{"id":33694,"date":"2020-01-24T07:11:22","date_gmt":"2020-01-24T12:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=33694"},"modified":"2020-01-24T07:11:23","modified_gmt":"2020-01-24T12:11:23","slug":"on-stage-wcu-grad-gilfillian-celebrates-first-album-with-show-at-the-fillmore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=33694","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: WCU grad Gilfillian celebrates first album with show at The Fillmore"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff,<\/strong> Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Devon Gilfillian<\/p><\/div>\n

A special event on this weekend\u2019s entertainment calendar will be the triumphant return of a local musician who is celebrating the recent release of his debut album on a major label.<\/p>\n

Devon Gilfillian, a graduate of West Chester University, released his debut album, \u201cBlack Hole Rainbow,\u201d on January 10 on Capitol Records. On January 24, Gilfillian will introduce the album to a live audience with a show at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, 215-309-0150, www.thefillmorephilly.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s out in the world now,\u201d said Gilfillian, referring to the new LP during a phone interview Thursday afternoon as he was travelling to a gig at the Roxian Theater in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt officially came out on January 10, which also was my 30th birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the release of his new album, Gilfillain had an EP and several singles.<\/p>\n

His five-song debut EP of originals, which came out in 2017, was a showcase for Gilfillian\u2019s abundant talents as a singer, songwriter and kickass guitarist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded the EP in February 2016 at Fat Back Studio in East Nashville,\u201d said Gilfillian. \u201cAt the time, I was listening to a lot of Staples Singers as well as Jimi and Otis. We recorded the EP over a course of three days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making \u201cBlack Hole Rainbow\u201d was a much more involved and lengthy process.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the album was recorded last summer,\u201d said Gilfillian. \u201cI did it in Hollywood at Electro-Vox Recording Studios. It\u2019s one of the oldest private studios in the country and it has a lot of great old analog gear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded everything to tape \u2013 live with a full band. Then, we took the tape to vinyl, sampled the vinyl and uploaded it to ProTools. Then, we put layers of vocals, percussion and crazy sounds on. We got to capture both the old and the new recording technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack Hole Rainbow\u201d was produced by\u00a0GRAMMY\u00ae Award winner\u00a0Shawn Everett\u00a0(Alabama Shakes, The War On Drugs), with additional album production from\u00a0Ariel Rechtshaid\u00a0(Vampire Weekend,\u00a0HAIM). Billboard praised the top 15 AAA hit \u201cGet Out And Get It\u201d as \u201cpure magic.\u201d Rolling Stone observed, \u201cthe guitar-slinging soul singer flips into his upper register and channels funk icons like Curtis Mayfield and Prince, with some Afrobeat polyrhythms thrown in for good measure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe probably spent about two months at Electro-Vox,\u201d said Gilfillian. \u201cThen, we spent another month-and-a-half at Shawn Everett\u2019s studio in downtown L.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we were recording it live to tape, there was pressure because of no overdubs. As a band, I was confident that we had the arrangements down. I loved the pressure of having to get it down. That was my favorite part of recording to tape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilfillian was ready to rock when he entered the studio to make the new album.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past two years, I probably wrote 85-100 songs,\u201d said Gilfillian. \u201cI picked 11 for the album. I actually picked 12 but one of the little turtles didn\u2019t make it to the sea. The songs created a narrative \u2013 falling in and out of love and trying to love yourself \u2013 also loving people who are different from you\u2026people from different countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

The album\u2019s leadoff track, \u201cUnchained,\u201d also deals with love. The inspiring clip features Devon\u2019s younger brother, Ryan Gilfillian. At age 17, Ryan was in a serious car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. The video follows him as he goes about a typical day and captures Ryan\u2019s will to live and love fully, despite any setbacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe song \u2018Unchained\u2019 is about loving yourself no matter what cards you\u2019re dealt,\u201d said Gilfillian. \u201cThis song is about becoming the best version of yourself no matter what obstacles get in your way. My brother is a prime example of that. He doesn\u2019t let anything hold him back from being his fullest self.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Gilfillian, the show in Philly will be a happy homecoming. He grew up in suburban Philadelphia \u2013 in Morton in Delaware County. After graduating from Springfield High School, he got his degree from West Chester University.<\/p>\n

\u201cI majored in psychology at West Chester University,\u201d said Gilfillian, who played a free outdoor show at Eagleview Town Center in Exton back in the summer of 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a psych major at West Chester University got me here. It helped me as a songwriter. It helped me study people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn high school, I had a band called Black Sheep. When I was at West Chester, I did solo gigs and acoustic shows.<\/p>\n

\u201cI graduated from WCU in 2013. After that, I spent a year working for a non-profit \u2013 AmeriCorps\u2019 \u2018Rebuilding Together.\u2019 I got accepted to work at a program here in Nashville.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRebuilding Together\u201d is dedicated to national service. Every year, \u201cRebuilding Together\u201d engages more than 80 AmeriCorps members to make an impact on homeowners and in communities across the country. They develop and apply valuable professional skills, earn money for education, and are active citizens in the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey pay you $850 a month and food stamps,\u201d said Gilfillian. \u201cYou work your butt off for a good cause. When I was done, I used my grant money to pay back student loans.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few years ago, Gilfillian left the Delaware Valley and relocated to Nashville.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first got to Nashville, I played guitar and sang for random bands,\u201d said Gilfillian. \u201cOne of them was Black Cat Crossing, a Delta Blues cover band.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I got done with AmeriCorps, I started working at City Winery (a restaurant\/winery barrel room\/entertainment venue in Nashville).\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilfillain\u2019s single \u201cTroublemaker<\/a>\u201d<\/a> was heard during 2018 NFL Draft programming and advertising. He was featured in the Frye Americana Roots campaign and named as a Southwest Airlines\u201cArtist on the Rise.\u201d<\/a> The WCU grad also played numerous festivals in 2019 — including the Newport Folk Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival.<\/p>\n

Gilfillian\u2019s music meshes together gospel-blues and southern soul. His songs and vocals show the influence of artists such as Al Green, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding and Ray Charles but also display the young artist\u2019s originality.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad is a musician \u2013 a wedding singer and a percussionist,\u201d said Gilfillian. \u201cI\u2019ve been singing since I was in elementary school \u2013 Motown, old soul, Ray Charles. My dad introduced me to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat put the nail in the coffin was when I picked up electric guitar when I was 14. I was listening to \u2018Under the Bridge\u2019 by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and my dad said \u2013 that guy sounds like Jimi Hendrix.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know Jimi Hendrix at all. So, my dad got me the \u2018Jimi Hendrix Greatest Hits\u2019 CD. Listening to the music Jimi Hendrix made changed everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Devon Gilfillian \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/wQiMULQikxw<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Fillmore Philadelphia, which has Grace Potter as the headliner, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $32.50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times A special event on this weekend\u2019s entertainment calendar will be the triumphant return of a local musician who is celebrating the recent release of his debut album on a major label. Devon Gilfillian, a graduate of West Chester University, released his debut album, \u201cBlack Hole Rainbow,\u201d on January […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[11598,6518,1224],"class_list":["post-33694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-devon-gilfillian","tag-featured","tag-west-chester-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33694"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33695,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33694\/revisions\/33695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}