Local folk band Acoustic Suitcase will play and lead a songwriting workshop Sunday evening, 6 to 8 p.m., at The Performing Arts Collective Alliance, 1505 State St.
Dave Devine, 65, is one of three members of the band, which also includes Dave VanAmburg and Randy Peters. Devine said they usually focus on folk, and dabble in blues, pop and rock and other genres. Sunday, VanAmburg, who specializes in blues, pop and swing, will focus on the structure of songs and the history of the blues. Peters has invited actress and fiddle player Hilletje Bashew, who will talk about Irish music and storytelling. The program will also feature Don Dombrowski on dobro, a type of American steel guitar.
Devine said he’s really excited about the PACA event because it will be an interactive evening with an audience of music lovers.
“It’s one thing to perform and another to sit down and talk about it,” Devine said. “Even when that happens naturally, it’s something I really enjoy.”
He taught songwriting at Edinboro University for two years and it’s something he’d like to do more of, he said.
“I’d like to emulate what the poets do where they have workshops and open mics.”
Devine said he’s glad the event is free, so it’s open to everyone, including struggling artists.
“(The event) is for anybody who enjoys songwriting and poetry and who likes to be entertained by unique and authentic musicians,” Devine said.
Words, verses, rhymes
For Devine, music grows out of poetry. He said he admires giants such as William Blake and Robert Frost, as well as American contemporaries such as Joy Harjo, Tess Gallagher and Mary Oliver. But his own everyday life is his main source of material.
“A lot of my songs have to do with my experiences and events,” he said, such as one called “Cloud #9,” which describes an airline flight during which he found himself looking down over clouds. He said he often imbues his songs and poems with humor, and refers in “Cloud #9” some of what he calls “the protocol” of getting on an airplane.
Another song, “The $150 Car” is pretty self-explanatory, and yet another has to do with the arrest of bank robbers who’d managed to rob six banks in six days and were caught near a deli he was working in.
His recent favorite is “Cosmic Cowboy,” which he calls a humorous song about a spiritual awakening and the endless journey. He’ll share that at PACA, and a friend is working to set that one into a music video.
Hear “Cosmic Cowboy” at https://bit.ly/cosmiccowboy.
A father’s gift
Over the years, Devine said, he has worn a lot of hats: shoe salesman, advertising salesman, ad copywriter, all the while he was writing songs and playing guitar, a skill he learned from his father, Dayton Devine.
“My father taught me the chords on guitar,” for which Dave is deeply grateful, he said.
“Music enhances my life and gives me a connection with the world,” Dave Devine said. “There is no better feeling for me than finishing a song and wanting to share it.”
Devine was born in Erie and grew up in East Springfield, and one of his two brothers, Chuck Devine, is also a musician who plays drums in local bands.
The PACA event, which is being put on using a grant from Erie Arts & Culture, is the warm-up to an exciting autumn for Devine, who is putting out a book of 30 poems entitled “My Father and Me,” being released Nov. 15. He said the subject matter explores his relationship with his father, as well as themes he said his father was interested in, including nature and mythology.
“I’m looking forward to that,” he said, adding that he’ll do a signing at Werner Books, 3608 Liberty St., Nov. 8 from 6 to 8 p.m.
For more information, including on Dave Devine’s new album “Rollin’ On The Ocean,” visit http://Devinesongs.com.
Contact Jennie Geisler at jgeisler@timesnews.com. Or at 814-870-1885.
Source: News