Devyn DeLoera
Tommy2: How’s it going, it’s Tommy2 and joining us today we’ve got Devyn DeLoera from Season 3 of NBC’s The Voice. So Devyn how’s life treating you today!
Devyn DeLoera: Hi Tommy! Life is treating me good. I’m in L.A., nice sunny L.A. the land of opportunity.
Tommy2: So what’ve you been up to since the fall where we last saw you on The Voice?
Devyn DeLoera: Since I have been on The Voice I’ve kind of been doing some recording, a little bit of writing and trying to play some shows. I recently moved to L.A., so I’m getting settled in and working on that.
Tommy2: Now lets go back to last spring, describe what the whole audition process was like for The Voice?
Devyn DeLoera: Actually, about this week last year I was called to a private audition in Austin (TX) and I was in front of a few Executive Producers for the show and Casting Directors. And basically, I mean there were like 40 people there that were all really talented. They were all like playing SXSW and things like that. I was like, I’ll probably not make it but I mean it’s worth a shot, maybe I’ll make some friends. So I did it and they seemed to really like it so I advanced to the next round. That started up in May, and from then on I kept advancing until I made it to the filmed portion, the Blind Auditions last summer and from then on I was just working on the show, living in a hotel with a bunch of other singers. It was really fun, it was a great experience.
Tommy2: And, you kind of mentioned there that you’re from Texas, since you were referring to SXSW. You actually had a showcase there as well right?
Devyn DeLoera: I did have a SXSW show in 2011.
Tommy2: Okay, were the Producers of the show familiar with you from any other reason or was that it?
Devyn DeLoera: I really don’t know how they found me, they… I think it was a YouTube thing really, but I’m not even like… at the time I didn’t even have hardly any YouTube subscribers or fans or anything. So, I’m not sure how they came across me but I’m really, I mean I’m grateful that they did.
Tommy2: You didn’t ask right? You just said “I’ll be there!”
Devyn DeLoera: Yep, exactly!
Tommy2: Based on fact that you sang – “Ain’t No Other Man” for your Blind Audition – you probably had your mind made up that you want to be on Team Christina right?
Devyn DeLoera: I was trying to keep my options open as much as possible and I was thinking like what the other guys could do for me as an artist and did I think that they would believe in me enough to take me to the next round. But in the moment of the decision it only seemed right to go with her because I grew up listening to her more than the others and I sang her song, and it was just more of a gut feeling that I had.
Tommy2: And she was the first one that turned around for you.
Devyn DeLoera: Yeah, that too. And she was very convincing. They don’t show a lot of their campaigning I guess on TV. We talked for like, I feel like I was there for 10 minutes just talking to all of the coaches listening to what they had to say and like try to get me on their teams. She was very convincing.
Tommy2: That had to be somewhat flattering since you were hearing from the person who’s song you actually sang.
Devyn DeLoera: Yeah, it was very surreal and it felt like a dream. And afterwards I woke up and I couldn’t remember all of the details.
Tommy2: So it was probably fun to see it on TV.
Devyn DeLoera: Yeah, it was cool. It was kind of like it was happening for the first time.
Tommy2: Out of all the songs you performed on The Voice, which one was your favorite?
Devyn DeLoera: I really like performing “I Have Nothing,” which was my Knockout song. It was like heartfelt and it was fun. I only had like four days to prepare so it had added pressure, which I like.
Tommy2: Yeah, sometimes that brings that best out of people right?
Devyn DeLoera: Yeah!
Tommy2: Yeah, that was probably my favorite too! The one thing that stood out about you is it seemed that you kind of took more risks we’ll say than some of the other performers, especially when it came to showtime. You know like…
Devyn DeLoera: Yeah.
Tommy2: “I Have Nothing,” that was you going down on your knees. Now that’s something that not everybody is up for doing, but when you do it and it works right, you don’t forget it.
Devyn DeLoera: Yeah, it was… it was, I took a lot of risks being on the show but, I think all of them were worth it.
Tommy2: And were there any teammates you enjoyed hanging out with on Team Christina?
Devyn DeLoera: I was really close with all of the Top 5, which was me, Adriana, Dez, Silvia, and De’Borah. We were all like super close even before we were the Top 5 so when we went into that round together it was like even better because we would just hang out all together and go to dinner and, we all like… I had like my certain people that I would do certain things with, but as a group, we were a really good team. We had a lot of fun together.
Tommy2: Now let’s move on to your new song “Paralyzed” – who’d you work with on that song?
Devyn DeLoera: That song I actually got with a few friends of mine from the band, Ready Revolution, and they wrote it for me. And, my brother actually… who is seventeen, produced it in my backyard. We have a studio out there and we just did it one day. It was kind of a quick process really.
Tommy2: Wow, I’m speechless on that one.
(Laughter)
Tommy2: So the family together, and you have some friends in a band that wrote that for you.
Devyn DeLoera: Yeah, it was like the week I came home after I was eliminated from the show.
Tommy2: Oh, okay.
Devyn DeLoera: Yeah, it was like a surprise visit from my friends with a new song and we just went into the studio like one of those three days or something and we recorded it and we were like this is really catchy, we should do something with it, so, that’s how “Paralyzed” happened.
Tommy2: Next month I see you’ll be performing at the Rock Now for Autism 2013 at Boulevard 3 in Los Angeles. So how did you get involved with that charity?
Devyn DeLoera: I actually was approached by a booking agent and when I heard about it I thought it was, I mean it’s a great charity so I was like, I can’t turn it down and I live just down the street, so…
Tommy2: Perfect! Now, I like hearing you say that now you’re in the land of opportunity. What’s it like now being out in L.A., and what type of opportunities are you seeing open up for you and what’s it been like, now being on the show The Voice?
Devyn DeLoera: Well, just going out even with friends, if I go see a friend play or I’m just shopping with friends that I’ve made here in L.A. I’ll run into people who are like, ‘oh well, you should meet this label guy’ or ‘I play Bass if you need to hire me for a show’ or ‘you should play here.’ It’s just, every where you go there are people who are really willing to help, which is strange because I’ve heard that in L.A. you’re on your own and people don’t care to help you, but I’ve actually seen a lot of help from a lot of different people who are definitely willing to do what they can to support an independent artist like me.
Tommy2: Devyn for people that want to stay up-to-date with you and see what you’re doing, your shows, and things you’re doing in your day-to-day life. What are some of your social networking accounts so they can check you out?
Devyn DeLoera: You can follow me on Twitter @DevynDeLoera, and my Facebook page is DevynDeLoeraMusic. I’m also on Instagram, same as my Twitter. So, Follow me, I like to Follow back on Twitter!
Tommy2: Well Devyn thanks a million for checking in with us to talk about your time on The Voice and your brand new single “Paralyzed.” You take care now.
Devyn DeLoera: Thank you!
