Conversations with Deva Yoder

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deva Yoder.

Hi Deva, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up with a musician father. He supported us by playing a lot of bars and legion halls, that sort of thing. He also had a lot of high-caliber musicians and writers that would come play at our house. He bought my mom a guitar, but she didn’t want to play it because she would have to trim her fingernails. I picked it up along with some Beatles songbooks and basically taught myself to play and would ask my dad questions if I had any. My first open mic was here in Denver at a place called Slim’s Joint. I didn’t know anybody yet. I became friends with the ska band Five Iron Frenzy and got involved in their church, Scum of the Earth as a music director for about 15 years. I met a lot of Denver musicians there, and everyone from my band I met there except for my husband. I also was heavy into the DIY scene because social media wasn’t really a thing yet. I played a warehouse a few times where the band Rainbow Sugar lived called Monkey Mania and a record store on S. Broadway called Double Entendre and a LOT of coffee shops. I worked with a producer in Arizona and was thinking about a pitch agreement with labels when I got overwhelmed and decided I wasn’t ready yet. So I focused on raising my kids but I always made space in my life for music. I was in a cover band called Faking the Dream for a while, which was hilarious. Now I am self-producing and self-publishing an album for the second time, which is very exciting!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I was 22, I was told I was already too old to “make it” in the music scene. Now that I’m older, I feel empowered by that instead of discouraged. My feeling is, if I’m already too old, then what the hell? Why not make music for the joy of it? I know who I am and I have a clearer vision of my goals now than when I was younger Frankly, the music is better too!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
What I do is sing and write Americana/folk/rock songs and play an acoustic guitar, sometimes with a backing band. I think what sets me apart is my singing and writing style is very throw-back, and the lyrics are very much a narrative. Sometimes the songs are from a character’s perspective. Two songs on the new album are from the perspective of heartbreak and loss, one song is a love song that is heavily inspired by Kahlil Gibran, and another inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke. A lot of what I read seems to find its way into the music. There are some musical influences by Tom Petty, by George Jones after a trip to Austin, by Fleetwood Mac and by Kacey Musgraves. I am very proud of this upcoming album and I am surprised that it’s turned out to be such a Rock album. It still has a lot of story-telling though.

Any big plans?
I am open to big changes! I have some goals to promote this new album next summer, and I have an entire Christmas album written that I would love to have done by next Christmas.

Contact Info:

• Website: Devayoder.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deva_yoder/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devayodermusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaceHSIgXP8
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/deva-yoder
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0tWu3UKNTXvHDunKEE1oDd 

Image Credits
Amy K. Wright, Kari Cummings, Mike Flack