Dievazi Landslide

0:00Lithuanian landslide is brought to you by in your A-Law firm, helping you reclaim your Lithuanian citizenship, invest in property, and relocate your business to Europe. More information is available at LithuanianPasport.com, that's LithuanianPasport.com, where you can find out how to take your first step towards reconnecting with your roots and future opportunities. That's LithuanianPasport.com. Lock it on 90.3, that's W-H-P-C, get that ball, you amplify, for Lithuanian landslide. Lithuanian landslide, Lithuanian landslide, Lithuanian landslide, Lithuanian landslide, Lithuanian landslide, Lithuanian landslide. On Lithuanian landslide, 90.3, W-H-P-C, the voice of NASA or Community College.

1:02I'm Mark from Floral Park, with a voice that captures the beauty of the Baltic landscape, singer-songwriter, Devij, who fronts a band with the same name, was born Yeva Taraskevichute, and is one of Latva's latest musical gyms, blending undeniable charm with catchy modern melodies, her musical offers a fresh sound with positive vibes, and right now calling from Palinga, we have Devij, on a W-H-P-C phone line. Welcome to Lithuanian landslide, Devij. Hi Mark, you can call me Yeva. Labas Yeva. Labas. And thank you so much for having me on Lithuanian landslide. You're very welcome Yeva. Yeva, before we get into your evolution as the singer-songwriter and band leader, Devij, please tell us about your popular song of greeting, Labas. Labas was actually written on a public holiday, which was the Saturday, Shishorelika, because

2:02it was one of the days, it was able to stop from all the running, and you know, everything is closed on the Saturday, Shishorelika. We don't need to go to school, we don't need to go to work. So I just woke up in my dorm room, and I was messy as a student. I'm not going to lie, and it was just, like, it was a strange smell in the room. My friends know that I'm pretty bad at replying to messages, I would just sometimes not reply for, like, two weeks straight. And so the first line of Labas is, it's this clappest number, I said, strange smell in the house. And I have so many messages that I haven't been able to respond to, and then I was just looking around my room, and it was this sausage that has a weird smell. So it's what I'm singing about, Labas. I haven't replied to your messages, because I don't know how to describe the smell. That's so cool that the discovery of the source of an odor led you to write one of your

3:02most popular songs, and it was all due to having the day off for Lithuanian Independence Day. So yeah, but how did traditional Lithuanian folk songs come into play during your musical development? I was just four years old, and I had this, like, toy saxophone, and I went out into the hall and started playing it for my neighbor. Now, my mom comes back from work, and she's, okay, yeah, but it's not home. Where is she? And now she just went to our neighbor and saw us drinking tea and me with a toy saxophone. So she took me to piano lessons. The next step was me enrolling into the Mariample music school when I was eight years old. I then partook many clubs in the school with music. I had the guitar club, the ensemble, the choir, the girl singing group. I was always immersed in Lithuanian music. In my family line, we had party design late during the war.

4:05So if I sing at a traditional event, I will always sing to me in the Liste Krasteva and also Yeinau Ksenes Vassaros, which is one of the most sensitive ones.

5:13So these are my favorite ones from the full and historical songs. Not just so much for singing for us, Yeinau. Yeinau, please now speak of the evolution of Daviji, a name that I thought implied Christian rock. Not that there's anything wrong with that. When I entered high school, my music teacher encouraged me to perform alone. And so when I wanted to release my first original song, Yeinau Ksenes Vassaros, in 2020, I thought, what day's name could I use? You know, that would be something that really relates to me personally. So I chose the evolution. It's actually been my Instagram name since 10th grade. What does this word mean? You know, that's a question. It does have a word God that was in it.

6:14It's usually used in our daily language. You know, you can use it as like, oh my God, what happened? Or, oh my God, she's so nice to me. I just discovered it now that obviously your name, IEVA, is right in the middle of Daviji. That's amazing. I know, right? And that was a total coincidence. I did not do it on purpose. Oh, yeah. You know, I think that's why I chose it because people have pointed it out. You know, oh, it has, yeah, in the middle. Yeah. You're very clever. And I love that you play that you didn't know. But I'm telling you, you're new. No, but I swear I did not. I did not do it on purpose. Actually, it's a fun thing that you said, you know, you thought we were a Christian rock band because it's not also the first time that someone tells that there's two years ago.

7:14I was studying in Vilnius. I was studying a whole different thing far away from music. I graduated from aerospace engineering and I have a master's degree in that. And I have already become a member of the academic choir of my university. So I was, you know, doing my music right beside my studies. And so I released my first song. And then I started getting invited to open mics. And with the choir, I also got to sing some solo parts. That's how I started, you know, just being visible as a musician who could sing. And I continued to release songs until eventually in 2023. I released my first EP, which is called, Lead the Musketeer or a mission to take off and I've connected to what I was doing at the time. Then, you know, more doors open to me. And I thought, oh, well, I would love to do a concert one day where I can have a full band with me.

8:16Well, I actually gathered my friends for this. That the original band, we are six people. So we entered this contest and colonized and we actually got the third place. So it was a great start. But this also connects to the point where people assume that we are Christian Rock band. Because when we were in the semifinals there, it's nothing points to Christianity at all. But, you know, I don't know if they just assumed something. So we actually did this church-like introduction to our performance. So we played the organs and sang like high voices. So that was a nice way to memorize that people associated that with us. By any means, it's not a bad thing. But, you know, it's not what we are actually. We are an alternative pop and full band. The first song we released last year called, Murder, was the first single that we went to the radio station to promote live.

9:16So that was our first step towards fully being a band. And that was a great experience. Now, you have, in regards to that first single, you released as the Devajiband, Norda. I noticed that in your catalog, you have another song with a similar title, Nordechau. Are these songs related? It's interesting, you noticed the similarities between Nordechau and Norda. So, yeah, Norda translates to, I want, but Nordechau is, I wish. I think, you know, that these two words, they carry a whole different emotion with them. Because Nordechau is about missing somebody in Norda. And the country is a very, that song embodies a whole, it's kind of a black, white thing, you know, like Nordechau is sad. And Norda is actually very happy. It's about the easy feeling, about summer, about having the time to spend with your loved ones.

10:17And just about the joy and the, the lifeness. So, these two songs are very interesting between each other. I'll show you for clarifying the differences between those two songs, yeah. Let me ask you about one of your other tunes. Please tell us the story behind the uniquely titled, Elefantas. So, Elefantas is another interesting one. It's not really a Lithuanian word, Elefantas. It's just like an English word made Lithuanian, I would say. Oh, because drumblees is elephant Lithuanian. Yes, yes, so it's drumblees. And why is it so? Because I started writing Elefantas when, I think it was 2020, Year of COVID, also, yeah. I was just always had English lyrics in my head for this song. And I would sing where now it sounds.

11:19There's no kachavika. There's no kachavika in my noodle. Before, it was, there's an elephant in the room. There's an elephant in the room, but you don't see. I always had this vision for it to be in English. I felt that I wanted to make it Lithuanian, but I don't know how. So, I've had that song for two years. This one time, I was sitting on a bench, Mariam Kuala. The Lithuanian lyrics just showed up to me. I just like, I started writing the verse. And then I struggled for another year with the words of the chorus. Well, you know, that's the creative process. I think it really also carries the song's message that sometimes we tend to make an elephant out of a fly. That's the saying we have in Lithuanian.

12:21Wow, the amount of time you put into Elefantas was definitely worth it. Now, before I forget, the person who connected you with Lithuanian landslide was Paul Chowanski, whom I had the pleasure of meeting last summer in Barnesville, Pennsylvania during their Lithuanian days celebration. Have you ever been to the United States? My first experience in the States was back in 2017, 2018. I spent a school year in one of the private schools in Georgia. It was called the Darlington School. I went there via program assist scholars, which send students for the junior year in high school in the US. So, you know, when I started applying, you know, I'm a girl from a small village, like 500 people live there. And I didn't have any connection to America. And it seemed so unreachable. You know, I just started filling out the materials.

13:22And I went to an interview and I got a whole scholarship to cover everything. So, that was such a life and opportunity. And I just had the best time there. I made so many friends. I also started songwriting actively there. I was part of Lady's Corel. I took a beginning instrument that's methods class. And I took a ukulele lessons. And I also started the winter musical, which was, you know, such a very immersive art experience as well. I also shout out to my host family, which I had for holidays and weekends, because we were living in the dorms there. And we're still to this day in touch. But I also got to know Lithuanian one was living there in Georgia. She was a friend of my teacher and she came to see our musical. And so then she took me to Lithuanian school in Atlanta. Because I think Kolovian, what looked that? And we stood there singing the National Anthem.

14:22I heard the little kids singing the Lithuanian National Anthem. So far away from Lithuania across the ocean. And I just got tears into my eyes because, you know, I understood how powerful it is to know where your roots come from. So, that was the first experience in the US. After that in 2022, I returned, but I went to California. I spent almost three months in Santa Barbara via the Work and Travel USA program. We went there with my classmates, with my friend, and we worked as housekeepers. And then we traveled around. And we actually visited my school again in down in Georgia, spent some time with my host family. And then we went to see Paul and Julie in New Jersey. It was a good Washington D.C. New York and Niagara Falls. So we just did so much. It's nice to learn that you had two rewarding experiences here in the US, Yaba.

15:23Yaba, where do you see yourself in, say, five years' time? Your vision has been my dream from childhood. So, like, I'm still waiting on a concept and an idea that I could bring to your vision because I think you need to have a really clear vision of what your performance must look like. And the song should be really strong. So, that's definitely what I want to do in five years' time. That's really great, Yaba. I'll do so much for sharing that. And thank you so much for being on Lithuanian landslide tonight. Thank you so much for having me. And thank you for the conversation. I'm very grateful that Paul introduced me to you more. So, it's clear and until the next time.