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Puck Rock: Boyd Devereaux
by Mike Chen on 03/12/09 at 02:16 PM ET
Comments (11)
In my eyes, Boyd Devereaux may just be the luckiest dude on the planet. Here’s a guy who’s got a Stanley Cup ring and his own indie rock label, Elevation Recordings (no relation to Elevation Partners, the Bono-powered venture capital firm). Currently back with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Devereaux’s seemingly got the most in-depth musical taste of any player in the NHL; he’s probably the only guy you’ll be able to find on both TSN’s and Stereogum’s archives.
From Radiohead to Black Sabbath to Mogwai, Devereaux’s favorites are a virtual catalog of indie rock and college radio essentials—and he’s the focus of this edition of Puck Rock. For you music geeks out there, you’ll marvel at his selection of tracks.
Tell readers about why you started Elevation Recordings and some of your artists.
I got into Elevation with a good friend of mine from Detroit who i met while playing for the Wings named Joe Greenwald. He actually had already began the label and i was really excited about the start he had going…he asked if i wanted to be a part of it and i didn’t hesitate to say yes. I’m quite proud of our catalog so far which includes releases from doom/metalgaze duo Nadja, psych-country purveyors Blood Meridian and Australian post-rock titans Laura.
When you’re done with hockey, do you see yourself getting into the music business full time?
I’d like to pursue a few ideas i have.
Do any teammates (past or present) share your passion for indie rock or are you pretty much ignored on the locker room stereo?
I’ve played with plenty of music fans but i dig pretty deep.
Mike’s note: Compared to the usual mix of metal, hard rock, and country I’ve seen during my Puck Rock research, “pretty deep” is an understatement.
Has your high-profile day job helped bring attention to Elevation Music? Where do you see the label going from here?
I think so. We’ve gotten some pretty cool press from sources we admire. I like the model Joe and I are running Elevation with currently but if opportunity arose and timing was right we would perhaps consider pushing it further.
You’ve played in a number of different cities in your career. Do you have favorite spots in each place to catch live bands and local acts?
In Edmonton I didn’t see lot of shows. In Detroit, my favorite spots were St. Andrews Hall and the Lager House. I saw a bunch of shows in Phoenix at Modern Arts, the Clubhouse and the Marquee Theater. In Toronto it’s usually Lee’s Palace, the Horseshoe Tavern, Sneaky Dee’s and the Tranzac.
Mike’s note: Any indie rock fans reading this from the Detroit, Toronto, or Phoenix area want to comment on his choice of venues? In the Bay Area, your selection includes the historic Fillmore theater, Slim’s, Bimbo’s 365, Cafe du Nord, and The Blank Club right outside of HP Pavilion.
Since you’re constantly on the road, how do you keep up with new music?
On the road is where i usually catch up with a lot listening i want to do.
Mike’s note: Check out this article from 2006 where Boyd lists his current on-the-road playlist.
You were a speaker at a music-meets-sports panel at NXNE 2008. How did you get involved with such a notable music festival and what was your experience like?
Local radio DJ Dave Bookman was hosting the panel and knew of my interest in music and asked me to participate. It was a lot of fun—met some cool people and there were great stories from all the panelists.
Hit shuffle on your iPod. What comes up?
So You’ll Aim Towards The Sky/ Grandaddy
Hockey arenas are often filled with nu-metal, hair metal, and pop. In your perfect world, what song would you be skating out to?
Breed/ Nirvana
The Apples In Stereo on a Pepsi commercial: selling out or smart business move?
It depends on the band and the product. I don’t like it necessarily but you can’t begrudge a struggling band putting a few bucks in their pocket.
You’re stranded on a desert island with the back catalogs of five artists. Who are they?
Black Sabbath, Radiohead, Neil Young, Nick Cave, My Morning Jacket
(Selected tracks from each artist below:)
My personal favorite Radiohead song:
Nick Cave, or as one of my friends calls him, The Greatest Songwriter To Ever Live:
You’ve just won the Stanley Cup. What song do you want played over the cheesy TV network montage?
Friend of the Night/ Mogwai
Mike’s note: I’m guessing that I can continue Puck Rock indefinitely and I’ll never, ever come across another player who picks a Mogwai song for his Stanley Cup montage. How cool is that?
If you liked the variety of Boyd’s selections, go check out the catalog at Elevation Recordings to see more of the artists on his label.
Filed in: | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
Tags: Boyd+Devereaux, Indie+Rock, Music, Puck+Rock,
Comments
Oh, and fun fact—Mogwai are not strangers to the sports world—they did the soundtrack for a documentary-ish movie about Zinedine Zidane.
Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 03/12/09 at 02:49 PM ET
All due respect to Pavement—hey, my wife has their debut in her car right now—but my personal nominations for Greatest Songwriter to Ever Live are Morrissey, Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses/Belly/Breeders/solo stuff), and Jarvis Cocker.
But really, I think they can all be thrown into a great umbrella of awesomeness. We can save the feuding for hip-hop artists or media with nothing better to do (see: Oasis vs. Blur circa 1995 when Blur was—and still is—obviously so much more talented) 
Posted by Mike Chen on 03/12/09 at 02:51 PM ET
wow…
gotta say Boyd Deveraux knows his music…
Mogwai takes me back, i think it’s been 10 years since i first saw them live..
btw Mike, i dare you to listen to this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDS4wOd_o1I
from Glastonbury 2003 and not have that as your #1 Radiohead song.. wish i could say i was there, but i saw it live on TV at least
—-
you look at that article though..
Hal Gill has Toto - Africa on his playlist…i mean WTF?
TOTO?
Posted by Pharazon from England on 03/12/09 at 02:53 PM ET
Fake Plastic Trees is among my favorite Radiohead songs. But Let Down is the clear-cut winner in my book. In college, I would put that song on repeat for literally hours while I studied. I can listen to it in any mood.
For what it’s worth (and not to get too High Fidelity on you guys), my top 5 Radiohead songs would be:
Let Down
Sulk
No Surprises
Fake Plastic Trees
Motion Picture Soundtrack
Yes, I like the slow sad songs.
Posted by Mike Chen on 03/12/09 at 03:23 PM ET
Hahaha, no feuding here, just messing around… funny thing about bringing up Blur vs. Oasis though… if Blur were any more in love with Malkmus he have to have gotten a restraining order.
If you aren’t a fan of Pavement, I don’t like you. Just kidding, just kidding. But seriously, if you didn’t like them that much, or couldn’t get totally into it, have you followed his “solo” career/career with The Jicks? There’s more classic rock and jamming influence in it, it’s more balls out rock, especially the most recent record.
Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 03/12/09 at 03:54 PM ET
only 1 of your top 5 goes anywhere near mine…
1: anyone can play guitar
2. 15 step
3. the bends
4. lucky
5. fake plastic trees
—
pavement was never my cup of tea tbh. always got on more around that time with london based punk/ska stuff… maybe it’s because i used to go to the gigs, and we just ignored stuff from america unless it was really different.. i dunno
Posted by Pharazon from England on 03/12/09 at 05:25 PM ET
I got nothing against Pavement. I mean, I have some of their stuff, they’re just not one of my favorites. They did influence Blur on their shift from the Parklife/Great Escape sound to the self-titled Blur album, so I should thank them for classic Blur songs like MOR, Beetlebum, and On Your Own.
Posted by Mike Chen on 03/12/09 at 08:02 PM ET
Toto - Africa is actually a pretty decent song, for the era/genre (which I’d have to classify as, uh, “odd 80s shite”) . I know, I know. I tried to resist the urge to ever admit that for, like, at least ten minutes before I posted this but I had to be honest!
The bigger shames from the article linked was Tim McGraw’s “Live like you were dying” which pretty much sums up everything that’s wrong with country music any more- and trust me, I live in rural Texas which means that five out of six stations are country stations.
This is a very useful and timely post! Lots of stuff to download for an upcoming 20 hours of driving next week. So here’s my contribution:
Bo Kasper’s Orkester - Undantag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb4-nmX_ZvY
It’s honestly not one of their strongest songs, but I’m having trouble finding good version of some of my favorites (“vi kommer aldrig att dö”, for one) . My wife had the cds when she moved here so I’ve been exposed that way.
Anyone have any experience with last.fm? I stumbled across this site trying to find a couple songs to link. Not sure what to make of it yet.
Posted by shanetx on 03/13/09 at 10:47 AM ET
First of all, I’m glad I found this. My biggest passions being music and hockey, it’s always exciting to hear about a hockey player who is into something other than Metallica and Zeppelin. I still remember when I first heard that Felix Potvin loved punk rock.
I’m pleasantly surprised with Devereaux’s musical taste. Everyone I know from his hometown (Seaforth, Ontario) breathes country music. It’s good to see he’s working in the business as well.
Mike’s note: Any indie rock fans reading this from the Detroit, Toronto, or Phoenix area want to comment on his choice of venues?
His Toronto choices are dead on. I’ve never been to Tranzac, but Lee’s, the Horsehoe, and Sneaky Dee’s are all indie rock temples in Toronto. I’d add El Mocambo to the list as well. Opera House is also a good choice for acts that bring a bigger crowd. As for Detroit, I’ve seen a show at a venue called The Magic Stick, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I can’t comment on any of his picks.
I guess I’ll add to the Radiohead favourites list:
(I also seem to be a sucker for the slow, sad ones.)
1. Everything In Its Right Place
2. Fake Plastic Trees
3. No Surprises
4. Just
5. How To Disappear Completely
Thanks for this! I’ll definitely be checking back for new editions.
Posted by Courtney from Ontario on 03/16/09 at 03:34 PM ET
Courtney, check out the other Puck Rock interviews:
http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/mc/category/puck_rock/
Also, I do occasional reviews of new music releases:
http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/mc/category/non_hockey/
Next up—Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It’s Blitz!
From what I’ve heard of it so far, I really like it. It’s definitely different but they work the transition into synthpop well.
Posted by Mike Chen on 03/16/09 at 04:02 PM ET
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Those venues are okay. The Shelter, which is the basement of St. Andrews, is probably what he was talking about, as that’s where more indie acts play. If you’re playing upstairs there, you might still be indie, but definitely have a bigger following.
There are a number of other decent venues that have a lot of indie shows, the crowd that hangs out at these venues is what sucks…
And let me correct your friend—the Greatest Songwriter to Ever Live is Stephen Malkmus. Being in the Bay Area, you guys aren’t far from Stockton, so this should be obvious!!!
Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 03/12/09 at 02:45 PM ET