Devendra Banhart gets a lot of mileage out of his songs and his lifestyle
By Chris Nixon
For the San Diego Union-Tribune
April 27, 2006
'I'm painting a rhinoceros,” said psychedelic folk singer Devendra Banhart from his current home in Topanga Canyon, north of Los Angeles. “My dad was recently living in Nairobi. He sent me some pictures of him next to a rhinoceros, so I decided to try and paint a rhinoceros.”
Packed with beautiful, nonsensical images and nuggets of wisdom, a conversation with the 25-year-old bearded singer-songwriter feels like listening to one of his songs. You find yourself following him on his nonlinear yet pleasing path. By the end of a song or a conversation, Banhart's words draw you into his world.
“I haven't lived anywhere for three years and I've always wanted to live in Topanga,” said Banhart. “It's like my home. But really I'm not based anywhere. We're all just based within ourselves.”
Accented by gentle finger-picked acoustic guitar and his high-pitched wavering vocals, Banhart's songs capture a wistful playfulness and an endearing innocence. He first came into the national spotlight after his 2002 recording “Oh Me, Oh My,” brimming with 22 tracks with titles like “Roots (If the Sky Were a Stone),” “Legless Love” and “Lend Me Your Teeth.” The long-haired musician has released an album a year since his debut: 2003's “Rejoicing in the Hand,” 2004's “Niño Rojo” and, most recently, “Cripple Crow” in 2005.
Released on XL Recordings and recorded in Bearsville, N.Y. (just outside of Woodstock), “Cripple Crow” furthers Banhart's Donovan-style mystique with his unique vocals and 1960s folk low-tech approach. The beauty of Banhart's songwriting comes in the psychedelic imagery and simple, stripped down approach to songcraft: “What I do is beyond rudimentary.”
Since he was a kid, Banhart has lived the life of a wanderer. After his birth in Texas, he lived in Venezuela, San Francisco, New York and Paris between traveling and tours. He comes by the wanderlust honestly.
“My mom, I grew up with her,” remembered Banhart. “We would travel and just show up anywhere. The first thing we would do is get lost. She would say, 'Look at something on the horizon and let's walk there.' Basically, we would walk until we were lost, and then we'd walk until we were found. Those were my formative years. Those were my first experiences with travel.”
Despite living the life of a musician and artist, Banhart admits he doesn't really obsess about his art too much.
“I just look at (music) as another form of travel,” said Banhart, who will travel to the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach tonight. “I can't show up at a venue, look at something on the horizon and get lost because I have to play a show. I look at the music as this field where I'm going to go and totally get lost in. That's a pretty cheesy thing to say, but that's the way I look at it.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
