Kevin Devine Has No Complaints About His Success

There's a phrase in Kevin Devine's bio on the website of Favorite Gentleman, his Manchester Orchestra-run label, that sticks out: "largely slept-on." Assigned to a musician whose been written up in the New York Times and just about every major music publication, one has to wonder -- what's that mean to Devine?

"My career's been very incremental," he tells Spinner. "It's like the local train, like rungs on a ladder. I'm nearly 30 and I've been touring for most of the last three-and-a-half years. I've watched it grow, but not at the rate that certain other groups grow."

If that sounds like a complaint, it shouldn't -- Devine's long remained thankful for every bit of his success, especially the avalanche of praise heaped upon him for this year's 'Brothers Blood,' his latest album with the Goddamn Band.

"It would be nice, on some level, to be in that club with guys like M. Ward or Conor [Oberst], who have transcended the singer-songwriter thing. There's a broader recognition of them," he says. "But then again, it's a question of how much I really need. I could look up to 50 people and wish I had their career, but I could also turn around and note there are literally hundreds of thousands of kids who'd love to just play a show in front of anybody."

It seems that part of Devine's slow climb has been his willingness to manage his whole career nearly by himself. He's a classic example of the hardworking, blue-collar musician, pushing forward in a cutthroat industry. During his recent tour with the Get Up Kids, Devine handled all of his publicity and merchandise sales by himself.

"I do wear a lot of different hats. The hat where I'm arguing with a club promoter about the catering budget then where I'm playing his club for 90 minutes, well, those hats don't always look good together," he says. "But I get to exist in a way that feels comfortable and not separated from reality."