East Coast Bigfoot
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East Coast Bigfoot

Binghamton, NY | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | SELF

Binghamton, NY | SELF
Established on Jan, 2015
Band Rock Roots

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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"East Coast Bigfoot Sighted in Bing"

There’s a new band making the rounds in town. The sound is new, but the faces are familiar.

East Coast Bigfoot came together when singer-songwriter Devinne Meyers wanted to fill out her solo music and do something bigger and louder, and drummer Ty Whitbeck assured her that there was nothing stopping her. The musical coupling is now joined by bassist Stephen Schweitzer, who dug their sound so much upon hearing them live that he had to ask to join in. The three now hope to add their own unique edge to the local music scene that has so inspired them.

Beyond bringing music to people’s ears, it is important to the group that to they are contributing something original and bringing something new to the table. “That’s where my heart is,” says Stephen. “One reason I wanted to play with you guys.”

Devinne has an uncanny ability to evoke the voices of her influences, which range from Ellie Goulding to the Dixie Chicks, from P!nk to Rachael Price of Lake Street Dive. At times in her songs you can pick out these artists’ tones and inflections distinctly, but it’s mostly her own special blend guided by swooping and diving melodies. Ty brings another set of influences to the group. “I listen to funk and soul and early rock and roll, and I think that comes out a lot,” he says. The quality they try to emulate from the artists and genres they admire is timelessness.

The band (with former bassist Gabriel Plaine) first performed in February at the Old Union Hotel. For Devinne, who started out as a soloist singing and playing guitar into a camera for her YouTube channel, one of the best things about playing with a band is playing live and playing loud. She played gigs as a soloist, but she found she was limited in her range. “It’s just softer; I wanted to do more loud head-bangers.”

She released a solo album in 2013, which she produced by herself in her apartment. Titled “Unrefined,” it feels naked not only in its simplicity– a girl and her acoustic guitar– but in the thoughtful, longing feeling of the lyrics and the fluttering vocals. It is soft but rich in variety, and the way the melodies build upon each other makes it easy to imagine the songs lending themselves to compositions of greater volume.

Devinne says that the attitude that allowed her to create the album all on her own is the same one that’s been moving East Coast Bigfoot forward: “I don’t care what people say- I’m just going to do it.” Her solo album is integrated into the band’s sound, in that it provided some material to start with as they write new songs. But according to Ty, the band has built up the material so much that, “although we still play those songs, they don’t sound anything like them.” It’s true: the addition of drum and bass have brought out the blues in Devinne as well as they had for powerful vocalists like Alanis Morisette.

Ty and Stephen both live and work in Binghamton. Devinne grew up in Binghamton and now lives in Ithaca where she works at a café. The trip is no big trouble for her, though. “I’m here anyway, because all my friends are down here… and a lot of shows, and this guy-” she points at Ty. Ty also plays for the Lutheran Skirts and the Zydeco Po’ Boys, but he was looking for a new project and found one here.

Ty got his start with music when he was little. “I would bang on pots and pans. I would imitate Whitesnake. My cousin Joe had a drumset and I could barely sit on the stool,” he says. Devinne was involved in music in school. “I’m classically trained on the flute, which one day I need to just break out and play some Jethro Tull. I played in marching band, and I was in symphony orchestra, and I played piccolo.”

As for Stephen, he has a bunch of experience playing with bands, and he’s also recognized as a photographer, both professionally and creatively. You may know him from his recent project, Lucem Picturae, a series of light paintings he creates live using long exposures and video projection loops. He’s the most recent addition to the band, but he’s known Ty and Devinne long enough that the chemistry is already there. Both he and Ty are beginning to add some songs they’ve written to the set list.

They’re an eclectic mix of people who differ enough from each other musically and as people that their fusion creates something unique. Ty says, “Our scene here is so diverse, but at the same time we’re all wanting to see each other succeed and collaborate and do some stuff that nobody’s ever heard before.”

East Coast Bigfoot plays Cyber Café West in Binghamton with Milkweed on 4/1, Antonio’s in Endicott on 4/11, and Callahan’s Sportsman’s Club in Binghamton on 4/25. Check ‘em out on Facebook. - Triple Cities Carousel


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Still working on that hot first release.

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Bio

The legend lives in the tale, through great storytellers, and with an Original Roots Rock band like East Coast Bigfoot, it's in the name and the written songs.
The band is fronted by singer-songwriter Devinne Meyers, an emotionally charged lyricist with powerful and versatile vocals to support her songs.  With a voice influenced by 90's female singer-songwriters, such as Melissa Etheridge, Shawn Colvin, Alanis Morissette, and Natalie Maines, Meyers' vocal style is reminiscent of the female musician movement she grew up with on the radio. 
But the sound doesn't stop there.  The means to the end is certainly found in what the others have to offer.  "I bring an idea to the table, sometimes a partially written song, and sometimes it's all written," says Meyers.  "Then Ty will try something totally different on his kit, and it changes the flavor of the tune.  And Stephen will come in and play melodies I never thought of.  Ricky will text me and say 'Hey, I think this needs Mandolin, or Keyboard,' or, 'I hear these harmonies.'  It's definitely a collaborative effort, and I'm very proud to have such a creative and talented team."
Songs range from folk to rock, to even pop-like melodies supported by fretless bass, 4 piece drum kit, and lead electricguitar.  Add some occasional harmonica and mandolin, even keyboard, and the sound of the band turns even more into a folk rock singer-songwriter fusion.
Accompanying on 4 piece drum kit is Ty Whitbeck, with tasty rhythms and pocket drums that put a creative spin on the music.  From a simple train beat to rock and roll blues, it's all covered.  Influences such as local Owego great Andy Thomas (Next to Kin, Dutch Bucket System, previously of The Falconers), Robert "Sput" Searight of Snarky Puppy, and Brian Profilio of The Budos Band bring unique arrangements coupled with a humble simplicity.
A master of the fretless bass, Stephen Schweitzer incorporates low end counter melodies with an avante garde taste.  Over his live career, he has been known to tackle the art of both traditional bass lines and harmonious phrasing.  As a producer of "Binghamton Music Volume 1," featuring local musicians such as Milkweed, Driftwood, and Pete Ruttle, If Madrid, Meyers herself, and many more, he literally lends an ear to the arrangements of the pieces, tying in what he's learned over the years in numerous projects and records.  
The most recent addition of ECB, Ricky Recsiniti brings the original 3 member band to life.  Growing up with Gregg Allman (The Allman Brothers), Mark Knopflier (Dire Straits), and Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead), Resciniti contributes to spacious electric leads and folk style mandolin that can mirror the initial song melodies, yet take everything to new heights.  Ricky's energy and enthusiasm onstage is enough to make you smile, all while banging your head and tapping your toes.
The band has made appearances at local venues, such as Cyber Cafe West and The Lost Dog in Binghamton, NY, and The Ransom Steele Tavern in Appalachin, NY, and many more local spots.  They also have been sighted in Hector, NY at 2 Goats Brewing and Maxie's Supper Club in Ithaca, NY.  You can catch them at Binghamton Porchfest on the City's Westside, or in Raleigh, NC opening up for James Olin Oden at his "Deeper Dance" CD Release Party. 
For more information, such as booking and tour dates, go to their website, eastcoastbigfootband.bandcamp.com.  You can also catch them on Facebook at facebook.com/eastcoastbigfoot.

Band Members