Interview: Willy DeVille Part One - Page 2

Roughly our conversation could be divided into the early years, the middle part, and what's going on now, but we bounced around following no particular timeline. At one point near the end of our conversation he said, "It doesn't matter what age you are, as long as you're doing". Which sums up his whole career right there in a nut shell, Willy is always "doing" something to keep moving on musically, personally, and whatever else is needed for growth as an artist.

I don't use the word artist lightly ever; it's not some generic term used to refer to somebody who gets up on stage and performs. Talking to Willy for a couple of hours and listening to him talk about his approach, his feelings about his work, the almost spiritual way he described performing, and the obvious passion that came through his voice whenever we would talk music (plus having seen him perform on video recently) made it obvious to me that he has nothing in common with those who strive for mediocrity an are called artists by today's popular press.

So let's press on with this shall we, and I'll bring on the question and answers.

Where did it all start for you, you were born in New York right?

No I was born in Stanford Connecticut (laughs); nobody's born in Manhattan. We moved there when I was 13 or 14, but I had been coming into town since I was about 12… I had fallen in love with the city.

The bright lights and all…

Nah, it was the musicians. Everywhere there was music it was amazing. But it was everything else too, you know, the smells of pizza … Somewhere else than where you are always looks better to you, and we all come from some little itty bitty place. I don't want this to sound like those, he came from a small town and made it big stories right, but it's more about having a dream and having the patience and the, oh I don't know what (me: "perseverance") yeah, to make it happen, you know, and that's what I feel like it's always been.

Why music, what was it about music that grabbed you?

Well according to my mom I was singing before I was talking right. I mean I don't even come from a musical family, but it just always seemed so natural to me. You know I grew up and I had older brothers, four and six years older, so there was always music around, on the radio at breakfast as we ate our corn flakes, or American Bandstand. I still remember listening to bands like the Drifters…It was like magic, there was drama and it would hypnotize me.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the forthcoming book What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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