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The Devil Makes Three

The Devil Makes Three – Live Session #52

by Woody on August 4, 2009

Devil Makes Three

A day or so after The Devil Makes Three stormed through Chicago, a buddy of mine asked how I liked the DM3 session. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully and responded in such fashion:

“DM3 album es bueno”

“DM3 in studio es muy bueno”

DM3 live at Beat Kitchen es muy bueno con queso”

What the hell does that mean? Besides the obvious, 1) everything goes better with cheese and 2) I have a limited use of the English language.

It means that DM3 are one of the better live acts touring the country these days. Individually, Pete, Lucia and Cooper are each immensely talented, but the way they work together is the real treat. With a frantic brand of music that feels like it could easily veer off the tracks at any moment, it’s imperative that the three band mates not step on each other’s toes or the music could get muddled. Luckily, Devil Makes Three has the technical chops to pull each song off flawlessly.

Shirk did a fantastic job of capturing their sound here, but I implore you see them live if you have the chance. They even joked about the studio performance at the show, saying it was tough to play standing still to remain on camera.

The crowd at the show that night was a demographic mixed bag, which is consistent from what I’ve read in press clippings. From one release, I read “The Devil Makes Three has developed an audience that encompasses just about every kind of music fan from punk rockers to Deadheads, bluegrass barflies and rockabilly fanatics to indie rock kids.”

Didn’t matter what they were wearing. Everyone was dancing their ass off and I almost had my ACL torn apart by a girl slipping in her stilettos.

Exclusive: The Devil Makes Three – For Good Again

Exclusive: The Devil Makes Three – Do Wrong Right

Exclusive: The Devil Makes Three – Poison Trees

Exclusive: The Devil Makes Three – Help Yourself

Exclusive: The Devil Makes Three – The Day I Jumped From Uncle Harvey’s Plane

Download the session as a zip.

Video: The Devil Makes Three – Do Wrong Right (see more videos from this session here).

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The Devil Makes Three – Do Wrong Right [Album Review]

by oz on April 23, 2009

devil-makes-three

The Devil Makes Three has just released the latest chapter of their gypsy-punk-hillbilly-bluegrass-blues gospel in an album called Do Wrong Right. That description is a mouthful, but DM3 is far from ordinary. The drummer-less trio consists of guitarist/frontman Pete Bernhard, stand-up bassist Lucia Turino and guitarist Cooper McBean. Their sound is driven by rhythm and three-part harmonies that beg you to boogie down, even if you aren’t the boogie down type.

Do Wrong Right might change your opinion about what can be done with an acoustic album. Traditional country songs like “Car Wreck” are offset by up-tempo banjo propelled songs like the album’s title track and then followed by brutally honest blues numbers like “Working Man’s Blues.” I haven’t had a chance to see a live show, but the word-of-mouth about their performances is the stuff of legends. From what I hear, hippies, young kids, college students, yuppies and people of all races and religions are dancing and singing along in blissful coexistence. They are on a monstrous cross-country tour this summer, so we’ll all have a chance to find out for ourselves.

While this ragtag band might be a bit loose and rough around the edges, those same qualities are what bring character to their music. The Devil Makes Three have a lively spirit and are bound to win over audiences all over the country, one drinking hole at a time.

Website | MySpace | Milan Records

The Devil Makes Three – All Hail

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