questions . Um , yeah , so throughout the years , every record kind of has .

Speaker 2 5:25

Right , right , and you remember the first song that you penned Um . Yeah , it's funny , I was actually felt like was , was , was like something that you would want to share with other people , like not just you know a journal entry or just something personal that you would keep for yourself , but the first song that you're like hey here we go .

Speaker 3 5:44

It's funny you say that Cause it was just just yesterday . I was chatting with my friends and bandmate about this and my my first song ever was called the apple tree . I would have been about 15 , 16 years old and , funny enough , just last week I planted a little apple orchard at the bus , which is the bus being the center focus of this most current record and the song , if I remember the lyrics , were about planting an apple orchard . So it is kind of funny to think that the song that I wrote when I was , you know , 16 years old was the first song . It's finally actually come true last week .

Speaker 2 6:24

You know life's circular , right there you go . Yeah , Come back around . That's really cool . That's really cool . What was it like when you first started performing these songs in front of people ? Were you a shy performer ? Or like did that take effort to have these songs and then want to perform them and let people listen to your ideas ? And like did you ? Was that like a difficult thing or a transition from not doing it to doing it ?

Speaker 3 6:58

Yeah , I mean interesting enough , and I think maybe a lot of other musicians would feel this way too . Interesting enough , and I think maybe a lot of other musicians would feel this way too , is that I was a very shy individual and I still am in some ways quite an introvert , and music , you know , actually acted as the opposite . It acted as an amazing opportunity to not be shy for a short period of time . So I definitely remember those early times performing being like incredibly exhilarating because as someone who was shy , I could kind of be the center of attention and do something that made me feel incredibly uncomfortable , but in kind of like a very cathartic way . And I would say that it kind of has continued on that way , like I don't find playing live intimidating or overwhelming , or I find it it's a high , it it really feels special and and an opportunity to be a big personality and kind of be the opposite of what I actually am in my day-to-day that's cool .

Speaker 2 8:14

That's really cool . Well , I'm really happy that you said that , because we were talking before we came on air and I had the chance um Devereux was at Pop Montreal in a paper bag showcase , a paper bag record showcase , and I mean you're just such a great showman and you were saying that you were kind of oiled up in the sense that you had been kind of you were overseas on tour , but your setup is really . I love it . I just thought it was such a great thing . Can you describe to the listeners like how you , how do you do a show live alone ?

Speaker 3 8:53

yeah , I mean um , um , the most common uh reference that you know people will say is , oh , that it's like shaky graves .

Speaker 3 9:03

So if anyone's familiar with shaky graves , I have a similar setup with a kick drum and a tambourine and it's matured actually a lot recently .

Speaker 3 9:13

It once was just a cajon and then it went from a cajon to a kick drum and then we kind of backtracked and I went from a kick drum just to actually just taking a kick pedal and hitting my guitar case .

Speaker 3 9:26

Um , those are the days when I felt like I didn't , I felt pretty poor and didn't want to pay for the extra baggage for a kick drum . And then , uh , now I've settled somewhere in the middle where I've got a second suitcase that puts all my stuff in it but also is uh , is also a kick drum and a tambourine and the tambourine's a new addition and it's it's really nice because it it really allows to carry the beat a lot better and there's a bit more opportunity to do like some syncopation and um , I find that the just the kick drum . No matter what you do , you're kind of always doing four on the floor and I've written some songs , um , recently and on heart shape rock that not all the songs have that kind of four on the floor folk beat that you would necessarily expect , with just a kick drum and um acoustic guitar setup . So it's been really nice to open up the dynamics a bit absolutely .

Travel, Creativity, and Inspiration

Speaker 3 10:26

And what was your reception overseas when you went over there and like you were in germany , I think I was in germany , but I spent a lot of time um in ex-yugoslavia , so that would be serbia and bosnia and croatia and slovenia um , specifically specifically on this trip and it was wonderful . It was . You know I'm sure my label hates when I say this , but I'm a reluctant capitalist . I really couldn't care less about , you know , quote unquote success .

Speaker 3 11:04

And to me this tour was , was incredibly successful because I felt the whole time that I was out there , that I actually was just on vacation and uh , you know , the shows were were small and intimate but incredibly , um , lively and friendly and just it was an amazing opportunity to experience a different culture , um , and , yeah , just really feel immersed in an environment in a way I hadn't before , because touring , oftentimes you , you , you feel just like kind of a bit of a ghost . Where you're , you only see the , the insides of venues at night , and then you're in hotels and then you're off the next day and it doesn't feel like necessarily a nice way to travel per se to like to experience different cultures and environment , but this tour specifically was that . So that was really nice .

Speaker 2 11:58

And is it lonely , traveling alone , like do you find that you start to miss , or like you know , home or the bus , like , or is it you're so enveloped in the music and the performing and that time just kind of flips by ?

Speaker 3 12:24

Yeah , I mean I wouldn't necessarily think of missing home and being lonely as things that cross over touring . I think I don't ever feel lonely on tour . I quite like being alone , I like solitude and I find it's a great way to travel actually , but I do miss home a lot . So I guess it is a bit strange that I'm deeply homesick while I'm away because I just love where I live , but at the same time I'm enjoying being alone and doing something different .

Speaker 2 12:51

So , graham , you put out two records in 2014 . Is that accurate ? You think yes it is One in April and then one just came out .

Speaker 3 13:08

Yeah , you think , yes , it is one in april , and then one just came in yeah , one over 12 songs , 10 songs . It was 13 and the other one's 11 , so we got 24 songs out this year so yeah , let's talk about that a bit .

Speaker 2 13:16

I need to unpack it a bit like where did all these songs come from ? Because the the record you put out in April I thought was stunning , Like I think I listened to To Begin . Is that what the song's called ?

Speaker 3 13:30

Begin Again , yeah .

Speaker 2 13:31

Yeah , walls Tumbling Like such an amazing song . And then there's more . You know , it just keeps happening and it's like these bangers , one banger after another , and then you bring out a whole other record with like a ton more of these . Like , how , how do you get inspired , um , to create so many songs ? And I want to preface that these songs are not . Um , you know , oftentimes we hear like singer songwriters oh , woe is me . And you know , journalistic writing . Your songs are not like that . Um , they look at the beauty in the simple thing . They they talk about joy and imagination and connections to nature . Um , like , what inspires you to like , where do all these slide out from ? Like , were these , these , all of these songs that you tracked over this year over ? These two records were ? Were they all just within a short period of time that they all came to be , or have these been kind of like you've had kind of a inventory of songs that you've been wanting to put out for a while ?

Speaker 3 14:40

yeah , I mean they've uh , yeah , I mean they've Some songs . Come quickly . But I would say that these records are the summation of a lot of years of writing and recording , and not in that it takes me a long time to write and record , because actually I find it quite cathartic and I can do it . You know I could . I have a studio at home and I'm happy to go down there and make a song today , kind of thing . Um , these records specifically , um I I guess I'll back up and say that I tend to write kind of in two parts where I often will uh make a demo and perhaps from having adhd or what have you , I I tend to . I'm really good at starting songs . They're not the best at finishing them .

Speaker 3 15:31

So these uh songs are songs of that came from , you know , my catalog of whatever 500 demos that I have that I sifted through and pulled together to find a common theme between those records and there was a time gap . The first record , a Long Distant Wave , which came out in April , actually was written in 2020 . So during the pandemic , and the songs that are on that record are um from about that time . Heart-shaped rock is actually a bit more of a different story because , um , I intentionally went into that recording process wanting to make a record that felt , um , happy and joyous and carefree .

Speaker 3 16:18

Um , a long and distant wave was more timely , it was more of a , it was kind of my pandemic record and it was reflecting that time . Um , where heart-shaped rock was is more about , yeah , less time specific and more about just like wanting a record that sounds fun and free . And so , for that record , I I really dug deep into the catalog of demos that I have , almost to the point where I felt like I was plagiarizing myself because I'd forgotten that I'd even written them and was stealing these songs from myself . And the oldest one , I think I was 15 years old it was one of the first songs I ever wrote which is the song Talking Shit .

Speaker 2 16:58

What record is that ?

Speaker 3 16:58

one on that's on Heart Shaped Rock . So that's the song . Talking Shit is a song that I wrote when I was 15 . Or at least the melody to the verse and the chorus , and then kind of took it from there . But yeah , something that I've thought about recently I was listening to Q and heard a great interview . They were interviewing the guy that I can't remember his name , but they were interviewing the guy that created the Goosebumps series , the child , the children's books , the team and I grew up on those . I love those books and it was such an awesome interview and felt really timely because it was .

Speaker 3 17:39

It was an interview that was happening kind of right when I was working on this record and trying to release this record , and he said something which really resonated with me , which was you know , well , I'll preface and say that he said that he never was a writer . He never got into writing intentionally . He kind of was like forced into the role because they're like , hey , we need someone just to like , make kids books . Can you do it ? And he was like , okay , so he didn't say it was his calling and the thing he said was he said that if we tell kids to write from the heart , they might never write a single book because it's so much work I'm totally paraphrasing what he said here . But it's so much work and that it puts so much pressure on ourselves and that we just need to write because it's fun , and he claimed that that was how he was able to produce so many bestselling books . Was that I just wanted to make music ? Or I just wanted to make books that were fun ?

Speaker 3 18:42

They didn't need to be like Hemingway , you know , and um , I really resonated with that at that moment when I was listening and said you know , that's kind of how I feel about music , because I want to make music that's just carefree and fun and easy to listen to , um , and that doesn't need to be uh , it doesn't need to have such like deep , grand meanings . But ironically , I think in some ways , because I cared less , it ended up producing something that maybe will hopefully resonate with people more .

Speaker 2 19:11

Absolutely Well , and I think to Graham , there's so many layers to it as well . There's definitely this fun loose like . I love how you describe this . Start like a driving . You know it's like a driving record .

Speaker 2 19:24

You know , hit the road wind in your hair , like it's just , it's so , fits that , and right from the get-go with lightning bolts . I mean , what , what a song . It's like familiar , but not you know . It's like finding an old toy that you used to play with and it's like changed a little bit . I just , um , I can't get enough of it . And like , on that topic , like how would one of those songs start ? Like how , how did lightning bolt come into your mind ? Like , how do your songs tend to , um , come from an idea to putting it down on tape ?

Speaker 3 20:04

Yeah , I mean a lot of I . Well , I'll say I never write lyrics first .

Heart-Shaped Rock and Music Creation

Speaker 3 20:09

Um , I'm someone that always writes music kind of from a subconscious place where I just will pick up the guitar or piano and just start strumming and and just singing whatever comes out of my mouth . And just singing whatever comes out of my mouth , um , and sometimes actually , whatever those words were end up being the words that are the , the songs that make it onto the , onto the record . Um , and sometimes they make absolutely no sense and then sometimes they actually , sometimes , I feel like , reveal some subconscious truths of what I'm thinking about or what's going on in the world . Um , but , yeah , I mean a song like lightning bolt .

Speaker 3 20:49

Um , the origins of that song , uh , came from that one , if I remember correctly , kind of just came from a live setting . Um , of just wanting to have a more like upbeat song in my repertoire and kind of writing it right before I went on stage , not thinking too much of it , and then I was like , oh , okay , then then it turns into something else and something else , and then , lyrically , that was one that the lyrics were intentional and I wrote them after and the song is about , you know , the infinite distractions that plague our , our , uh , our time , and how it's impossible to get anything done when you're distracted by a million things . And trying to not be distracted by a million things to try to get the thing done that you were trying to do that day .

Speaker 2 21:45

Well , it's been a real treat listening to this record . I was anticipating it too for a long time , as you dropped the singles , and I mean even the record that you released in April . Again , that's really strong songwriting and the flow is just mean , picture perfect . I know that artists take a long time to come up with that track list , but it just seems like it flowed so beautifully for you like almost invented itself .

Speaker 2 22:16

Um , how the song one would go into the next I'm sure there was a lot of hours behind thinking about what would come first , that you know . But I love the flow of them in particular . And yeah , your vocals are really amazing , graham , in the sense that you have this great low but then you can go really high as well and you'll go through a whole range in every song . Almost you find your voice . How did you like , like , did you stumble onto it or were you always very experimental ? If I'm gonna go for a high here and I'll throw in a bit of mid here and like how did , how do you , how did you find the way that you were gonna sing ?

Speaker 3 22:58

It's an interesting question and I think it's a hard one to answer , because when I was younger I remember distinctly being really insecure about my voice and I don't really remember the moment when I decided that I was actually an okay singer feels quite blurry to me and I mean there's still days that I'm like oh god , um . But I think the , the dynamic range kind of came from a place of of playing um , a lot of time just alone but listening to music . That was dynamic music . And when you're a solo artist , I think I naturally wanted this solo art or the solo performance to still feel full , and being able to jump from like a low voice to a falsetto kind of was a way to keep things interesting . So I think that was like the kernel was a desire to create songs that were , that were poppy and and kind of always carrying some kind of hook , and the voice is a great way to do that if you , if you push it so wonderful .

Speaker 2 24:18

Well , congratulations on Heart-State Rock . I mean , there's been a week since the release , maybe a little bit of distance . What do you think of the record now ? Kind of like the release is done and it's out there now and everybody's listening to it . I know it's still only a week , but having a little bit of distance , what do you feel about that record and how people are receiving it ?

Speaker 3 24:45

I feel great and I would say that I haven't felt that way about every record I've made . It's really nice to release a record that I'm playing the songs on . I think I've always kind of been caught in a cycle of by the time a record comes out , you've got a whole new repertoire of songs you want to play , but it's nice to have a record come out that is reflecting the time that I'm in , so it feels extra special to play it live for one . And then it's nice also to make a record that I produced at home and to be able to sit back and feel a sense of pride , like , okay , yeah , this sounds all right . And you know where I think . Before maybe I was insecure about my voice , and the most recent years I've been insecure about producing , and it's just been a real pleasure to have it come out and be like okay , this is , this is fine this is fine .

Speaker 2 25:50

Yeah , I think it's more than fine , but I I understand the subtlety in your explanation . But that's great , graham . Well , just to kind of wrap up , thanks again , graham . This has been really fun talking with you and sharing some of your stories and your music with you , and how it came to be and um , great stories for sure . Um , what , what can we look forward to , uh , from Devereux for the rest of this year , into 2025 , of what you can talk about ?

Speaker 3 26:24

yeah , for sure , I mean immediately , would be touring . You know , if you're living in canada , come , come see me live . I'm heading out to bc um at the end of october , um start in november for a festival out there called Woodstove Festival , and then after that back out to the East Coast and doing a couple of dates and then doing a run out to Ontario and back .

Speaker 3 26:50

So that's the most immediate thing which I'm really excited about just to get on the road and play these songs live , and play them with a full band , which will be extra special Because you know , playing solo is fun , but it's nice to be able to imagine the record and then be able to play it and uh , with some fun acts , extra changes , which I won't reveal , and then uh , um , music wise , I mean , I'm I'm happy to say I've got three other recordings or records that are finished , um , that have been done for a while , and uh , to be determined when they're I just love , I just love making music . I feel it comes down to that .

Speaker 2 27:30

Don't stop man . I love that , you love it .

Speaker 1 27:32

Cause I love what you write .

Speaker 2 27:34

That's so cool . So three other like you're like in production , or are they close ?

Speaker 3 27:41

They're done , they're they're done and they could come out tomorrow , but they won't . There's more music , and it's fun because two of them are collaborations with my drummer , evan Matthews , so that feels really special . People that have something that wouldn't be a classic DeBaro sound . I call it the B-sides , but it's the Heart Shaped Rock , which originally had about 21 songs , so we stripped it down to 13 . So there's another record there .

Speaker 2 28:19

Love of the production . I mean I can now kind of be safe because I was like don't listen to heart-shaped rock too much , you're gonna get it's gonna be too much , you're not gonna want to listen to it anymore .

Speaker 3 28:31

Now I have these other back burner records that might be yeah I'm going for it now yeah , we're working on another ones here soon too , so maybe my , maybe my country record will come out next year well , I'd love to have you back on when , when said records start dropping .

Speaker 2 28:49

Um , again , it's been a real pleasure , graham I'm I'm always happy to talk to fellow canadians about their craft and what they do , and , um , people go out there and see his show . I I mean . He's a great performer , great showman , amazing song . Take his album up , buy a t-shirt , support Devereaux and that's all we'll leave you on . We're going to stop talking , yeah .

Speaker 3 29:14

Yeah , appreciate it . I really appreciate the opportunity to share a bit about my music .

Speaker 2 29:20

Absolutely Well . It's a pleasure having you on , and Graham , what are we going to lead out with here ?

Speaker 3 29:26

uh , we're going to go to the title track off your the latest record yeah , heart-shaped rock about going out looking for heart-shaped rocks , which is what the whole record is about .

Speaker 2 29:36

Well , there it is , and if you want to go look for your heart-shaped rock out there as you listen , do it . Everybody loves the heart rocks . So , graham , thanks a lot and we'll talk to you soon . Man , we'll talk to you soon .

Speaker 3 30:02

Yeah , you too . Thanks again .

Speaker 1 30:09

Thank you Well jumping off that bridge just the other day , taking our time and rolling away , going downtown like an old dog picking up stones and archery rocks . Let's work it out , let's work it out .

Speaker 1 30:53

Yeah , work it out , let's work it out and maybe we will and maybe we won't , or maybe we will and maybe we won't , or maybe we will and maybe we won't . Woo , well , I love my friends and I love my love , love going out looking for those heart-shaking brides . Take my time and I go real slow . Sun's up above and I got nowhere to go . Well , work it out out , let's work it out . Yeah , work it out , let's work it out . Thank you . So Thank you .