What happens when three guys combine raw, true talent with the ability and intelligence to succeed? They create a powerful, authentic, and emerging band called Devilstrip.

Left to Right: Marc Wasmund, Graig Lindgren, and Jimmy Gray of Devilstrip

Origins
Hailing from the same hometown as Chrissie Hynde, Devo, The Black Keys, and Red Sun Rising, the band Devilstrip is ready to explode out of Akron, Ohio to acquire new fans city by city, state by state. Achieving success will not be a problem with Devilstrip, as this truly talented band gives audiences genuine, quality music along with an extremely entertaining live show. Per Pete Baka, the band’s manager, “The band has value. Every stage manager or club owner always says, ‘I can’t believe these guys are so good.’ I get that every time they book.” And, it’s true. This amazing band has an incredible and magnetic presence. Without a doubt, Devilstrip is definitely on their way to creating a huge success story.

Devilstrip at Lock 3 in Akron, Ohio

Combinations
Before they were famous, Brian May of Queen earned a degree in physics, Gene Simmons and Art Garfunkle were teachers, Serj Tankian from System of a Down was a software company owner, and Greg Graffin of Bad Religion was, and still is, a Paleontologist. Similarly, the members of Devilstrip have careers in place by day, while rocking hard by night. And, they have a well thought out plan and the smarts to make the band’s musical success a reality. The intelligence behind the music adds to the quality of the band’s sound. Listen to Devilstip’s CD Rise and you will understand what this means!

Devilstrip at Lock 3 in Akron, Ohio

Conversations
After seeing Devilstrip open for Red Sun Rising at The Grog Shop in Cleveland, Ohio earlier this year, and headline at Lock 3 in Akron, Ohio this summer, I had the very good fortune to catch up with band. Lead Singer and Guitarist Marc Wasmund, Drummer Jimmy Gray, and Bassist Graig Lindgren of Devilstrip and I met at a local Akron favorite, The Lockview, known for its amazing selection of beers and fabulous grilled cheese sandwiches. Adding to the band’s talent and drive, the guys very obviously get along quite well, speak the same language, and fill in each other’s sentences. Check out the chat to learn more about this powerful and amazing trio!

The Chat

What is your musical background and how did you guys get started as a band?
Marc: Graig and I played in a mostly original band, seven or eight years ago. When the drummer decided to leave, we took a break. A couple of years went by and Graig hit me up one day and asked me if I wanted to jump into a cover project, StarMonkey. We had some fun for a few months. Next thing you know, we’re writing originals again, and that’s how I met Jimmy.

Drummer Jimmy Gray of Devilstrip

Jimmy: Graig and I grew up together, so we’ve known each other since Junior High when we sat next to each other in band, first and second chair trumpet. I moved away, and then I got back in the Akron area in ’09 and that’s when StarMonkey started. That ran its course and we were just left with the three of us. And then we wrote our first song Go. We started writing more and it was just easy. And it still is, that’s the fun thing. It just comes to us.

Marc: We began booking shows within a month or two.

Cool, and when was that?
Jimmy: March of 2013.

How did you decide on the name Devilstrip?
Graig: We wanted something uniquely Akron, and it just fit. Outside of Akron, people look at [the name] and say, Devil’s Trip… so, the ambiguity works in our favor.

For people outside of Akron, what does Devilstrip mean?
Jimmy: When I moved to Minneapolis to go to graduate school, they talked about the tree lawn, a devil strip. I grew up in Firestone Park in Akron and my dad would say, “Don’t go past the devil strip!” It’s just the strip of lawn between the sidewalk and the road. And, only in Akron is it called the devil strip.

Graig: Supposedly, one of the [origins] is that when the men were away in World War II, and the mothers were at home, trying to control their kids, they would say, “Don’t go past the devil strip, or the Devil will get you.” So it was fearmongering.

Marc: The demons can’t pass the curb.

Jimmy: It’s appropriate for a rock band because it’s ambiguous. We knew we had an old school rock and roll thing, hence our devil girl as our mascot. I remember I wanted the ‘70s mud flaps on the trucks vibe.

You wear garage worker-types of shirts on stage. What is the meaning?
All: We are a band from the Midwest, an area of the country with a strong blue-collar work ethic. The garage shirts put us in the mindset of “let’s go to work.” I think it also matches the gritty style of our music. It’s really cool that so many of our fans want a work shirt for themselves! To us, it means that they get it; they know where we’re coming from.

Lead Singer and Guitarist Marc Wasmund of Devilstrip

Tell me a about your album Rise. How do you describe it?
Marc: I see [the word Rise] as what we grew into… the songs growing together, bringing this band together. Each song built us up. Rise is a good, appropriate title for what the band has done in three years… grown better and better and things are really falling into line. We’ve accomplished so much from our experience that the rise has been just amazing. And, each song has its own version of life stories. Nothing on the album is fake; nothing is premeditated to sound mainstream. Every song wrote itself.

What are you working on now?
Jimmy: We’re about three quarters of the way to the next record. So, we’re thinking late fall… back in the studio!

Bassist Graig Lindgren of Devilstrip

Tell me about your sound on and off stage.
Graig: We go for raw; we don’t want to be over-produced. We want gritty, raw, in-your-face. One compliment we get that I cherish is when people say, “You sound exactly the same on stage as you do when I put your CD in my car.”

Nici: That is very true!

Graig: And, that’s what we want. We just want to be authentic.

Marc: We fake nothing on stage. It’s all true, live harmony, and there’s only three of us. We were actually told we sound like a four or five-piece band, not a three. I love that compliment.

How often do play out?
Jimmy: We have the opportunity to play every weekend or multiple times a week, but we don’t. Our mantra is ‘smarter, not harder.’ We try to not overdo it, especially in the local area, because we’re setting our sights more to regional. We’re fortunate enough to be asked to back up a lot of the national acts that come through town.

Marc: Things are falling in place. There are a lot of good things going on with our name, our shows, and our reputation that are really making us excited.

A side question to get to my next question. What do you each do for a living, other than music?
Jimmy: I’m a chiropractor.

Graig: I am a graphic designer.

Marc: Remodeling and property management.

Drummer Jimmy Gray of Devilstrip

When you become wildly successful, and you are asked to go on the road for a three-month tour, what are you going to do?
Jimmy: I’ve been asked a lot, mostly by my patients, “Am I going to have to find another doctor?” I’m very proud of that, and I’m very passionate about the day job. Should music become my day job? You have a limited window, a limited time, that if you’re lucky enough to get [the opportunity], you take it. Because I can always go back and practice or teach.

Marc: That’s been more of a realistic topic in the last six months than three years. Luckily, in the trade that I’m in, I can pick up work at the drop of a hat if I really needed to. But, if you get an opportunity to make [music] your living, you do it.

What was it like to be a part of the Ink in the Clink festival at the old Mansfield Reformatory this summer?
Marc: The vibe was cool. Just awesome. Everybody was just spot on. Not just the bands, but the crew. I really was just glad to play it.

Graig: It was a great festival. But, the best part was that we fit right in. The other part was, when we were on stage, I look over, and there’s my buddy Mike Protich from Red Sun Rising. He grabbed the whole band, and they all stood side stage and watched our entire set.

Jimmy: And the audience noticed that. It’s respect. Because we have a tremendous amount of respect for them [Red Sun Rising].

Marc: Fan appreciation is great. But mutual band respect from other bands, is what I live for.

Jimmy: Especially people we admire. Looking at [Red Sun Rising’s] trajectory is incredible and exciting, considering where they’re from [Akron, Ohio], and where we’re from.

Graig: We’ve played tiny dive shows where there are three people in the audience… with Red Sun Rising, so we’ve seen the steps.

I interviewed Mike Protich and he spoke highly of Akron. What is like to be a band originating in Akron?
Jimmy: I think it speaks to our work ethic. I mean, how many live albums do you know, from KISS and everyone else… where do they record their live albums? In the Midwest. I think honesty is a big part of who we are, as a band, and where our music comes from. This is the place that formed us. Family is here, friends are here. It’s a great place to live.

Marc: There’s a lot going on in Akron. Not that many people in the county are proud of their town…

Graig: But, Akronites are. We take, almost a ballsy stand, and say, “We are and we’ve always been proud of our town.”

Bassist Graig Lindgren of Devilstrip

I’m excited to see the transformation of Akron. I feel there is a resurgence. What do you like to do for fun or adventure outside of music?
Graig: I’m a creative guy, and I’m also a Zen kind of Buddhist-minded dude. And, I’m family oriented. So really anything creative or fun or whatever… that’s me, pretty much.

Jimmy: Definitely time with the family. I hate the term ‘foodie’ but I’m that.

Marc: Jimmy likes his food. He’s checking in at a restaurant six nights a week. [Laughter] For me, family for sure. I work a lot of hours during the day, and a lot of my free time does go to music, so we have all sacrificed time with family and friends. But, I love camping, love the outdoors, love friends and family and sports.

What was your first concert?
Marc: Oh my God, I was hoping you weren’t going to ask me that. It’s embarrassing. [Laughter] My sister, Kelly, who’s about five years older than me, had this huge addiction to the boy band of that time, and asked me to go to a concert with her: New Edition. I think that is exactly what catapulted me into rock and roll. Hey, Kelly, thanks for the concert tickets!

Jimmy: Mötley Crüe, Theatre of Pain Tour, September ’85, Richfield Coliseum. And they set the standard for me. I mean, KISS got me into music as a little boy, but when I saw the Crüe and Tommy Lee doing the elevated drums riser, I’m like, okay, I’m in.

Graig: It was David Lee Roth at the Richfield Coliseum, but the opener was an unknown band. Nobody knew these guys. Jimmy and I knew them because we were talking about them in band. It was Cinderella.

Jimmy: Hashtag full circle!

That’s right! Your show with Tom Keifer of Cinderella is coming up.
Jimmy: At the Rocksino, September 30th. It’s a big show. We are stoked. [Tom’s] reputation is impeccable, and apparently the show is phenomenal. So, not only are we excited to play it, we’re going to be excited to watch it, for sure.

Graig: I’m looking forward to it because I’m a huge fan. Cinderella’s first album [Night Songs] is in my top five.

Lead Singer and Guitarist Marc Wasmund of Devilstrip

Is there anything else that you would want readers to know about Devilstrip?
Jimmy: For me, it comes down to this. You have that thing when you’re a little boy. The first job I wanted, that I pictured in my head, was that I wanted to be the drummer for KISS. My dad told me, “Well, that job is taken, so figure out something else.” This is the first band that I have ever been in where I don’t necessarily think that’s a pie-in-the-sky dream. The songs, the talent, the way we get along… it’s no longer a pipe dream. If people dig us, I want them to spread the gospel, because this band could be that next thing.

Graig: The three of us would be getting up on stage, playing our stuff, whether there was two people or two million people. We genuinely love to play our stuff. Another compliment we get is, “You look like you’re having so much fun on stage.” We genuinely like each other, and we genuinely like what we do. We lucked out with the chemistry.

Marc: In summary, I guess… buy our album. We want to take over the world, one person at a time or 1,000 people at a time. It’s a fun way of saying it, but we just want to get our music to everybody. We write for ourselves, we write for you. And now that we’re writing and playing new music, it’s just more exciting for us to get more out there.

Many thanks to the guys of Devilstrip!

And, a very special thanks to Rachel of UK Transcript Solutions LTD for speedy and accurate transcription!