Nine years after releasing her first CD, Nothing But Sky, Powell River folk musician Devon Hanley is back with a new album, Live Studio Sessions. The collection of 18 original songs was recorded in various studios with a live, acoustic format. Hanley is a regular at the Laughing Oyster restaurant, playing at the establishment from Wednesday to Sunday every week.
What is the story of your new CD?
I’ve been faithfully recording all of the songs I’ve been writing since about 2008, with me on piano, guitar and vocals. I was agonizing over whether I should go in, re-record all of these and get a band, but the feedback I was getting from people who heard the demo was, “We really like this live acoustic sound; we just like the directness of it. It’s your voice, piano and guitar and the way we hear you when we hear you live.”
How does the CD reflect you as a person?
It’s a humbling offer. It’s not a big studio scene, not a whole bunch of musicians and side people. It’s just me doing what I do and my songs. It’s kind of homespun. I have about six or seven songs that didn’t make it onto this. I really had enough for a double CD. It’s about an hour and 15 minutes of listening, but it’s a good variety. I think there are a handful of gems. There are a few that mean a lot to me. I’m proud of them and proud to put it out to people.
Would you say your influence comes from folk music?
Folk is a huge influence for me. My dad brought home all of the folk music, so I grew up on Joan Baez, The Brothers Four, The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary. My big heroes were Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell. Definitely, I was steeped in folk music. I grew up living them and loving them. My dad loved folk music. He loved a great lyric, a great melody and a great voice.
Are you planning on doing the folk festival circuit?
Last time I tried to shop myself around to the folk music festivals, I got, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” If I just play my Laughing Oyster gigs and a few people hear me, if I just get a little coffeehouse here and a little home concert there, I’m happy and content. If the doors open and I can play a few other venues, that will be fine by me. I’m not laying awake at night figuring out the strategy to get that folk music gig.
For more information, go to devonhanley.ca.
