Devinne Meyers

"...Favorite local song: Devinne Meyers, 'Gypsy Lullaby,' solo or with East Coast Bigfoot." - Press & Sun Bulletin

"...'Binghamton Music Vol. 1' — includes tracks from 15 acts, including Americana favorites Driftwood, Zydeco Po Boys and Milkweed, singer-songwriters Dan Pokorak, Pete Ruttle and Devinne Meyers, and more eclectic acts like Salsa Libre (Latin music), Alpha Brass Band (jazz), Thing One (jam band) and Jake Thrasher (prog-rock)." - Press & Sun Bulletin

Five talented local women take the stage at Cyber Café West on Saturday, March 28th at 9pm for Women and Music.

The brainchild of singer-songwriter Devinne Meyers, “Women and Music” was founded in response to the attitudes and obstacles facing women musicians, and women in general. While women have been making music from time immemorial, breaking into the ranks of professional music has historically posed unique challenges.

“We come together, both to give and receive a warm energy of female support in our community. Women have struggled time and time again in society for equal pay, equal rights, and equal respect. The entertainment industry is not only not an exception, but it amplifies the woman as an object. Big asses that ‘break the internet,’ female artists who have lost 40 pounds and have gained an eating disorder due to the pressure of being what society wants them to be- perfect body, aesthetically pleasing- a sex object.” Meyers continues, “What's worse is, instead of coming together, we're encouraged to always be in competition. So what else to do but start our own support group? What I love about this event is there was never any doubt with these women about doing it.”

The women involved are Kali Cornwell, Mallory Evans, Amber Martin, Mary Tewksbury, and Meyers. “The girls and I are super stoked,” she beams. “We had our first ‘Women and Music’ show a few months back and everyone had their hands in the planning process. It's a tough thing to get five different musical acts in one room, on one night, planned the way it was. It's icing on the cake for those musical acts to share their experiences jumping over the same hurdles, booking gigs, the rehearsals, the day jobs. It's something special when you can identify with people in a similar position as you. All have talent beyond measure, a definite passion for music, and their own personalities and sound.”

They also have a sense of humor. With farcical wickedness, Evans requested that the article focus solely on looks, and include what they will be wearing and their celebrity crushes.

“We have so much talent around us,” says Tewksbury, “and we wanted to showcase the women specifically, these young women with such heart and soul. We wanted a show we can kick some ass with.”

“It shows the community that we, as women, have a strong passion for the music that we create, and we wear it on our sleeve,” Martin adds. It is this passion and energy that comes out in their music. Their voices range from bluesy intensity to powerful finesse, and their original songs capture honest emotions common to us all. Each brings to the project her own unique voice, the result of her individual journey- both personal and professional. Although four of the women are currently in bands: Meyers with East Coast Big Foot, Cornwell with Adam Ate the Apple, and Evans and Tewksbury with Next to Kin, each is an entity unto herself. As Cornwell puts it, “A lot of people who have seen us perform elsewhere have probably seen us performing with bands. But this show shows that we’re fully capable of doing it ourselves. And when a group of women join forces, the results are incredible!”

Tickets for Women and Music are $10 at the door at Cyber Café West, 176 Main Street in Binghamton. For further information contact (607) 723-2456. - Triple Cities Carousel

If you’re a fan of local talent, head out to Ladies Choice on April 29th. Hosted by Dana Stewart of Voodoo Highway, Ladies Choice will feature three ladies from across the region, showcasing their talent. Featured sets will include solo and duo performances from some of the best female musicians in the area, including Devinne Meyers, whose show-stopping solo show can only be beat by her phenomenal band- East Coast Bigfoot. Performers present different genres and styles, so there will be something for you no matter what sort of music you enjoy.

Following the final performance is Ladies Only Open-Mic at 9pm. If you’d like to participate in the open mic, you are encouraged to sign up by messaging Original’s Bar and Lounge on Facebook; however, if you’d prefer, you can sign-up at the event. Original’s Bar and Lounge is located at 23 Lake St. in Owego, and is connected inside and out to the fantastic Original Italian Pizzeria. The event starts at 7pm with 3 performances and then switches over to open-mic at 9pm. Fellas, don’t be afraid; go out and support women and music! - Triple Cities Carousel

"Devinne’s music is intimate, and dives into the depths of her soul. As she sings and plays with a shining personality, the listener is swept up into her stories, and transported to another world." - Triple Cities Carousel

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