© 2024 KOSU
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

DeVotchKa On World Cafe

If you're a more detail-oriented person than I am when it comes to getting places, maybe a happy accident of music discovery like this has never happened to you. But about a decade ago, when I thought I was going to see a friend's regular drums, bass guitar indie band, I walked into the venue and saw in front of me a woman lying on the floor playing a light-up sousaphone that was pointing up at the sky, a guy on violin and a lead singer who was in the throes of klezmer-pop-party mania. Let's just say this was not my friend's indie band, and I was very thrilled to have made the mistake. Sorry, friend. The band with the sousaphone that I stayed and danced to all night was called DeVotchka, and it's my guests today on the show.

The members of DeVotchka first got together in the late '90s in Denver, led by Nick Urata, who sings and plays a bunch of instruments including the theremin. The band has released a handful of really charming albums that blend the spirit of indie, cabaret and world music with a whole lot more that can't be described. Its unique sound has landed DeVotchka's music in a number of films, maybe most notably Little Miss Sunshine in 2006.

The band has a new album out called This Night Falls Forever. In this session, I talk with Nick about it, but we start off with a recording of DeVotchka performing live on stage at World Cafe with a song from the album called "Straight Shot." Listen in the player.

Copyright 2021 XPN. To see more, visit XPN.

Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.
KOSU is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.