DeVotchKa is a four piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble that fuses Romani, Greek, Slavic, Bolero, and Mariachi music with American punk and folk roots. They take their name from Anthony Burgess' Nadsat word for "young girl," which is itself derived from the Russian word (???????) of the same meaning. 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 and double bass; and Shawn King, who plays percussion and trumpet.
DeVotchKa is a four piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble that fuses Romani, Greek, Slavic, and Bolero, music with American punk and folk roots. They take their name from Anthony Burgess' Nadsat (the language used throughout 'A Clockwork Orange') word for "young girl," which is itself derived from the Russian word devochka(???????) of the same meaning. 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 and double bass; and Shawn King, who plays percussion and trumpet.
Originally they were a backing band for burlesque shows. In their early years, DeVotchKa also toured with fetish model, Dita von Teese. Numerous nationwide tours in support of self released records earned the band an underground following. Their song "How It Ends" was featured on the trailer for the film "Everything is Illuminated", introducing the band to a widening audience. Their performance at the 2006 Bonnaroo music festival was considered a breakout event. In between tours, the band was picked by first time film directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris to score "Little Miss Sunshine", a 2006 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.
DeVotchKa has signed an exclusive deal with ANTI RECORDS for the European release of their much-praised album ?How It Ends?. ANTI Europe to Release "How It Ends" on August 6th 2007
Win Butler, singer of Arcade Fire suggested to DeVotchka that they cover the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "The Last Beat of My Heart". The band found the idea interesting and they recorded that song for the now critically acclaimed Curse Your Little Heart EP.
DeVotchKa's latest studio album, "A Mad & Faithful Telling", was released on March 18, 2008. DeVotchKa is currently doing a worldwide tour in support of the album's release.
From Wikipedia:DeVotchKa is a four-piece multi-instrumental and vocal ensemble that fuses Romani, Greek, Slavic, Bolero, Mariachi music with American punk and folk roots. They take their name from the Russian word devotchka (????????), 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 and double bass; and Shawn King, who plays percussion and trumpet.
Originally a backing band for burlesque shows, in their early years DeVotchKa also toured with fetish model Dita von Teese. Numerous nationwide tours in support of self released records earned the band an underground following. Their song "How It Ends" introduced the band to a wider audience after being featured in the trailer for Everything Is Illuminated, a Gears of War 2 trailer called "The Last Day", and in an episode of Everwood (Season 4). Their performance at the 2006 Bonnaroo music festival was considered a breakout event.[citation needed] In between tours, the band was picked by first time film directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris to score Little Miss Sunshine, a 2006 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.
Arcade Fire singer Win Butler suggested to DeVotchKa that they cover the Siouxsie and the Banshees song "The Last Beat of My Heart". The musicians found the idea interesting and they recorded that song for the now critically acclaimed Curse Your Little Heart EP.
DeVotchKa's latest studio album, A Mad & Faithful Telling, was released on March 18, 2008. The band did a worldwide tour in support of the album. The album reached #9 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and #29 on the Top Independent Albums chart. "New World" and "Head Honcho", were featured in a season 4 episode of the Showtime television show Weeds.
In 2008, Boston newspaper The Phoenix named them the Best New Band from Colorado. "How It Ends" reached Number 101 in the UK Singles Charts.
The band will support Muse at the Stade de France on 12th June 2010, playing to over 80,000 people.