Devine Electric is an Australian Hard Rock band formed in Sydney, N.S.W. 2005. Emerging through the breakup of bands: Tommy Gun (Eli, Ivor), Dark Order (Zoran), Powerhead (Paul) and Zino who was at the wrong place at the right time. At a time when pretentious and lack lustre acts were dominating the local Sydney venues – Devine Electric brought a raw and uplifting form of dirty rock crashing back into the local scene.
All band members have often been noted for their diversity and range in song writing; from their hard edged “Devine Highway”, “Rock Bottom”, to the more vulnerable and sensitive “Sweet Temptation” and “Shylove”. Devine Electric’s music is solid, bluesy, raw and honest- everything a good hard rock band should be.
Guitarist Ivor Radocaj hit us up and we found them very worthy of being one of our Best Things You’ve Never Heard…
Let’s start with the basics first – how long has the band been together and what is the inspiration behind the band name?
We’ve been together since 2005, but did split up for around 2 years during that period; now we can’t resist each other! The band name is the brainchild of our drummer Paul…like all good things came to him whilst sitting on the Thomas Crapper!
Can you introduce each member of the band and give us a rock ‘n’ roll fact or myth about each?
I’ll give it a shot!
Eli Reskov – lead vocalist, and has flown the flag for the rock/glam scene in Sydney for a good time now, kept it alive especially when it wasn’t the trend, these days everyone’s in a rock band!
Zoran Mrakic – Bass guitar and “Metal God”, very experienced campaigner, solid through and through, can weed out fakeness in anybody.
Zino Zei-Nero – Lead Guitar and the contagious positive energy that the band members and audiences feed off.
Paul Corben – Drums and a having a bloody good time activist, very thorough in his field!
Ivor Radocaj – Lead Guitar and mama of the band who always has a spare plectrum ready at his disposal.
You have twenty seconds in an elevator to try and convince someone to listen to your new EP ‘Excuse The Mess’, without resorting to threats or violence, what do you tell them?
No threats or violence? Impossible!
In terms of your song writing, what do you consider to be the most important ingredients that need to feature in a Devine Electric song?
No ingredients in particular, we all just have to be really happy with it and not do anything below par. Each song has to be taken to its full potential. 
On the flip side, what or who inspires/influences your music the most, in both a lyrical or musical sense?
We all have vast influences; it all seems to stem from the 70’s and 80’s. From early AC/DC, INXS, Aerosmith to stuff like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.
Following on from that, what bands did you grow up listening to and how did they help create the style of music that can now be heard on your EP?
Bands like Thin Lizzy and Queen have definitely opened our eyes about intelligent arrangements, harmonies and making a band’s diversity really work; which we as a band are really conscience of. On the other hand, groups like Rose Tattoo and AC/DC always showed us the power of lyrics and simplicity in songs where less is more a lot of the time.
I picked up a copy of your debut EP ‘Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece’ at a show a couple of years back, how do you feel as a band you’ve grown in the two year period between EP’s?
In terms of growth, we’re actually going backwards; we’re like teenage imbeciles again! But song wise we have definitely nailed it more this time and the production is a lot better than the last E.P. – which we had a zero budget for.
Devine Electric have scored a few big supports over the years such as Stryper, Pretty Boy Floyd and Rose Tattoo, who stands out as the one you were blown away by the most?
Supporting Pretty Boy Floyd and Rose Tattoo were massive honours but the Stryper tour really blew us away. They were the most humble and professional guys you could ever meet and can back it up every night with flawless shows. A very much underrated rock band and a shame they’re not taken seriously enough due to their Christian orientated lyrical content.
Did any of them give you any advice as a newer band trying to get noticed?
Michael Sweet from Stryper gave us some good advice about keeping at it, to keep recording as we’re only gonna get better. Supporting all these bands in general was very educational for us as a band.
Now seeing you guys play a few times there is definitely an energy on stage, at times it was like you were playing to 20,000 people instead of the 1,000 there. What if anything do you feel Devine Electric does differently to stand out as a live band?
We aren’t fake, what you see on stage is the real deal, we don’t change back into ourselves after the show, because it is ourselves performing up there, whether it be in front of 10 people or 10,000 people.
So, having gone through the process of writing, recording and releasing your EP, as well as playing live shows….I have to ask, what’s the most rewarding aspect of doing what you do with Devine Electric?
Definitely the live shows, we love playing live and seeing the reactions of the crowd… even when they’re negative hahahaha.
What touring plans do you have during 2011? Where can people catch you performing live?
We’ll be doing a bunch of shows in Sydney like we normally do and also working on some dates for Melbourne which we always love coming to, as well as Adelaide and Canberra. Fingers crossed for some shows in Europe and the States in 2012.
With 2011 half way through, here’s a chance to gaze into your crystal ball. By the end of 2011, Devine Electric will have:
1. Its very own Magazine
2. Be sponsored by Jack Daniels
3. Have its own figurines on sale in Kmart
Essential Information
From: Australia
Sounds Like: Old School Rock & Roll
Website: www.myspace.com/devineelectricofficial
Latest Release: Excuse The Mess – EP
Check out our review of ‘Excuse The Mess’ right here…..
