Three Music Thingz with Devon Thompson
It's time for a new edition of Three Music Thingz, where I ask musical artists to share three things (thingz) that are essential to their music-making. Music is not made in a vacuum. You need thingz to make it.
Today we have Devon Thompson sharing her three thingz! Devon is a Los Angeles singer-songwriter whose tunes are as dark and smoky as a haunted house on fire. Her latest single, "So Close" dropped last month and it reminds me a ton of early 1990s back-to-basics bluesy rock: walking bass line, murky guitar stabs, simple and plaintive vocals. It's a little bit PJ Harvey, a little bit the Kills...and I can't get the vision of Chris Isaak out of my mind either? I dunno, it's so moody and soaring, it immediately transports me to a seedy bar where some stranger's cigarette has been forgotten in an ashtray, placed in a permanent state of indefinite vaporous suspension...a vibe for sure. Hey bartender: a double whiskey please, and uh, leave my tab open.
Read on for Devon Thompson's three music thingz, in her own words:
- My Epiphone Casino
Until I got my Casino, I never really knew if there was a guitar that fully fit my sound. Or even a guitar that I cared about that much. When I finally got my Casino, it was like something finally clicked. It has such a massive expansive sound– able to fill the space of 3 guitars. Playing in trios mostly, it's the perfect guitar for me. Not only is it the perfect rhythm guitar, but it makes my leads sound amazing too.
- Pinterest
As random and frivolous as it may seem, I can't live without Pinterest. It holds the mood and landscape of all my music's visual and lyrical themes. If I am writing a song, and I want to create a universe around it, Pinterest helps me create a world with images that I can organize in folders. Every song of mine is different, and has a different folder. I am a very visual artist, so it's amazing to have a tool like this. Also, it has such niche and specific user-curated images on the website, unlike any other. There's so many images that I can easily relate to in terms of aesthetic and feel that help me draft music videos for my songs. - Dark/Light Concepts
One main concept that I most commonly write about is concepts and themes that have both a balance of dark, and light. Whether that's a dark concept but lightened with humor, or a light concept but there's a dark side to it, I always need the yin and yang concept in my songs. Tongue-in-cheek is a writing style I use often that uses both light and dark. Without using dark/ light concepts, my writing feels dull, so it is definitely something I can't live without.
Get into Devon Thompson's "So Close" here. And check out her Linktree!