PRESS
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How singer and songwriter Devendra Banhart makes music to get weird to
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Kalamazoo GazetteShow preview + InterviewDevendra Banhart is a doozy. Even the multitalented singer-songwriter's publicist mumbles something about "dealing with these hippies" and a cell phone battery "literally melting down" as he reschedules a phone interview for the second time. Then, when you finally get Banhart on the phone, he's on the road in the tour van with his friend's band, Vetiver, with whom he's playing as a guest acoustic guitarist. Flamenco blares in the background -- and he tries to interview you, saying what you're doing as a cub reporter is more interesting than his little life playing his little songs for people, which he'll do Saturday night at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids. As bloody if. "Where did you grow up?" he asks. "Why do you write about words? What do words mean to you and why?" he blurts in a stream-of-consciousness staccato. The new battery on his cell phone cuts out as he seems to say something about a leprechaun. You play the "Can you hear me now?" game until he's ungarbled. "It's just that my phone is very unbatteryish," he says. "I charged it. No big deal at all." He gushes for a......
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What a long, fun trip for laid-back rocker Banhart
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Chicago Tribune | by Joshua KleinShow previewWith two strong, strange records released this year--"Rejoicing in the Hands" and "Nino Rojo"--a lot of people are talking about the mysterious Devendra Banhart, one of the leaders of a new wave of anachronistic psychedelic folk. In fact, one of the few people less than excited about talking about Banhart is Banhart himself. "I hate talking about myself," he declares, politely. "But I love talking about the people that . . . not influenced me but inspired me, the musicians where I don't even care if I ever write a song again or sing again, as long as I can listen to their music." So bring up any of the artists Banhart reveres, and he'll talk a mile a minute, sharing his enthusiasm for the likes of Vashti Bunyan, John Martyn, John Cale, the Incredible String Band and many other acts he was exposed to via a not-so-linear progression that began with his childhood. "I was born in Texas," he starts. "Go to Caracas, Venezuela, and no music but salsa and merengue. But Mom and Dad start playing Caetano Veloso and Neil Young, and that I gravitate towards more than anything else. So Dad......
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How singer and songwriter Devendra Banhart makes music to get weird to
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Kalamazoo GazetteShow preview + InterviewDevendra Banhart is a doozy. Even the multitalented singer-songwriter's publicist mumbles something about "dealing with these hippies" and a cell phone battery "literally melting down" as he reschedules a phone interview for the second time. Then, when you finally get Banhart on the phone, he's on the road in the tour van with his friend's band, Vetiver, with whom he's playing as a guest acoustic guitarist. Flamenco blares in the background -- and he tries to interview you, saying what you're doing as a cub reporter is more interesting than his little life playing his little songs for people, which he'll do Saturday night at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids. As bloody if. "Where did you grow up?" he asks. "Why do you write about words? What do words mean to you and why?" he blurts in a stream-of-consciousness staccato. The new battery on his cell phone cuts out as he seems to say something about a leprechaun. You play the "Can you hear me now?" game until he's ungarbled. "It's just that my phone is very unbatteryish," he says. "I charged it. No big deal at all." He gushes for a......
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What a long, fun trip for laid-back rocker Banhart
()
Chicago Tribune | by Joshua KleinShow previewWith two strong, strange records released this year--"Rejoicing in the Hands" and "Nino Rojo"--a lot of people are talking about the mysterious Devendra Banhart, one of the leaders of a new wave of anachronistic psychedelic folk. In fact, one of the few people less than excited about talking about Banhart is Banhart himself. "I hate talking about myself," he declares, politely. "But I love talking about the people that . . . not influenced me but inspired me, the musicians where I don't even care if I ever write a song again or sing again, as long as I can listen to their music." So bring up any of the artists Banhart reveres, and he'll talk a mile a minute, sharing his enthusiasm for the likes of Vashti Bunyan, John Martyn, John Cale, the Incredible String Band and many other acts he was exposed to via a not-so-linear progression that began with his childhood. "I was born in Texas," he starts. "Go to Caracas, Venezuela, and no music but salsa and merengue. But Mom and Dad start playing Caetano Veloso and Neil Young, and that I gravitate towards more than anything else. So Dad......
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How singer and songwriter Devendra Banhart makes music to get weird to
()
Kalamazoo GazetteShow preview + InterviewDevendra Banhart is a doozy. Even the multitalented singer-songwriter's publicist mumbles something about "dealing with these hippies" and a cell phone battery "literally melting down" as he reschedules a phone interview for the second time. Then, when you finally get Banhart on the phone, he's on the road in the tour van with his friend's band, Vetiver, with whom he's playing as a guest acoustic guitarist. Flamenco blares in the background -- and he tries to interview you, saying what you're doing as a cub reporter is more interesting than his little life playing his little songs for people, which he'll do Saturday night at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids. As bloody if. "Where did you grow up?" he asks. "Why do you write about words? What do words mean to you and why?" he blurts in a stream-of-consciousness staccato. The new battery on his cell phone cuts out as he seems to say something about a leprechaun. You play the "Can you hear me now?" game until he's ungarbled. "It's just that my phone is very unbatteryish," he says. "I charged it. No big deal at all." He gushes for a......