July 25, 2018
Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddie Devine.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Eddie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started out with my love of music from my dad. He had a great vinyl collection that he would rock the house with every weekend. I fell in love with the music and how it made me feel. Over several moves, his collection lost some pieces but it was a great building block for me. My first gigs were actually using cassette tapes for my friend’s parties in high school growing up in France.
I remember using a pen to move to the next song that I needed. I studied DJing at Rothmans when I was in college (Accra, Ghana). I learned how to spin the old school records. I’ve moved several times so I stopped and started playing over and over but I have gained an enormous amount of music knowledge. I played at clubs in France, Ghana, Togo and The US. Most recently being in Houston I’ve played at La Torretta, 1252 Tapas Bar and Mavericks.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Growing up my Dad was a big part of my struggle telling me that “you can’t earn a living and take care of a family playing music” I left the house in my early 20’s and didn’t tell anyone where I was going. I went to Bamako, Mali and started playing in a club. I was there for a year and a half. After that, he sent me to live in the United States where I had to start my music career all over again.
I have also moved 5 times during the time that I have been playing. I have had to network and rebuild myself in each new place. Knock on doors and give out demos in the hopes that someone would actually listen and call me in. Being in Texas not everyone thinks that an African DJ can play Country music, lol or music for all kinds of cultures and ages in general.
DJ Link – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’m an international DJ and perform with any type of music, no exceptions. I have been lucky enough to be widely traveled and have been able to absorb many different types of music. For example when you have a Togolese man marrying a Hispanic woman in the US who do you get for a DJ? I am that person who can play to the whole crowd. My talent is that I know what songs to play for the crowd at the right time and mix everyone’s music in.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
One of the DJ’s that I look up to the most in Atlanta has asked me to be his DJ for his wedding. I was honored to have one of the Best African DJ’s honor me with his request. The respect that he showed me makes me know how far I have come.
