The Stories Behind The Songs
Devinico Napoli
One thing I’ve come to find as an inevitable truth in my time on this planet is, true artists are fragile souls.
Don’t get me wrong, they possess a certain level of resilience, but they are not born with the hardened mindset of warriors. They are born with the grace of poets, filled with endless emotion and a need to express their creative ideas and thoughts.
This was the destiny of Devinico Napoli. He was a true artist in every sense of the word.
Devin was born on the 27th day of March, 1968 in upstate New York, just outside of Rochester.
This became a topic of great interest when we first met because we shared the same birthday, down to the exact year. In addition, we were also born in the same state, albeit, I was born in the Bronx.
Devin made some kind of cosmic reference to this once, like we were connected in a spiritual way. I laughed because it sounded like something you would hear in a movie, but he was very dramatic that way. Looking back on it, it may have been an accurate statement.
In ‘89, Devin invited me to a Thanksgiving dinner at his parents’ house. It was there that I got to meet his entire family. In addition, I got to meet Devin’s best friend, Eddie Blackwater, and his high school sweetheart, Nora Whittwood.
Devin was born into a big family, with five older siblings, three brothers and two sisters. He was the baby, and he was the pampered child. This is something that all of his siblings would laugh about in agreeance as they told me their stories throughout the weekend.
It became obvious once his mom started to dote on his musical accomplishments. Of course this was accompanied by a collection of childhood photo albums.
His parents could sense that he was destined for musical greatness. They just couldn’t figure out where his light was going to shine, either by way of Broadway or Carnegie Hall.
He had a theatrical persona that was very charismatic, but he was also a self-taught, multi-instrumentalist, with a keen ear for music. His mother pointed this out to me on several occasions, even though I was already aware of his talents.
It was cosmically preordained that Devin would be a musician. He inherited this passion coming from a diverse musical family. His mother taught piano and his father played guitar. Not all of his siblings acquired the same penchant for instruments, but they all shared a deep love of music.
Devin began playing piano at three. He picked up a guitar when he was five. Before he was ten, he was emulating songs from the radio.
He would also teach himself to play drums in his teenage years. He was committed to learning everything that music could teach him. When we first met, he was teaching himself to play harmonica, much to the band’s regret. He would drive them crazy on the road while touring.
His brothers introduced him to the classic gods of rock early on. His influences would include Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, & Black Sabbath, but he would infuse that with the funk finesse of Prince, Morris Day and George Clinton, a little gift from his sisters.
Devin was a musical sponge, always absorbing information and reimagining arrangements until they became his own creations.
He started his first band when he was in the third grade. Devin and Eddie would cover classic rock songs as best they could. Devin playing guitar and singing, while teaching Eddie how to play bass.
He loved all styles and genres of music. He always said there was something to be learned from everything.
Eventually he started writing and composing his own original songs and would often collaborate with his brother Steven, who was an excellent guitarist in his own write. Steven was three years older than Devin, and always the protective brother.
Steven had started a band called the Saints of Valhalla. His band included his high school friends Scott Tocci on drums, Eric Dziadul (pronounced Geddel) on bass, and David Dersch on guitar. David was in the band mainly because Steven was dating his sister, Holly.
Steven was an amazing guitar player, taking his musical cues from Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoads, and Eddie Van Halen. His playing was seamless, but he was only the singer out of necessity, a role which Devin would happily take on.
Once the lineup of the band was solidified, they would rehearse tirelessly, spending hours practicing in their basement. Their first performance was the talent show during Devin’s sophomore year of high school. The other members had already graduated by this point.
There was live music available 5-6 nights a week all over the WNY area. During the summer, the boys frequently traveled from Rochester to Buffalo, Jamestown, or Niagara Falls. They played everywhere they could. (The Goo Goo Dolls were also playing the same club circuit at this time.)
Eventually, Devin’s parents bought the brothers their first gig van. It was used and slightly beat up, but it served its purpose for transporting six guys from gig to gig. Eddie had given up on bass and became the band roadie. Devin was 16 and barely able to drive at this time. Stephen would become the official driver.
Over the course of the next three years, the band would expand their market to include treks up and down the east coast from New York to Florida. They were spending so much time together and playing so many gigs that they were beginning to cultivate a growing fan base on the strength of their live shows.
In 1987, they submitted an application to play at SXSW in Austin Texas under their new band name, Star-Crossed Lovers. They were accepted. As a matter of logistics, they began to chart a course through the Midwest with the intent of touring through Texas.
At this time, Devin also decided to shorten his given name, and adopt Napoleon as his stage name, because like Napoléon Bonaparte, he intended to conquer every city on his path to glory.
In March of ’88, on their way to Austin, they played a show in Houston at Fitzgeralds. By an act of pure chance, my band, Spooky La Casa, was playing on the same night, and our friendship was officially forged.