Devil On A Leash

If you missed them at Louie G’s Pizzeria in October you have another chance to see Devil on a Leash at the at the Central in Pioneer Square in Seattle on January 11th, 2013. After 2 years of working the Tacoma music circuit, the band finally launched their CD ‘Puppet Shadows’and have embarked on their yearlong promotional tour.

According to band leader Jake Nist, the band has existed in different phases with different names and different members since 2002 and have remained focused on writing, creating and building their unique sound that has become ‘Puppet Shadows’. To keep their band active and current, original members Jake and Jeremy sought out additional talent through Craigslist among other creative methods, gaining team members Ben and Tyson. In this rock and roll outfit Ben and Jake are lead vocals but everybody gets their own turn to scream or croon for the crowd. Jeremy plays the drums, Jake does bass and 12-string guitar, Tyson is on guitar while Ben does lead guitar and keyboard. Writing and producing the CD was a team effort that reflects the unique qualities among the group.

The band, for the most part are self taught musicians with a mixture of alternative careers from automotive to education, but their ultimate goal is to release a series of albums and tour beyond the Tacoma borders. As they prepare their second release the group continues to negotiate with producers in the hope of finding a good fit. From the looks of things Devil on a Leash is one of Tacoma ’s top rising stars to watch. See them again or for the first time at the Central Avenue Pub or better yet go out and get that CD, which is available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and other online retailers. For more information and show dates, check out facebook.com/devilonaleash.
- KOMO News

Have you ever seen the look on someone's face the first time he rides a roller coaster? It's a mixture of abject fear, exhilaration and satisfaction. This same convoluted look might grace your mug standing in front of Devil On a Leash Friday night at Hell's Kitchen.

Bobble Tiki urges you to blow off some serious steam with twice as many drinks as you all can handle with Devil On a Leash. This band rocks, and rocks it in a roller coaster way. It's an up-and-down ride in terms of their sound. The band changes its style of rock within a set more than the City of Tacoma changes its mind on policy. That said, its heavy guitars remain a constant base.

Bobble Tiki caught up Devil On a Leash guitarist Ben Stephan before the band's show Friday.

BOBBLE TIKI: How did the members of Devil On a Leash meet?

BEN STEPHAN: Bassist Jake Nist, drummer Jeremy Kuntz and guitarist Tyson Olsen having been playing together for years. They were known as the Shadow Puppets before Jake responded to my "looking for a band" ad on craigslist.

TIKI: What's up with the name Devil On a Leash?

STEPHAN: I got the idea from "Goin' Out West" by Tom Waits. There's a line that goes something like, "With my Olds '88 and the devil on a leash." We thought about sticking with the Shadow Puppets but wanted to go in a new direction. We are probably going to call our first album Puppet Shadows.

TIKI: Can you nail down your sound?

STEPHEN: The musical taste of our band members is incredibly diverse and that definitely comes through in our songs. "Take It All," "Solitude" and "Steal Temple" are straight ahead heavy rock songs, while "Safeword" and "The Hatter" are spaceier and proggy. "The Outside" and "Years End" are guitar-driven pop songs. "Down the 5" has a country-blues twang. In short, if you didn't see all of us on stage playing these songs together, you would have no idea they were written by the same band.

TIKI: What do you have planned at Hell's Kitchen?

STEPHEN: We're really excited for this show. It's our fourth show at Hell's Kitchen, but our first weekend show. We are going to debut a brand new song called "Beyond my Human Side." We've only practiced it together a few times so hopefully everybody remembers the sequencing of it. We may throw in a cover somewhere as well. When we started out, we played predominately covers and the people who have been coming to our shows for a while often request us to play certain songs.

TIKI: Holiday decoration are scattered around downtown Tacoma. Will you bust out a holiday tune Friday?

STEPHAN: Probably no Christmas songs at this show. We may bust some out for our show at O'Malley's on the 17th - but only if Jeremy wears a Santa beard behind the drum kit.

TIKI: Half of Infinity is also on Friday's bill. Have you ever seen them perform?

STEPHEN: We haven't seen Half to Infinity, but if they're halfway to infinity, then they're twice the men that we are.

TIKI: Do you think dogs have lips?

STEPHEN: Of course, that's the tastiest part of a dog. - Tacoma Weekly Volcano

Local genre-defying band Devil On A Leash will be releasing their debut album Puppet Shadows on Saturday in a CD Release show at Louie G’s.

Devil On A Leash is a line from a Tom Waits song. Band member Ben Stephen says, “Like Waits, our music does not conform into a specific genre.”

The songs have been described as a garage pop sound that experiments in hard rock and psychedelic.

Stephen continues: “We are all local Tacoma boys who graduated from Stadium and Bellarmine and have been playing gigs in the Tacoma/Seattle area for a few years now.”

Who: Devil On A Leash CD Release Show with special guests Bodybox, Shogun Barbie, and Zero Season
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Louie G’s Pizza in Fife (5219 Pacific Hwy S.)
Admission: No Cover, All Ages

- Tacoma News Tribune

If you missed them at Louie G’s Pizzeria in October you have another chance to see Devil on a Leash at the at the Central Ave. in Kent on December 15th. After 2 years of working the Tacoma music circuit, the band finally launched their CD ‘Puppet Shadows’ and have embarked on their yearlong promotional tour.

According to band leader Jake Nist, the band has existed in different phases with different names and different members since 2002 and have remained focused on writing, creating and building their unique sound that has become ‘Puppet Shadows’. To keep their band active and current, original members Jake and Jeremy sought out additional talent through Craigslist among other creative methods, gaining team members Ben and Tyson. In this rock and roll outfit Ben and Jake are lead vocals but everybody gets their own turn to scream or croon for the crowd. Jeremy plays the drums, Jake does bass and 12-string guitar, Tyson is on guitar while Ben does lead guitar and keyboard. Writing and producing the CD was a team effort that reflects the unique qualities among the group.

The band, for the most part are self taught musicians with a mixture of alternative careers from automotive to education, but their ultimate goal is to release a series of albums and tour beyond the Tacoma borders. As they prepare their second release the group continues to negotiate with producers in the hope of finding a good fit. From the looks of things Devil on a Leash is one of Tacoma ’s top rising stars to watch. See them again or for the first time at the Central Avenue Pub or better yet go out and get that CD, which is available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and other online retailers. For more information and show dates, check out facebook.com/devilonaleash. - Examiner