Interviews

DeeVer: A bag of good shit!

Billy Taylor, known as former guitar player of UK based band Inglorious, is back with a new band: DeeVer have just released their debut album “You Need this”, and we talked with Billy about the past and the future.

Hello Billy, thank you for answering our questions. First of all, congratulations to an awesome debut album of your band DeeVer. Can you tell us when the Idea to found DeeVer came up?
As soon as I left my previous band. I’m a musician, I’m a song writer and a lover of music. It’s what I’m always going to do.

You left Inglorious after the second album was recorded, may I ask why you left the band?
I no longer wanted to be there. The same reasons everyone else has left the band. I needed something more in tune with myself.

Inglorious where doing a lot of shows with the second album and it was very successful, have you ever regretted that you left the band before touring the second album?
No never.

Do you think the experience you made in Inglorious will also help you in this band?
I learned a lot from my time in Inglorious. I learned a lot of things which will help me in lots of aspects of the music industry and being in bands. I was also lucky to have met a lot of new friends and gain quite a few fans who are great and continue to support me.

If I remember right you didn’t know the Inglorious members before joining the band very well, did you? You are now having a band with some of your best mates, would you say that’s the better choice to form a band like this, in contrast to join people you barely know?
It’s two very different situations so it’s hard to compare. They both have their pro’s and con’s but to me – it’s hard to beat being in a band with your best mates!

Let’s talk about DeeVer. What does the band name mean? Is there a special meaning behind it?
According to the urban dictionary it basically means 1. A bag of shit, or 2. An unwanted gift. We liked both of these descriptions as it’s pretty tongue in cheek! Haha

Your album is called “You need this”! Why did you choose this title?
Again this kind of started as a joke. We thought about calling it ‘buy this record’ and things like that. ‘You Need This’ came up and we all agreed it should be the title. We all need this, as a band, it’s our music, our identity and a manifestation of all of our hard work and emotion.

You recorded your debut album “You need this” on your own, in a studio in Darlington, what was the most difficult part to implement this album?
We actually recorded all the drums at Parr Street in Liverpool with the amazing Tony Draper. Everything else was done at our place. I’ve produced and engineered tones of music for years, as have the other guys so this wasn’t difficult for us. We are comfortable in the studio, it’s where I spend most of my time!

One can clearly hear influences like Muse, Shinedown, bit of FooFighters. What other bands, musicians have inspired you?
Yeh we love them bands. We have such a huge spectrum of artists that inspire us. From Billy Joel, to incubus, to Slipknot, to Alter Bridge. We really are fans of all music.

You’ve done a video to your song “Fire at Will”, can you tell us what inspired you to that song and video?
It’s a pretty honest and brutal song about internal struggles of ego, and beating yourself up. We came up with the video idea as a band and Sam Fenton did an awesome job directing and shooting it.

Do you have plans to record videos for other songs too?
Yes. We already have done and they will be released soon!

Billy, your body is covered with tattoos, it will probably be hard to choose just one, but which is the most meaningful to you and why?
That’s a tough one. It’s also the first time anyone has ever asked me that! I have the autism logo on my arm with my sisters name inside it – that’s pretty special. However all of my tattoos are there for a reason and hold some sentiment.

What are the plans for 2019? What would you love to reach with DeeVer until the end of the year?
We want to get out and play as much as possible, we also want this record to get the exposure we believe it deserves!

And where do you see yourself with the band in five years?
Writing our 5th album!!

I thank you very much for your time. And really hope to see you soon touring in Europe with your new band. All the best for you.
Thank you so much! We hope to get over there really soon!

text: Sandy Mahrer photos: Tracy Kidd

Sandy Mahrer

Fresh Act editor, reports, reviews, photos - - - Favorite genres? - Hard Rock, Heavy Metal and Pop-Rock etc. Less Death, Black, Grind Core