Rick Devin Grammy Award Nominee

A beautiful event has happened for one of the artists featured at the Internet Radio Station www.ilike2rock.net and one of the artists I did a bio/review for. I actually have communicated with Mr. Devin and found him, not only sincere, but approachable as well. Three Cheers for Rick Devin-making superb music is paying dividends for this rock and roll veteran!


Rick Devin Grammy Award Nominee

LOS ANGELES, CA - 12/06/2007 -

Score one for long distance ties: Rick Devin's seventh album, 'Old School - Hits of the 60s & 70s,' was an Entry in three categories for the 2008 Grammy Award's Ballot.

Chances are you won't see Rick Devin on television on Grammy Night. Sure, he'll be there with his wife, Veracruz, but they probably won't be sitting with Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi, Maroon 5 or Amy Winehouse. In fact, those were just a few of Devin's competitors who were just announced as The Final Nominees by The Recording Academy.

Devin, a longtime Colorado resident who also lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was selected by The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to be on the 50th annual Grammy Award Voting Ballot in three categories: Best Pop Vocal Album (one of 264 entries), Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist (206 entries) and Best Recording Package.

"I went through the process, but the chance that I would make it to the top five Nominees (that you see on TV) was very slim," Devin said. Laughingly, he added, "McCartney or Bon Jovi, now that's pretty tough to beat."

Yet, even to be an Entry on the Grammy Awards Ballot is not an easy task. The Recording Academy has a multi-level process whereby the steps include: Invitation, Consideration, Selection, Entry and then the top 5 Entries, as voted by NARAS Voting Members - are considered The Grammy Award Nominees.

The top five entrants of all categories were officially announced today in Los Angeles. Those are the acts viewers will see on television when the 2008 Grammy Awards airs on Feb. 10 and a total of 110 awards will be given out. Even though he is not a finalist, Devin said that he will attend The Awards Ceremony to lend support to his fellow music contemporaries.

An interesting part about Devin's "Old School" album is that two of the band members - Chet McCracken (former drummer of "The Doobie Brothers") and Chris Pinnick (former guitarist of "Chicago") both of Los Angeles - didn't record with the rest of the band, physically, during the entire process.

Devin would record the songs with the assistance of vocalists, Maria Fernanda Ricart and Manoel Pires, using a state of the art recording studio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Then he would, "send a disc in the mail to the guys in L. A., who would add live drums, percussion and some solo guitar parts," Devin said. And that's how they made music for 10 months, after which Mixing, Engineering and Mastering were done back in Rio de Janeiro, with multi-award winning Mastering Engineer, Ricardo Garcia.

"Chemistry means a lot, and when I met Chet and Chris, they were the caliber of musicians, that I wanted to work with on this," Devin said. "They're both on a very professional level, and basically where I'm at in trying to produce a top quality product. And you sort of try to stay in with your network of friends."

Intercontinental, multi-studio recording projects are nothing new, yet they are much easier with today's modern recording studios and internet technologies. "It's sort of interesting just how many Recording Artists are doing this now," Devin said, "and we're living proof that it can all be done at a level to create interest - not just by our fans, but by the Recording Academy's Grammy Awards as well. In the end, whether we were an Entry, or a Final Nominee, either way, it's an honor to be a part of the process."

You can read more, listen and download Rick's "Old School" CD at: rickdevin.com