DEVIN TOWNSEND On Singing – "When I Was Younger Every Singer I Worked With Was A Douchebag, So I Thought I’d Just Handle It"

In a new interview with Metal Hammer, Devin Townsend discusses his rock star status, phobias, singing, drugs, finding the ultimate cup of cofee, and more. An excerpt is available below.

Q: When was the moment you realised you had made it as a rock star?

Devin: “I don’t think that’s happened yet, but I appreciate the vote of confidence! That said, I’ve got everything I need to be able to make music 24/7 and if that means I’ve made it, then sure, I’m super-happy to have made it! But in terms of being a rock star, I don’t think I’ll ever be that…”

Q: Your voice is quite operatic. Do you listen to opera?

Devin: “Fuck no, I hate that shit. I do what I do because there are no other options. If I could do something else with my voice then I would! But the tools I was given are the ones I use. That being said, I’ve never been a fan of singing, I prefer playing guitar, but when I was younger every singer I worked with was a douchebag so I thought I’d just handle it.”

Q: You’re clean these days, but what was the weirdest thing you ever saw while high?

Devin: “I’m pretty sure I saw the devil and aliens in one night, which was pretty interesting. With psychedelic drugs, the high never goes away, you just learn to get used to it (laughs)!”

Go to this location for the complete interview.

The Devin Townsend Project has comfirmed their Transcendence European / UK Tour 2017 schedule, kicking things off on January 28th in Antwerp, Belgium an dwrapping things up on March 18th in Nottingham, England. Between The Buried And Me and Leprous are on the European leg as support. TesseracT will replace Between The Buried And Me for the UK leg of the tour.

Dates are as follows:

January 
28 – Trix – Antwerp, Belgium
30 – Rockhall – Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg    
31 – Le Bataclan – Paris, France

February
1 – Rock School Barbey – Bordeaux, France
3 – La Reviera – Madrid, Spain    
4 – Razzmatazz 2 – Barcelona, Spain
5 – Le Moulin – Marseille, France
7 – Live Club – Trezzo Sull’adda, Italy
8 – Z7 – Pratteln, Switzerland
9 – LKA Longhorn – Stuttgart, Germany
10 – Backstage – Munich, Germany
12 – Tvornica Club – Zagreb, Croatia
13 – Barba Negra Music Club – Budapest, Hungary
14 – Arena – Vienna, Austria
16 – The Roxy – Prague, Czech Republic
17 – Täubchenthal – Leipzig, Germany
18 – Kwadrat – Kraków, Poland
19 – Stodola – Warsaw, Poland
21 – Grünspan – Hamburg, Germany
22 – Voxhall – Aarhus, Denmark
23 – Pustervik – Göteborg, Sweden
25 – BlastFest – Bergen, Norway
26 – Sentrum Scene – Oslo, Norway
28 – The Circus – Helsinki, Finland

March
1 – Rytmikorjaamo – Seinajoki, Finland
3 – Berns – Stockholm, Sweden
4 – KB – Malmö, Sweden
5 – Amager Bio – Copenhagen South, Denmark
7 – Columbia Theater – Berlin, Germany
8 – FZW – Dortmund, Germany
9 – 013 – Tilburg, Netherlands
10 – De Melkweg – Amsterdam, Netherlands
12 – Colston Hall – Bristol, United Kingdom
13 – Academy – Manchester, United Kingdom
14 – Barrowlands – Glasgow, United Kingdom    
16 – Institute – Birmingham, United Kingdom
17 – Hammersmith Eventim Apollo – London, United Kingdom    
18 – Rock City – Nottingham, United Kingdom

Go to this location for ticket information.