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The Devil Wears Prada
Posted by Rob Ortenzi on 11-Jan-08 @ 05:54 PM|
HQ: Dayton, OH NOW PLAYING: Plagues (RISE; riserecords.com) WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW 'EM: Despite the name, the members of the Devil Wears Prada are more interested in chunky, blood-soaked riffs than red carpet fashion. YOU LIKE? YOU'LL LIKE? Underoath / Killswitch Engage / Still Remains STORY: Amy Sciarretto PHOTO: Tim Harmon The dudes in the Devil Wears Prada aren't avid readers of chick lit; they're not metrosexuals toting high-end man purses; and they're not the new leaders in fashioncore. On the contrary, the Devil Wears Prada don't give a shit about living in the material world, despite borrowing their name from the successful book (by Lauren Weisberger) and movie (starring Anne Hathaway) that chronicled the hard-knock life at a Vogue-esque fashion magazine. Instead, TDWP-vocalist Mike Hranica, guitarist/vocalist Jeremy DePoyster, keyboardist James Baney, guitarist Chris Rubey, bassist Andy Trick and drummer Daniel Williams-are interested in less secular, more spiritual pursuits. "We hadn't read the book at the time, but being a Christian band, the title stood out to us since we believe there are way more important things to care about than clothing labels," admits DePoyster, who eventually read Weisberger's novel and took his mother to see the film. "I like the movie," he adds. "I didn't like the book, though. It was more of a chick thing." Despite their growing popularity, the Devil Wears Prada haven't received any cease-and-desist orders from the publishers of the book or the producers of the film-yet. "We're still okay at this point," DePoyster reveals. "We talked to lawyers and since the movie and the book were in different mediums than music, bands named after books don't usually have a problem." That's good news, for sure. Now the band can keep their focus on their new thrash-tastic album, Plagues, instead of courtroom copyright battles. The band may've formed in 2005, but DePoyster had dreams of the stage ever since he was young, attending acting and theatre school to hone his singing voice. However, instead of pounding the Broadway pavement after high school, DePoyster decided to hit the road with the Devil Wears Prada immediately. "A lot of kids in the crowd relate to us because we are close to their age. Maybe it gives them hope," DePoyster responds when asked why his peers have connected so much to his band. It's this hope that provides much of the subject matter in the Devil Wears Prada's music (i.e. the wish for salvation behind the guttural screams of "Hey John, What's Your Name Again?" and "HTML Rulez d00d," with its search for purity). Though this outwardly Christian band chooses not to use the stage as a pulpit, they do acknowledge their faith is directly at odds with the hedonistic sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle endemic to bands. Thankfully, DePoyster is confident his band will be able to continue to avoid the all-too-common temptations the road has to offer. "We hold each other accountable," explains DePoyster. "We still hang out and bro down with bands on the road [because] we can have fun and hold true to our convictions. Obviously, there's always temptation, but usually people are cool about it. If we tell them we're not into it, they don't give us a whole lot of crap for it." As for the right-wing Christian hardliners that feel heavy music, with its body-stimulating beats, cannot be equated with a wholesome Christian lifestyle, DePoyster maintains that the Devil Wears Prada exist to prove to Christian kids that there is an alternative music-based lifestyle. "We want to show kids that may normally turn their cheek at Christianity that we are real dudes who live real lives," he says. "To be a rigid conservative is not the only way to be a Christian. There is a place for that, obviously, but there are so many kids that would never listen to what religious people, who are so closed-minded about music, are trying to say. We offer an alternate way of getting the Christian message out there." DePoyster is also adamant that TDWP is not trying to force the Christian issue, and they welcome non-Christian fans, as well. "We're not shoving anything down anyone's throats and we don't think you need to dress in a suit and sit in a pew on Sunday. You can live a looser lifestyle and still be Christian." Amen to that! ALT UNDER THE INFLUENCE Still Remains' OF LOVE AND LUNACY and Underoath's THE CHANGING OF TIMES are two albums the Devil Wears Prada cite as most influential on their nascent sound. "They both brought something different to the metalcore table," says guitarist Jeremy DePoyster. "On those records, it's not just breakdown, breakdown, breakdown. They brought more clean singing and keyboards to the mix, and it really helped us a lot with forming our sound in the beginning." ALT |
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goodness, amazing band.