Hello everyone. My name is KP Devlin. And I am about to do something I never thought I’d do… Post my first blog entry… I’m not entirely certain where this is going, but I figure it might be a good outlet for me, as well as a way for me to share some of the things I do with you. First and foremost, I’m a singer/songwriter. I’ve recorded and released 9 CDs of my original songs, as well as an album of instrumental tunes, and a series of ambient music albums under a mysterious pseudonym. My most recent album, entitled Violescent, is – in my opinion – my greatest achievement as an artist and a songwriter. I’m very proud of it. I’ll talk more about that later.
Here are a few of the other things I do when I’m not writing and recording:
1. Tropical Fish Keeping. I’ve been keeping aquariums and fish for nearly 15 years. It started as an innocent little side project and ballooned into an outrageous obsession. At one point I had 20 aquariums running in my apartment. It was insane. I spent all day every Thursday doing water changes, cleaning filters and spilling water all over the place. I was out of control. I’ve since trimmed way back on the number of tanks, but still have three aquariums running today – a 330 gallon tank full of monster-sized fish, a 90 gallon tank with live plants and peaceful community fish, and a 75 gallon tank, which I am hoping to turn into a saltwater reef tank in the coming months. I have one fish named Biff, who is 12 years old and about the size of a watermelon. He’s got more personality than most people I’ve met. More on Biff in future blog entries.
2. Bonsai & Houseplants. I’ve been keeping plants alive in my apartment for even longer than I’ve had fish. I’m pretty good at keeping them alive and getting them to thrive actually, with a few exceptions. Mostly I keep succulents, particularly unusual ones that have big fat woody trunks. In recent years I’ve gotten into keeping bonsai. Most of my succulents and other houseplants are now treated as bonsai – they are grown in shallow pots and are pruned and shaped to look more or less like trees. As bonsai are simply trees that are kept in small pots (there isn’t an actual species of tree that is known as bonsai), it could be said that all of my plants are bonsai. However, “true” bonsai are intended to be grown outdoors (at least during the growing season), so by that definition I only have one. A nice little Chinese elm that lives on my balcony from spring through autumn and then winters in a cool window sill. More on the bonsai later too.
3. Tennis. I’ve played tennis since I was 4 years old. Which should mean that I’m a damn good player. Alas, I am only a pretty good player. But that’s ok. I enjoy it and try to play as much as 4-5 times a week when the weather is nice. I grew up watching Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe. My first tennis racquet was made of wood. I now play with a Babolat that’s made of… I don’t even know what it’s made of. Some sort of plastic-fiberglass-space age synthetic stuff. Who knows. It’s a good racquet though and I like it. It’s not exactly a “weapon of mass destruction,” but I pop the occasional ace down the T with it. I go to the US Open every year as many days as I possibly can. I’m a huge fan of the game. Roger Federer is my favorite player, and even though he’s no longer at the very top of the game I still love to watch him play.
4. Restoring Vintage Synthesizers. This is a recent hobby that I’ve taken on. I’ll certainly go into more detail about this one in the coming weeks or months, but suffice to say I’m working on several old synthesizers from the early 80’s right now. A couple of Korg Polysixes (one from Chicago, the other from freakin Bulgaria). I’m cleaning them, replacing the tact switches reconditioning the key beds, and reconstructing the cases with plywood and beautiful hardwoods like wenge, red zebra wood and walnut.
So that’s all for now. I’ll be back with more soon. Please feel free to comment or say hello!
KP
