Bryan devendorf biography

NAME: Bryan Devendorf
AGE: 44
WHO IS HE: Drummer for The National and leader of the band Royal Green, which released its debut album in 2020.

At what age did you leave Cincinnati, and when did you return?

Maybe a bit bummed that the kids wouldn’t grow up in NYC, but I got over that.

Early History (1991-2000)

In 1991, Matt Berninger and Scott Devendorf met while attending the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP college of graphic design program, where they also met Mike Brewer, Casey Reas and Jeff Salem.

The particulars of a place — tangible and intangible — that become engrained, like “the way the air is, the smell of the train, just walking around everywhere … and awesome food.”

But there is also plenty not to miss about the big city, he says, and Cincinnati has been a good place to come back to.

Though the band still relies on face-to-face time, their process now depends more on long-distance collaboration than it once did.

And they are well equipped for it.

“I feel like our arsenal of self-owned studio gear has given us the ability to make much higher-quality sounding things,” says Devendorf.

Along the way, their sound has evolved to incorporate more electronic elements.

“Everything’s becoming more … I don’t know what the word would be,” he hesitates.

Doing life in New York City — in a 900 square-foot apartment with a wife and two small boys — triggered some new desires, namely for a yard.

He and his wife have been back in town for six years now, raising their three kids in a walkable neighborhood with a good school and family nearby.

There are, of course, things to miss.

“Like [an] ‘orchestral synth’ kind of thing.”

The band’s track record of political and social engagement has often gravitated toward public health and healthcare-related causes, and Devendorf has some ideas for how that might extend to Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Parks, the Krohn Conservatory, and Fortune Noodle House in Clifton Heights.

What keeps you here now?

The band’s lyrics, which have been described as “dark, melancholy and difficult to interpret”, are written and sung by Matt Berninger, a baritone. The rest of the band is composed of two pairs of brothers: twins Aaron (guitar and keyboard) and Bryce Dessner (guitar) and Scott (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums).

When their last effort, Project Nim, broke up in 1998, they joined Matt and Scott in Brooklyn via the Devendorf relationship.

When the band was formed in 1999, it was called The National, although the domain name of the band’s website is americanmary.com because, according to Matt Berninger in an interview with Sixeyes, “it’s a song off our first record.

“I could typically play a kick, snare, hi-hat, you know, a basic beat.”

The drums stayed at school, and he was at it day after day. There’s the newly renovated Music Hall, the concert venue being developed on the Banks, and the King Records legacy, Devendorf points out.

“I’d be curious to delve further into the King catalog — there’s actually a lot of cool drum beats to steal from that era,” he says.

“Another thing Cincinnati has is this world-class music conservatory,” he adds, circling back to where his own musical journey once began.

Would Devendorf ever encourage his own kids to tap into what CCM has to offer?

After firing blanks on finding an affordable apartment there, I became obsessed with the Sibcy Cline website where entire houses in Cincinnati (with yards) were beautifully photographed and reasonably priced vis-à-vis the East Coast.

Were you excited to return, or hesitant? But Devendorf is grateful that The National, unlike other bands, is never on the road for more than a few weeks at a time.

“When I’m gone, there’s peace of mind knowing they’re here, because it’s relatively safe, they’re taken care of, and have a good mom.”

Moving forward with music, there is also a sense of possibility that’s shaped by what’s happening right here in town.

After a while living in Brooklyn, it had become too expensive to justify living there anymore.

They love the Staten Island Ferry and the pizza.

How has Cincinnati changed since you first left? The band has released six studio albums, the last one Trouble Will Find Me came out in May 2013.