Pete Devine is in his pleased place.
Finest often called a savvy drummer deeply versed in a broad swath of pre-World Conflict II idioms like ragtime, Delta blues, and swing, Devine is at residence surrounded by the artifacts and ephemera that captured the sounds and spirit of that period.
Turning a passion (OK, obsession) right into a vocation, he and his spouse Sandie Lee Devine opened Devine Data & Classic final September. It’s a comfortable, inviting store on Martinez’s equally classic Major Avenue, and a current go to on a quiet Monday afternoon discovered the couple organizing stacks of vinyl whereas tending to Shrimp Willie, their diminutive, newly adopted rescue pooch.
Guided by Devine’s musical predilections, with just a few concessions to extra populist tastes, the bins embody blues, jazz, nation, sound tracks, punk rock, and New Orleans/zydeco. Many of the albums are true collectibles, authentic Blue Observe jazz releases and hard-to-find blues on Impulse!
“I bought a collection of reggae last week and it’s already half gone,” he mentioned. “When we opened most of the blues and jazz came from my own collection. But I have a couple of connections with massive collections. When they’re ready to purge they call me and I get first pick, and a lot of stuff I pick are things I love.”
The shop’s opening coincided with Devine’s most cancers recurrence, which left Sandie to maintain the store open, assisted by buddies and neighboring enterprise homeowners. It’s been tough going, with main surgical procedure and the attendant downtime, however he’s again within the store and greater than gratified that it’s been nominated for “best boutique” and “best antiques/vintage” within the Better of Martinez ballot (voting closes Could 2).
“It’s such an honor after only being open for a little while. I’ve been wanting to open a place like this since I was a kid,” he mentioned, standing in entrance of a show field full of Beatles memorabilia.
Nonetheless recovering from the surgical procedure, Devine prefers to face all through my go to. He’s additionally standing at gigs, however thrilled that he’s properly sufficient to be again behind a modified drum package for a sequence of gigs with HowellDevine, the celebrated gutbucket blues trio he co-leads with slide guitar knowledgeable, harmonica participant and vocalist Joshua Howell.
After our go to, Devine acquired the outcomes from a PET scan that the most cancers has returned and unfold, which implies he’ll be present process chemotherapy and different remedies within the coming months.
“It’s not the results we were hoping for or expecting,” he mentioned. “But I’ve got the shop and I’m still looking forward to these gigs next month. I’m confident we’re going to beat this.”
Anchored by veteran bassist Joe Kyle Jr., HowellDevine performs the Again Room in Berkeley on Saturday, Could 3, Rancho Nicasio on Could 23, Roxx on Major in Martinez on Could 24, and Richmond’s Crusing Goat on Could 31.
Kyle, who helped cowl shifts on the store when Devine was within the hospital, has identified the drummer since he arrived in San Francisco from Maine in 1989 as a member of the ragtime combo Bo Grumpus with guitarist Craig Ventresco. Their profession paths have diverged and collided at varied factors over the many years.
Kyle began taking part in with Devine extra regularly after the drummer attained sobriety round 2010. Together with his newfound stability paving the way in which for the success of HowellDevine and marriage to Sandie, Devine’s life has taken on a richness he couldn’t beforehand think about.
The store is a lagniappe as they are saying in Louisiana, a collaboration with Sandie “that’s truly a reflection of who they are,” Kyle mentioned. “Sandie is a collector of rare and fine things. It’s a perfect fit and I can’t imagination a better place to establish a connection to the community which they love dearly.”
Devine has lengthy collected “oddities and trinkets and early 78s,” Kyle mentioned, referring to the document format that predominated till being supplanted by LPs within the mid-Fifties. “That’s part of his personal identity, his connection to the early music that influenced his playing styles. Pivoting to this new venture is a culmination of the way he’s lived his life. None of us would have thought he was going to be a responsible business owner these days.”
Devine isn’t simply the proprietor. He’s the presiding spirit. Music lovers and musicians come by to hang around and swap tales. Blues guitar nice Mighty Mike Schermer drops by when he’s on the town. Corey Duffel, the storied Walnut Creek skateboarder, entrepreneur and proprietor of the store Up the Creek Data, is a Devine fan, as is rising R&B vocal powerhouse Celisse.
“A lot of regulars come in to schmooze with Pete,” Sandie mentioned. “People come in and want advice about which albums he’d recommend.”
“This woman was in and she’d never heard of Sonny Boy Williamson II, so I played her an album,” he added. “It’s nice being able to turn people on to blues and jazz. It’s definitely a labor of love.”
HOWELLDEVINE
When & the place: 8 p.m. Saturday, Could 3 on the Again Room in Berkeley; $25; backroommusic.com; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Could 23 at Rancho Nicasio in Nicasio; $25; ranchonicasio.com; 7 p.m. Saturday, Could 24 at Roxx on Major in Martinez; no cowl; www.roxxonmain.com/music-events; and 5 p.m. Saturday, Could 31 at Crusing Goat in Richmond; no cowl; www.sailinggoatrestaurant.com/occasions
Initially Revealed: Could 1, 2025 at 6:05 AM PDT
