The Devil Makes Three still likes that old-time rock ’n’ roll
“People are always asking us where our music comes from, or what kind of music we play,” says Pete Bernhard, spokesperson for hard-rockin’ acoustic trio the Devil Makes Three. “We can never answer them, so we decided to make an album to point a finger at some of the artists that influenced us. We do our own thing, but we love traditional music and want people to appreciate the stuff we grew up with.”
The three musicians in the Devil Makes Three—Pete Bernhard (acoustic guitar and vocals), Cooper McBean, (guitar, tenor banjo and vocals) and Lucia Turino (stand-up bass and harmony vocals)—have been trying to define their sound, an amalgamation of ragtime, rockabilly, bluegrass, punk, primal blues and old-time music, since they got together some 15 years ago. They have a bright, upbeat sound, and despite their lack of a drummer, their driving rhythms have people up and dancing from the first note. During a typical set, they’ll usually play a couple of the songs that inspired them, but on their new album, Redemption And Ruin, they showcase some of the artists they admire.
“The album is half gospel tunes and half songs about screwing your life up,” says Bernhard. “It has an a-side and a b-side, like a vinyl record, which is still the best way to listen to music. We’ve been talking about an album of covers for a while, but it took years to narrow it down to 12 tunes.”
As usual, the band recorded live in the studio. Their special guests—Emmylou Harris, slide-guitar ace Jerry Douglas and songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien—contributed to arrangements that were done on the fly.
“We had a great time with this album,” says Bernhard. “It was looser than normal, and songs changed direction depending on the ideas of the people who played with us. We let the guests produce it, so to speak. The arrangements were created spontaneously. Once we liked something, we pressed ‘record’ and did it. Making it up as you go along is terrifying, but it’s also a lot of fun.”
Standards like Willie Nelson’s “I Gotta Get Drunk” and traditional folk song “Down In The Valley” rub up against obscurities like “There’ll Be A Jubilee” by the Sunset Jubilee Singers and the Stanley Brothers’ “I Am The Man,” an explicit depiction of the physical torment of crucifixion.
“Our friend Boaz Vilozny, who played drums with us briefly in the early days, introduced me to the Sunset Jubilee Singers, a five-man vocal group backed up by piano or guitar,” says Bernhard. “I’ve been listening to them ever since. They’re amazing singers, so we just did the best we could. We’ve been playing ‘I Am The Man’ on our current tour. Everything Ralph Stanley wrote has a haunting, ancient sound that’s older than bluegrass. Our biggest challenge as a band is playing old songs in new ways and writing new songs that sound different than anything we’ve done before.”
—j. poet
