Devon Teran on SoundBetter

Serve the song.

Experienced session musician and sideman. Contact me to find that missing piece

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Credits

Languages

English

4 Reviews

Endorse Devon Teran

by Stacey A.
Devon has been an absolute pleasure to work with! I sent him some of my songs from my album and he recorded his parts right away and sent them back to me. There is not one thing I had to change or ask him to change that he did because he simply adapted to what I was going for while still having his personal flavor to it. Not to mention he is a multi-instrumentalist and played guitar, bass, steel, and more. Devon has a vision for his own music, and for whoever he is working with as well. Not to mention he is a really fun and funny guy! It made working with him easy and exciting.
by Mike Crawford
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Devon for many years in a live setting and have also collaborated with him in the studio times on several different projects. What I love about Devon is his ability to give a standard “read” of a song or to take it in an unusual direction. He is a broad listener to music and that comes out in his playing. His ability to give more than just stock musical ideas is his real strength. But he also can lock it down and play “just the facts ma’am” ideas. He is ego-free with taking direction and always wants to serve the song (and the songwriter) and make it/them
by Wills Van Doorn
Devon is great, I got to work with him on a lot of original songs that he was able to get enthused working on them, offering unique ideas coupled with mastery of pedal steel and guitar. Fun to work with, great results, good dude.
by Grant Buell
Devon is a fabulous guitar and pedal steel player who I’ve enjoyed performing and recording with. I’ve played keyboards his group Timbers several times, as well as AM Merker and Friends, and every time we play together I come away impressed by his creativity and skill. You can’t go wrong working with Devon.

Interview with Devon Teran

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: David Ramirez - I love his approach to song craft. I've learned so much following his career.
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: “Carved in Stone” by Dylan Flanner. It was a song where he only sent me his vocals and guitar. I arranged, performed and produced the rest of the track. I hired out bass and drums, but the rest was me. I’m especially proud of what happens at 2:30. You should just listen
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Analog performance, digital capture. Analog and physical instruments are just different. I love the way a physical instrument provides feedback beyond sound. The vibrations, the tension and release. Physical instruments are beautifully intimate- even if they’re cheap or poorly made.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I will serve the song. It’s not about me. It’s about finding the truth in your art, no matter what.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Making clients smile when they hear their songs come to life.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: I don’t write songs for you. I help you write and finish the best songs you’ve ever written.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: How do you like to work? What is your communication style? What is your feedback style? How do you visualize music?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Relax, I got you. My job is to make you feel good about the process and product. I greatly appreciate it when clients are direct and tell me what they do or don't like. You can't hurt my feelings when we're working on songs. There's no room for ego in song craft.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: The gear I’ve already got really - 72 telecaster custom - deluxe memory man - 65 fender bassman - StageOne encore pedal steel - volume pedal
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Worn, dusty, layered, mischievous, tactile
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Serve the song. Always serve the song. Ego is a silent killer. The simpler part is usually the better part in the mix.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I usually work in Americana styles because I play pedal steel, but I didn't grow up in country music. I love working in soul and pop more than anything else.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Coaching songwriters. I love working with songwriters to coach them to the best version of their song possible.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I specialize in finding the parts that being the song to life. The parts that you don’t notice at first or wouldn’t expect, but once you hear them the song is never the same.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: When working in real time I can either work in person, or remote via zoom. I run my DAW directly into zoom so you can hear me in real time and get the parts you want. When working asynchronously, I use rough mp3s and stems.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I record direct into logic using load boxes or their direct tools to capture my real instruments and vintage amps. I prefer to work with physical instruments, but use software instruments when necessary.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Some of my favorite players include Greg Leisz Nels Cline Yann Tiersen Jeff Tweedy Justin Vernon
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: My most common work is pre-production songwriting and arranging as well as tracking guitar and pedal steel.