Martin Devaney on St. Paul
Local singer-songwriter discusses what makes his town so great
More Ringing Endorsement
Martin Devaney’s world is pocket-sized. The humble St. Paul singer-songwriter lives in the kind of pinball-machine universe where he unwittingly bumps into friends, cousins, and elementary-school teachers on nearly every corner. And sometimes, when he ventures over to the little watering hole a few blocks away from his recently purchased West Seventh home, he’ll run into his dad, mixing it up with bartenders who remember him as a curly haired infant and cheery-cheeked Twins fan. Since his father made the Midway/Mac-Groveland area his home after emigrating from Galway, Ireland, at 18, the young Devaney has become the area’s native son, playing his poppy Dylan-inspired tunes at places like the Turf Club, boosting the music scene as head of Eclectone Records, and getting recognized around town as the guy who sang at the Metrodome during Kirby Puckett’s memorial. (Devaney headlines at the Turf Nov. 26; he also leads rock combo Crossing Guards, who play the Turf Dec. 12.) Decider asked Devaney, as the self-proclaimed “unofficial mayor of St. Paul,” to tell us what why he’s always singing the praises of that other Twin City.
Decider: Aside from the obvious cultural differences between the two cities, what’s so unique about St. Paul?
Martin Devaney: I like my routines. Even if it’s just passing by the places I go, I like being a part of a community or a scene that I feel recognized for, and there are people that I recognize. I go out to breakfast a lot, more often than I should, but it’s part of my St. Paul routine. And there are a million great breakfast places here. I lived above Coffee News Café for a year. Both Mickey’s Diners are great. The Day By Day on West Seventh is a new favorite place during the warmer months. They have a beautiful patio. The Uptowner on Grand and Lexington I’ve gone to since I was a teenager.
D: So you like that it has this small-town community feel—almost like Mayberry for the working-class and hipsters?
MD: Yeah, there is a somewhat “St. Small” feel to everything. Minneapolis seems to get clogged with people that have their minds somewhere else, or trying to get on to the next big city.
D: All of your bandmates went to high school with you at Central. You’re playing a show at the Turf on Thanksgiving eve with bands whose members all went to Central. Does playing and going out around town ever feel like a constant reunion?
MD: Definitely. So many people are drawn back to this place. That’s another reason why I love it so much. I see a lot of family out places, too. Recently I ran into a cousin of mine at the Turf Club whose Irish folk band was playing at the Dubliner a couple of weeks later. I saw my shop teacher from high school at a bar recently. And when I went to vote the other week, the guy ushering people in was my confirmation sponsor from high school. That’s St. Paul. That’s how this city is. That’s what makes it so great.
D: You have a large extended family, right? A sort of Devaney Irish contingency in the area that connects you to the city and so many people?
MD: Yeah, all eight of my dad’s brothers and sisters and parents came from Galway to St. Paul, to the Midway neighborhood. The building they grew up in has since been demolished. But in the lot across the street, right next door, for the last 15 years, four of my cousins have owned an auto and small-engine repair right next door to where all of our parents grew up. It’s crazy.
D: So you’re the “unofficial mayor” of St. Paul. What are you going to do to get re-elected?
MD: In the past year, I’ve been meeting with Joe Spencer from Mayor Chris Coleman’s office to try to advance the music scene in St. Paul, to get that feel that’s captured at the Turf Club. I want to capture the spirit that was part of the SPMC before. [The St. Paul Music Club organized local-rock shows at the Turf for a decade, ending in 2005. -ed] To get more music over here and get more clubs featuring local musicians. Hopefully that will be helped by the new amendment passing [the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, which funds environmental and arts initiatives]. We’ll see. But I’m really hopeful. I think it will lead to some great things for the St. Paul scene.
Decider: Aside from the obvious cultural differences between the two cities, what’s so unique about St. Paul?
Martin Devaney: I like my routines. Even if it’s just passing by the places I go, I like being a part of a community or a scene that I feel recognized for, and there are people that I recognize. I go out to breakfast a lot, more often than I should, but it’s part of my St. Paul routine. And there are a million great breakfast places here. I lived above Coffee News Café for a year. Both Mickey’s Diners are great. The Day By Day on West Seventh is a new favorite place during the warmer months. They have a beautiful patio. The Uptowner on Grand and Lexington I’ve gone to since I was a teenager.
D: So you like that it has this small-town community feel—almost like Mayberry for the working-class and hipsters?
MD: Yeah, there is a somewhat “St. Small” feel to everything. Minneapolis seems to get clogged with people that have their minds somewhere else, or trying to get on to the next big city.
D: All of your bandmates went to high school with you at Central. You’re playing a show at the Turf on Thanksgiving eve with bands whose members all went to Central. Does playing and going out around town ever feel like a constant reunion?
MD: Definitely. So many people are drawn back to this place. That’s another reason why I love it so much. I see a lot of family out places, too. Recently I ran into a cousin of mine at the Turf Club whose Irish folk band was playing at the Dubliner a couple of weeks later. I saw my shop teacher from high school at a bar recently. And when I went to vote the other week, the guy ushering people in was my confirmation sponsor from high school. That’s St. Paul. That’s how this city is. That’s what makes it so great.
D: You have a large extended family, right? A sort of Devaney Irish contingency in the area that connects you to the city and so many people?
MD: Yeah, all eight of my dad’s brothers and sisters and parents came from Galway to St. Paul, to the Midway neighborhood. The building they grew up in has since been demolished. But in the lot across the street, right next door, for the last 15 years, four of my cousins have owned an auto and small-engine repair right next door to where all of our parents grew up. It’s crazy.
D: So you’re the “unofficial mayor” of St. Paul. What are you going to do to get re-elected?
MD: In the past year, I’ve been meeting with Joe Spencer from Mayor Chris Coleman’s office to try to advance the music scene in St. Paul, to get that feel that’s captured at the Turf Club. I want to capture the spirit that was part of the SPMC before. [The St. Paul Music Club organized local-rock shows at the Turf for a decade, ending in 2005. -ed] To get more music over here and get more clubs featuring local musicians. Hopefully that will be helped by the new amendment passing [the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, which funds environmental and arts initiatives]. We’ll see. But I’m really hopeful. I think it will lead to some great things for the St. Paul scene.
