leftovers

It's my 15th Annual Top 10 Songs Countdown here on my otherwise pretty dormant blog! This was a year of huge change for me. The year started with a big focus on my work. Two years of the pandemic, with lots of isolation and uncertainty had taken a toll and it seemed like the time was right to start looking for change. I had a couple of big milestones in this pursuit, traveling to New York City in May to complete a leadership program that had begun just weeks after the initial Covid-19 lockdown. In June I attended a conference in Reno where I told anyone who was listening that I was looking for a new job, and on the last day of the conference I had my first, virtual, interview with a company I was very interested in working for. The day before my birthday, I took an hour-long flight for an in-person interview, and before I got on the plane back home, I was offered the job. By mid-July, I had already moved six hours north of Los Angeles to the state capital, Sacramento, although it w...

For those of you who aren't familiar, Heaven 17 is a British synth-pop group that had success in the early 80's; members included two of the founders of another famous British synth-pop band, The Human League. Those who know me, my love for early 80's new-wave and synth-pop often mistakenly assume that I like any and all bands that fall into this category. Those who know me well know that this is not true! While I've come to appreciate and even like certain parts of their catalogs, bands like Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell and New Order just haven't really appealed to me. My relationship with Heaven 17 has been even more complicated. As a lifelong Human League devotee, I have always been aware of Heaven 17, although their music was never as prevalent in the US as songs like "Don't You Want Me," "(Keep Feeling) Fascination," and "Human." In fact, for years, I only knew who Heaven 17 was but hadn't really heard any of thei...

Even though a lot of terrible things happened to a lot of people this year, I personally can't complain too much as I had a good year despite some major heartbreaks. The loss of my aunt Mary, and my collaborator Amy Crosby, were both extremely sad moments this past year. My hometown of Paradise, Kansas, suffered terrible floods in the spring, and then just a couple of weeks ago, catastrophic wildfires that destroyed many peoples' homes and livelihood. My ancestral home, the Stielow/Strecker farmstead, was one of the places decimated by fire. We had just all visited it following the celebration of life for my aunt Mary back in July. Having said all that, I had many great moments this year, if things were different due to the continuing pandemic. I got to spend time with my parents, niece and nephew several times throughout the year, including a great Thanksgiving trip together to Newport Coast. I was able to make it to the 4th annual Paradise Fall Festival to see my uncle Ronnie...

Since Amy passed away last month, I have been intent on archiving all the music, video, photos and files I have from our time together as Shitting Glitter. In addition to our two albums and one EP that have been available online and streaming services, we have so much more music that's currently out of print. I have hundreds of video tapes of our performances, and so many photos.  This week, we have finally made our 2004 single "R So" available again as a grey/purple 7" vinyl single - our only vinyl release to date. R So by Shitting Glitter   In 2003, many things changed for the early lineup of Shitting Glitter. While it had been formed by the nucleus of myself, Amy, and Von (who were a couple at the time), one day I got a phone call that rocked my world. When the dust settled, Amy and Von were split up, and my brother Brandon - who had "temporarily" come to LA to help us produce our debut album - was now in the band, and in a relationship with Amy. I did...

I met Amy Crosby in either late 2000 or early 2001, at a gay bar in the valley. I don't remember exactly which one, because I had seen her here and there at various Karaoke nights, where I had noticed her amazing ability to sound just like the artist she was emulating. Whether it was Cher, Alanis, Melissa Ethridge, or Traci Bonham, Amy would get up on stage and channel her inner diva. I think the first time I got up the courage to speak to her was at Apache in Studio City, which like many places I frequented in my twenties in Los Angeles, is no longer there. At the time she had her hair bleached blond and was adopting more of a "lipstick lesbian" persona, due to the fact that the "police were after her" after some sort of car accident or something. I thought, boy this girl is interesting! From the first moment we met she was telling me tall tales that seemed too incredible to be true, her (at the time) partner Von by her side, deadpan, not giving me any indicati...

If ever there was a year that proved the importance of art and music, it was 2020. None of us will ever forget the shutdowns and quarantine, the covidiots and maskholes, and all the drama that surrounded the presidential election and the protests following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minnesota. All together, it combined to make a steaming shitshow of a year that most of us had no choice but to watch from afar in the confines of our own homes. But what kept me - and millions of others - going through the groundhog-day style monotony of working from home and isolation from friends and family was music. Whether it was discovering new musicians online, getting ear candy from favorite artists, or taking the time to practice or even learn an instrument, music is what saved many of our souls. I had some intense reactions to new music this year, discovering at least one new favorite artist, and releasing some new and old music of my own in the form of my retrospective "Recolle...

On May 26, 2000, my brother and I loaded up our cars with all the belongings we cared to keep and headed west on a two-day journey to our new home: Los Angeles, CA. I could never have imagined then what adventures the next twenty years would hold. The high and lows with the various bands I've been in, my rewarding work (really) behind the scenes in Hollywood, all the great friends I've made, and meeting and marrying the lover of my life, Dylan. I do often think about what that Devin, the one who arrived in LA with a bunch of dreams and not a whole lot of plans on how I would make those dreams come true, would think of the man I've become. Back then, I figured the California way was just to trust the universe and let things happen. It wasn't until later that I realized how truly hard you have to push to make things happen, and I'd like to think I've found a balance now between my artistic and creative expression and my work ethic and lifestyle I've striven ...

Life goes on, and even as you get older, some things never change. There were many sentimental moments for me this year, a year that in many ways felt like the world was ending, yet it just kept going. Personally, it was a very big year for my own music. I released my second solo album, "Art Damage," in March, preceded by two singles and videos, "Anyone Can Break Somebody's Heart" which featured the amazing Wendy Ho on lead vocals, with a killer remix done by Scott Anderson, aka Mr. Anderson; and "By My Side" which had an awesome 80's halloween-themed video made by Ravensview Films. I started performing at jam nights around Los Angeles where I met so many talented, cool, and friendly musicians who have become friends. I did a short tour for my album in September which took me to places like Bisbee, Arizona, and my tiny hometown of Paradise, Kansas. I got to play at Hotel Cafe three times - which had been a "bucket list" item, now accompli...