The Devil You Know


There's nothing like the sheer agony of a torturous breakup to get those creative juices flowing...and Trevor Hurst couldn't be happier. He may be begrudgingly single again, but the emotional catharsis of his disintegrated love life has inspired his Vancouver rock band to a creative breakthrough with their second full-length album THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

"We finally got the whole machine to work," declares Hurst, speaking on behalf of fellow Crushmen Robbie Morfitt, Ziggy, Ken Fleming and Robert Wagner. "We decided just to let go of everything," says Hurst. "Instead of trying to control and manipulate every situation, we remembered what we loved about music and applied that to the recording of this album. I feel the chemistry on THE DEVIL YOU KNOW speaks for itself."

It definitely fulfills the promise of the band's earlier efforts - their EP PURGE and first full album AFFLICTION - replacing their industrial roots with a melodic synthesis of the contemporary styles including pop, rock, and electronic sampling.

From the opening strains of "Surefire" through the gut-wrenching confessional "Razorblades and Bandaides", the eleven songs on THE DEVIL YOU KNOW paint a diverse musical landscape.

Focusing on the skills the bands developed while touring extensively throughout Canada and Europe with KISS, The Young Gods, Die Krupps and The Tea Party, Hurst says it was the band's intention to capture the tireless energy and spark of an Econoline Crush concert performance on the album. "I remember that when I used to write songs, I'd get so excited I'd want to play them immediately for my roommate and friends," recalls the native of Virden, Manitoba. " But when you become a recording artist, there's a tendency to try and act like one and forget the reason you made music in the first place. "We gave our heads a shake. This album is more true to what we are."

Produced and recorded by Sylvia Massy (Tool, Glueleg, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Prince in his pre-TAFKAP days) at Sound City in Van Nuys, California, Hipposonic in Vancouver, Master Control Recording in Burbank and mixed at Larabee Sound in Hollywood, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW reflects a period of transition for Hurst. He sums it up in the title track, "Devil You Know" - "I was personally thinking about life changes," says Hurst. "And how you prefer to stay with the safe bet, stick with the devil you know. The unknown is a lot more scary."

Frustration also played a key role in the creation of the song about fickleness -- and album's first single, "Home." "I came up with this ridiculous melody that really didn't seem to fit in, but I liked the vibe. I decided to go outside to clear my head and it was pouring out. As I'm walked down the street, I passed a poor rain-soaked Sheltie. I felt sorry for it, and was considering taking it home and blow-drying it, when the line `You can't always pick the dog you find' popped into my head. "I rushed home and finished the song. I figured that with all the baggage you bring into a relationship, you can't fit all this shit in the sedan of life...the older you get, the harder you hang on to the baggage."

"'Sparkle And Shine' comes after a year of road-testing," he says. "It was really affected by the death of Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon. It's about the fact you can have all these people hanging around who can see you're drifting away, not long for this world, and yet these so-called friends won't do anything about it. If you think of Marilyn Monroe or Elvis, everybody likes a fuck-up, a woe-is-me martyr.

"'Deeper' is kind of heavy. I have a friend who is probably going to succumb to AIDS. It drives me crazy that AIDS research is embroiled in a lot of politics. Nobody should die from that disease. Just a reminder that from all of us who are fortunate enough to have our health, our hearts go out to the ones who don't."

The most personal moment on THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is "Razorblades And Bandaides" - an ode of emotional fallout. "It's probably the most honest song I've written," says Hurst. "I must have done about ten takes of that song. It was exhausting, but Sylvia kept pushing me. It's funny, because she has this little tiny voice and she was screaming at me and prodding me to remember why I wrote it in the first place. You can even hear my voice crack. But I really think we took the song to a whole new level."

"I really felt Trevor needed to reach into a previously untapped part of himself for the performance," adds Massy. "All he needed from me was a little encouragement."

"I have to give a lot of credit to Sylvia," says Hurst. "Sylvia kept a real sense of optimism in the studio. She showed real confidence, and kept it a really light, relaxed session," he says of the recording process. "Plus she was genuinely excited about making music, her greatest attribute."

"I think we all became family," says Massy. "It certainly made it hard to say good-bye at the end of this project. They're all extremely talented musicians and Trevor's a fantastic singer. "The record is one my favorites and I would gladly play it for any A&R rep as an example of my best work."

With the remainder of the Vancouver-based band -- guitarist Rob Morfitt and Ziggy; bassist Ken Fleming (although former Sons Of Freedom player Don Binns provides the album work) and drummer Robert Wagner, Econoline Crush has opened up a bold new frontier by coming of age.

Bio by EMI