Dev is one of the most powerful female voices in music to date. She puts a bit of sass and a bit of sweet together to create the powerful female artist that she is. If you didn’t know her already, she is the female voice featured in Far East Movement’s single: “Like a G6”, released the song: “In the Dark”, and has worked with other artists such as The Cataracs, The Pack, and Sage the Gemini. Her first stop on her tour was at the Catalyst Club in Downtown Santa Cruz, where she played some new music from her album Bittersweet July that will be released in early 2014. She sat down with Her Campus UCSC Campus Correspondent Geraldine to talk about the “start of that new new.”
HC: First of all welcome to Santa Cruz. You’ve toured here just about every year and you seem to stay true to your California Roots, working with artists like The Pack, Sage the Gemini, and now Drop City Yacht Club. Why did you choose Drop City Yacht Club* as your opener?
Dev: I specifically did that for that for that reason. I feel like it’s kind of hard [as an artist] coming out of Northern California, and it is important that we really do support each other and it’s fun. It is definitely something fun celebrating when we come back home to a town like here.
(*Editor’s note: Be sure to check out next week’s article about Drop City Yacht Club!)
HC: What attracts you to music? What inspires you to create your music?
Dev: I get inspired by so much. When I first started making music it was all about my experiences moving out of my town to LA and touring with The Pack and The Cataracs. Now I am engaged and have a daughter and I had my different situations with the music industry these past 4 years. I try to stay as personal as I can with my songs and make them sassy and fun. I think female empowerment is really cool. Even if it’s a victim situation, I like to flip it into “F*** yeah!”
HC: If you weren’t singing, what would you be doing?
Dev: I was in band and in choir since I was in the 4th grade. But I always kind of wanted to teach English. (She played the flute).
HC: Do you have any secret talents?
Dev: I swam for a really long time; I used to do swimming since I was 4 years old until I was about 18. I did U.S. Swimming and I got really competitive.
HC: Did you want to go to the Olympics?
Dev: Not sure.
Dev’s Mother: When you were younger- yes.
Dev: There was a point where competitive sports got too intense. At 12, I was counting my calories and watching what I was eating; it got seriously intense. But I am so fortunate to be able to still do it. It is such a therapeutic thing to do that I can do forever.
HC: Your site and Twitter handle is “DEVisHot”. What makes you feel hot/sexy?
Dev: That whole thing actually started out as a joke. It’s actually really cool because I noticed kids who listened to my music would change their names too to be “their name” is hot. So I see it now as something that is positive where others can be and feel hot. Hot can be anything other than just hot or sexy. Some of the things that make me feel hot and sexy are stuff like lipstick, even if I am in sweats in sunglasses. …My fiancé, he’s kinda hot.
HC: You released your single “KissIt” feat. Sage the Gemini where you tell people to kiss “IT”- How did you overcome those obstacles? What motivates you to keep going?
Dev: I think when I was first recording the song, it started from a more emotional place. Towards the end it became this thing where I was flipping a bad situation and making it into feeling more empowering. I feel like that in itself, is a therapeutic process. I feel like if I make a record and those are the feelings that I am feeling, I hope those emotions are being translated to my fans. If my fans are having a bad day, I want them to be able to put on a song like that and have it serve just for that purpose. I feel like having any record that has purpose like that is really awesome, just as much as an emotional song can be like that. I hope that’s what they’ll be able to do.
HC: Do you have a mantra?
Dev: I don’t have just one specific one. But my manager, Alisa, she always texts me little quotes and messages to keep me positive with the industry being as hectic as it is. I try to constantly stay positive.
HC: What is your best advice to those who are struggling?
Dev: Life is always gonna be difficult. I feel like there will always be situations that will be intense. It is how you get through those situations. It’s how you persevere [through] the end that I feel like it’s what will make you stronger. The easiest thing is to just give up. You can easily quit, it’s the easiest thing people can do. At the end of the day, that’s not what is going to pay off. I’d say just listen to “KissIt” a hundred times and that I love them. Just keep moving on. Who cares, everybody sucks.
HC: Your new album Bittersweet July is set to release soon. What can your fans and new listeners expect to hear?
Dev: There is definitely a change in tone, a little bit. I like to keep it still sassy, and music is shifting for the better. I wanted to go more melodic and more personal with the lyrics. They can still expect that in your face thing, but there is more vulnerability than stories that I told when I was 19.
HC: Your music really can stand for being independent whilst being sassy and sweet- utilizing all of your female power in your music. What is your Girl Code to college girls out there?
Dev: “Girls rule!” #RicaLyfe
HC: Emilia Lovely, your daughter, is probably as cute as button. When she grows up, what is the one thing you want her to know and understand about life and being a girl in general?
Dev: There is so much I want to teach her. I want her to really love life, and to be accepting, safe and educated. I want her to be able to be really loving and all of that but at the same time I want her to kick somebody’s ass when somebody messes with her. Everything needs to be balanced. She’s gonna be rad one day I hope. (*Editor’s note: She’s going to be a pretty rad girl. On Instagram, Emilia’s dad also tried to teach her how to skateboard a little bit- seems like she’s already on the road to complete radness!)
Lighting Round:
Team *NSYNC or Team Backstreet Boys: Team *NSYNC
Would you rather have a popcorn kernel stuck in your teeth or Cheeto fingers for life? Kernel stuck in my teeth for life
The one food you cannot live without: CHOCOLATE
Guiltiest pleasure: …Beer.
Use the letters of your name to describe you:
Daring
Eccentric
Vibrant
Would you rather have dinner with the President or your favorite celebrity? The President…he’s kinda hot. (HC: Maybe he should change his twitter handle to match yours: OBAMAisHot).
Have the ability to teleport or read minds? Teleport
Famous in your lifetime or go down in the history books? Go down in the history books
What is your favorite go- to style trend? All about lipstick
It is UCSC tradition to kiss the first banana slug you see. Have you seen a banana slug before?
Yes, I have at camp once.
Well, it still is UCSC tradition to kiss your first Banana Slug and we brought you one from campus. I’m sure you’d like it- it’s chocolate.
Be sure to get Dev’s new single “KISSIT” feat. Sage the Gemini out on iTunes!
Photo Credits to Stacy Suen and Geraldine Nicdao