Meet Devon James | DJ/Producer & Human Swiss Army Knife

We had the good fortune of connecting with Devon James and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Devon, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The main reason my friends and I started our business was to form a support system for each other. We were living and working together in New York City in 2011. I was fresh out of college and wanted to establish myself in the scene. I started a weekly party on Tuesdays in Williamsburg called Push. I did a few parties with some other friends and NYC artists that I had looked up to and respected. Unfortunately that didn’t last long but I learned a lot of valuable lessons. Mainly that people are really wrapped up in themselves and that it’s really hard to get other people to care, especially in a city as large as New York. So a few months go by and my friends and I continue to do our own things, trying to find our places in the world. Sometime in 2012, my friend Pierce said he wanted to have someone paint a mural in his apartment and he wanted to throw a party for it. Our friend Jon wanted to film the mural being painted and do a time lapse we could do some sort of cool recap. There was about 10 of us that came together to produce that first party and that was the start of Rvdiovctive. We all just showed up to contribute our various talents and everything seemed to just click. We decided to keep throwing parties after that and eventually we started to come up with other projects other than just parties. We started Rvdiovctive so that we had this pool of people to tap into to help with those projects. We were designers, film makers, musicians, producers, editors…whatever needed to get done we would lend our individual talents and resources to help each other. Then when we played other parties that weren’t our own – the members of the company all showed up to support and encourage each other. So really at the end of the day, the reason we started our business is because we all just really cared and believed in each other and wanted to contribute towards other success.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
For me, music is a conversation and you want to have something unique and original to say rather than just trying to regurgitate what’s already been said so many times before. So many people try to do what’s hype and trendy, but my success formula is just consistency / time. Make the music you were meant to make, not the music you want to make. Do that for long enough and you will find your stride and your place in this wild world.

I also think it’s important to experience all the beautiful things life has to offer. Travel, eat good food, go clubbing, take drugs, get drunk, fall in love, get your heart broken, and follow your heart to any adventures it may take you on, while still keeping a bit of wit and reasonability about you.

I like to make music that is personal to me and the things I’ve been through. I don’t just make music to make music. I make music because this is how I communicate when I can’t put words to my feelings.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For Breakfast: Oliver’s, Morgan’s, or Pura Vida

For Lunch: Bodega, Coyo Taco, Taquiza, 1-800 Lucky, KUSH, Enriqueta’s

For Happy Hour: Stiltsville Fish Bar, The Standard Hotel, Monty’s, BOHO

For Dinner: Joe’s Stone Crab, Fratelli La Bufala, Lucali, Yardbird, Miami Slice

For Nightlife: Dante’s High-Fi, 1-800 Lucky, Coyo, Space, Floyd, Eagle Room.

Late Night: Cheeseburger Baby, Corner Bar

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First and foremost I have to shout out my family. My mother was a single parent who did everything she could to provide a good life for her children. Education was always the most important thing and I am thankful that I was able to go to the schools I went to and have all the resources I needed to grow. I watched my mom work 80+ hours a week to put me and my sister through school, take us to rehearsals, games, or shows for sports and theatre. She really did everything she could to provide a life for me that allowed me to foster my mind and flourish. I also have to shout out my sister and my dad too. My sister is the one who brought me around to clubs when i was 13, 14, 15. She is the one who moved to Miami and got me into doing events there. I have so much love for my sister on so many levels but her guidance and early influence definitely is part of why I do what I do today. My dad is also a musician and helped foster that in me from a very young age. While I didn’t talk to him for part of my early life, we reconnected later over music and he brought me on tour in Europe right after I graduated high school. That’s when I really fell in love with traveling and touring and saw that was a life I could live.

I also need to shout out Felix Da Housecat. Felix is one of the first people who gave me a shot in this industry and he introduced me to so many people along the way. I definitely would not be where I am without the experiences I had with him. Other artists who have been super supportive of me are Nicole Moudaber, Doorly, Tara Brooks, Gettoblaster, Soul Clap, Codes, Treasure Fingers.

Also gotta show my RVDIOVCTIVE crew some love – my current partners Will, Pierce, James. The original members – Brian, Jon, Matt, Ben, Lubo, AJ. All our residents – Max Sprauer, Rupert Wall, Mona Black, Dan Edwards, Branqueeno, Adrian Hex, Colleen.

Website: www.rvdiovctive.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_devonjames/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devon-james-stewart-06463516/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_devonjames

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devonjamesmusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@_devonjames

Image Credits
Radskillz, Cheyenne Bosco, Juan Solo