Today we’d like to introduce you to Devon Parker.
Devon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I come from a musical background and my family is big on music. My dad has been one of my biggest influences in life as a musician. He plays piano/organ and my uncle played drums. As a small toddler, these instruments would be right in the living room of our house because they use to rehearse quite often for different things they were doing.
I started to play at church at the age of 4 years old. By the time I was 6 I was the main drummer at the church I grew up in where my pop was the Music Director. That was my start and from there over the years traveling with the church, I met a lot of people who later in my teenage years begin to use me to play for events and things outside of the church.
My first major accomplishment as a teenage drummer was doing live recordings with Stellar Award Winning and Dove-nominated group Pure-N-Heart which is also based out of the Upstate area. Alphaeus Anderson and his wife Alexis Anderson are the founders of that group and through him giving me that opportunity it led to other opportunities of the caliber and greater.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As a musician, it has its ups and downs because the music industry can be fickle at times. Being an entrepreneur in any field is hard because everything you do relies on you, your work ethic, relationships, and what work you receive.
For me, the biggest challenge early on as an adult who has kids was keeping a consistent income to be able to provide for my children. I’ve always been used to things just coming to me. I’ve been very blessed for God to allow people to call me and keep me working. But if I didn’t receive any calls to do anything then I never was the guy to ask for work.
Overall, the biggest challenge of balancing out where I value myself monetarily and where others value musicians monetarily was probably the hardest thing to overcome. I’ve been employed by churches that love what I do but do not necessarily want to value it as a rare skill.
I’m great at what I do and I would say in the Upstate area I’m one of the best at what I do so getting over that hump of being frustrated by certain people or establishments not wanting to pay me at a certain level was hard. Now that I’ve matured and gotten past that I understand those who value me the way I value myself and my brand will be the ones who will benefit from what I have to offer.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve been a professional musician for over 15 years now. I’ve always been known as a drummer who started out in church, to playing with local & national gospel artists, playing locally at bars/nightclubs, and traveling in the tri-state area doing live shows and studio work.
All of those things led to me getting calls to actually tour with legends such as Keith Sweat, Teddy Riley, Blackstreet, and Guy. Those opportunities led to me traveling and playing for artists such as Teyana Taylor, Pharrell Williams, SWV, and Timbaland (producer/creator of verses) amongst so many others.
Even with all of those opportunities that have allowed me to travel this world, I would say my biggest accomplishment career-wise was starting my own band called The Devon Parker Collective. This is my brand and business that has been established for only a year now and the plans I have with this are the legacy I will be able to leave for my children’s children!
The thing that I believe sets me apart from others is my personality and being the guy that doesn’t meet a stranger and also being easy to work with. As a drummer I don’t think at my age of 31 I’m as good as I was when I was 21 but I believe people love working with me because I have a great personality and I’m able to make others around me better.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I would say the music industry is always changing and in some ways evolving even though there’s nothing new under the sun! Haha… the big shifts and changes will always be musically and stylistically what we hear.
To survive it you have to stay current on what is “hot” at the time but also know that there are certain classics that will always be around. Being able to balance what’s current and what’s considered old will make or break any musicians, group, and or artist!
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.Thedevonparkercollective.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamdevonparker
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/thedevonparkercollective
- Youtube: Www.YouTube.com/thedevonparkercollective
Image Credits
David Gonzales, Shahid Martin, DKaptured, and One Music Fest
