DeVotchKa
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Nick Urata (with Jeanie Schroder)
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Concord Records, Dago Records, Cicero Recordings, Ace Fu Records, ANTI- |
| Members | Nick Urata Tom Hagerman Jeanie Schroder Shawn King |
| Website | www |
DeVotchKa is an American four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble. They take their name from the Russian word devochka (девочка), meaning "girl". Based in Denver, Colorado, the quartet is made up of Nick Urata, who sings and plays theremin, guitar, bouzouki, piano, and trumpet; Tom Hagerman, who plays violin, accordion, and piano; Jeanie Schroder, who sings and plays sousaphone, double bass, and flute; and Shawn King, who plays percussion and trumpet.
Originally a backing band for burlesque shows, in their early years DeVotchKa also toured with burlesque performer and model Dita Von Teese. Numerous nationwide tours in support of self-released records earned the band an underground following. Their song "How It Ends", from the 2004 album of the same name, introduced the band to a wider audience after being featured in the trailer for Everything Is Illuminated, in a 2008 Gears of War 2 trailer called "The Last Day", and in an episode of Everwood. "How It Ends" reached Number 101 in the UK Singles Charts.[2] Their performance at the 2006 Bonnaroo music festival was considered a breakout event.[citation needed] In 2006, Arcade Fire singer Win Butler suggested to DeVotchKa that they arrange the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "The Last Beat of My Heart". The musicians found the idea interesting and they recorded that song for 2006's Curse Your Little Heart EP.[3]
In between tours, the band was picked by first time film directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris to score Little Miss Sunshine,[4]a2006 film that would go on to garner four Academy Award nominations. DeVotchKa, along with composer Mychael Danna, composed and performed the majority of the music for the film's soundtrack and were nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack. The main song, "The Winner Is", was also used in a commercial by the French-based environment and energy company Suez and the Dutch pension fund PGGM.[citation needed]
Their 2008 album, A Mad & Faithful Telling, reached No. 9 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and No. 29 on the Top Independent Albums chart.[5] "New World" and "Head Honcho" were featured in a season 4 episode of the Showtime television show Weeds.[6] In 2008, Boston newspaper The Phoenix named them the Best New Band from Colorado.[7] The band supported Muse at the Stade de France on June 12, 2010, playing to over 80,000 people.
The band's newest album, This Night Falls Forever, was released on August 24, 2018, via Concord Records.[8] On July 13, 2018, DeVotchKa released "Straight Shot", which is the first track on the album.[9]
Other album appearances
We were playing in Montreal, and Arcade Fire stopped by, back in the earlier days. We were doing this covers album and Win [Butler] recommended that we record The Last Beat of My Heart
The Curse Your Little Heart EP showcases the band's versatility, reinterpreting tracks by the Velvet Underground, Frank Sinatra, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and others, in addition to taking on one of their own older songs. Could the band itself even have predicted what would transpire from the Arcade Fire's Win Butler's suggestion to the band that they take on 'Last Beat of My Heart?' The end result is the center-piece of the EP, a grand and soaring take on the song; a testament to the band's true unique ability to transform nearly anything via a sound only DeVotchka can create, and perhaps a look at the epic nature of where the band's own recordings may move in the future.
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