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DeVotchKa

This article is about the music group from Denver. For the New York punk band, see The Devotchkas.

DeVotchKa is an American four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble. They take their name from the Russian word devochka (девочка), meaning "girl". Based in Denver, Colorado, the quartet is made up of Nick Urata, who sings and plays theremin, guitar, bouzouki, piano, and trumpet; Tom Hagerman, who plays violin, accordion, and piano; Jeanie Schroder, who sings and plays sousaphone, double bass, and flute; and Shawn King, who plays percussion and trumpet. Per The New Yorker, "Urata’s unaffected voice, which has a hint of Rocky Mountain loneliness in it, gives the group’s sound roots, whether they’re playing a raucous midway tune or a spaghetti-Western ballad."[2]

DeVotchKa
Nick Urata (with Jeanie Schroder)
Nick Urata (with Jeanie Schroder)
Background information
OriginDenver, Colorado, U.S.
Genres
Years active1997–present
LabelsConcord Records, Dago Records, Cicero Recordings, Ace Fu Records, ANTI-
MembersNick Urata
Tom Hagerman
Jeanie Schroder
Shawn King
Websitewww.devotchka.net

History

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Originally a backing band for burlesque shows, in their early years DeVotchKa also toured with burlesque performer and model Dita Von Teese. Numerous nationwide tours in support of self-released records earned the band an underground following. Their song "How It Ends", from the 2004 album of the same name, introduced the band to a wider audience after being featured in the trailer for Everything Is Illuminated, in a 2008 Gears of War 2 trailer called "The Last Day", and in an episode of Everwood. "How It Ends" reached Number 101 in the UK Singles Charts.[3] Their performance at the 2006 Bonnaroo music festival was considered a breakout event.[citation needed] In 2006, Arcade Fire singer Win Butler suggested to DeVotchKa that they arrange the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "The Last Beat of My Heart". The musicians found the idea interesting and they recorded that song for 2006's Curse Your Little Heart EP.[4]

In between tours, the band was picked by first time film directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris to score Little Miss Sunshine,[5] a 2006 film that would go on to garner four Academy Award nominations. DeVotchKa, along with composer Mychael Danna, composed and performed the majority of the music for the film's soundtrack and were nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack. The main song, "The Winner Is", was also used in a commercial by the French-based environment and energy company Suez and the Dutch pension fund PGGM.[citation needed]

Their 2008 album, A Mad & Faithful Telling, reached No. 9 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and No. 29 on the Top Independent Albums chart.[6] "New World" and "Head Honcho" were featured in a season 4 episode of the Showtime television show Weeds.[7] In 2008, Boston newspaper The Phoenix named them the Best New Band from Colorado.[8] The band supported Muse at the Stade de France on June 12, 2010, playing to over 80,000 people.

The band's newest album, This Night Falls Forever, was released on August 24, 2018, via Concord Records.[9] On July 13, 2018, DeVotchKa released "Straight Shot", which is the first track on the album.[10]

Members

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Discography

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Live in Indianapolis on May 10, 2008

Other album appearances

  • Nightmare Revisited - "Overture" (2008)
  • Live at KEXP Vol.5 - "How It Ends" (2009)
  • Starbuck's Sweetheart - "Hot Burrito No. 1" (2009)
  • Songs from the Point! (Harry Nilsson cover album) - "Everything's Got 'Em" (2009)
  • Minnesota Beatle Project Volume 4 - "Girl" (2011; Vega Productions. CD and LP.)
  • "Man in a Shoe" - DirecTV ad using "The Winner Is", NBC, (2013)

References

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  1. ^ Smyers, Darryl (December 16, 2004). "Devotchka". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  2. ^ "DeVotchKa". The New Yorker. March 11, 2011.
  3. ^ "Official singles chart" (PDF). ukchartsplus.co.uk. 2008-12-27. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  4. ^ Frenette, Brad (7 March 2011). "DeVotchKa finds joy in the sadness – interview". National Post. Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014. We were playing in Montreal, and Arcade Fire stopped by, back in the earlier days. We were doing this covers album and Win [Butler] recommended that we record The Last Beat of My Heart
    "DeVotchka". laphil.com. April 2007. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2011. The Curse Your Little Heart EP showcases the band's versatility, reinterpreting tracks by the Velvet Underground, Frank Sinatra, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and others, in addition to taking on one of their own older songs. Could the band itself even have predicted what would transpire from the Arcade Fire's Win Butler's suggestion to the band that they take on 'Last Beat of My Heart?' The end result is the center-piece of the EP, a grand and soaring take on the song; a testament to the band's true unique ability to transform nearly anything via a sound only DeVotchka can create, and perhaps a look at the epic nature of where the band's own recordings may move in the future.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "Little Miss Sunshine (2006) – Soundtrack". imdb.com. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  6. ^ Billboard, Allmusic
  7. ^ "Weeds Music". sho.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  8. ^ 50 Bands, 50 States Archived August 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, The Phoenix. Published July 4, 2008.
  9. ^ "DeVotchKa Announces New Album This Night Falls Forever for August 2018 Release and Shares New Song "Straight Shot" -". mxdwn Music. 2018-07-14. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
  10. ^ "DeVotchKa Media Kit". mediakits-showcase.concordmusicgroup.com. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
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