The Devlin Runners are an energetic, fierce four-peice alt-country outfit from Southern Ontario whose songs capture the good, the bad-ass and the awesome of country life. In early 2009, four musicians and friends reunited, walked into a rehearsal studio hoping to forge a new musical path. The Devlin Runners was formed by Jeff Graville (Drums), Chris Wheeler (Lead Guitar), Mark Bovine (Bass) and Wendell Collier (Vocals/ Guitar) and with their mix of Outlaw Country, and Rock they embarked in a n exciting newmusical direction. The sound that Wendell G. Collier, Chris Wheeler, Mark Bovine, and Jeff Graville cooked up, while hanging at the Toronto-area studio of a long-time friend, was like nothing they had created before. The Devlin Runners sound is a blend that captures classic country, 1970’s rock and roll anthems and the poetic wordsmith lyrical styles of 1980’s singer-songwriters. This, of course, is presented with a razor-sharp timing and musicianship that can only come from the members previous countless nights on-stage together. It’s a sound that had all the members of The Devlin Runners chomping at the bit to do more, make more, and go further inside of the music. It’s fervor like this that generates the buzz of Canadian country’s brightest even before the release of their first full album. In 2008 Wendell began writing songs and when he felt he had a good start (eight original compositions) he called the guys together with a new mission in mind. Wendell remembers, “The songs came together so quickly in the first rehearsal. Some of the ideas that came from that first rehearsal are in the recording. After that rehearsal, we all left feeling pretty good about what we had started. Even though they had never all actually played country together it was obvious that these guys, who hail from small-towns across Canada, had country music in their DNA. Wendell and Mark produce a sonic pallet as a vocal duo, and Wheeler’s instrumental prowess and low harmony vocals filled out the picture perfectly. It helped matters a great deal that the four also spark well as friends, which makes for very relaxed highly cooperative rehearsal sessions. “I’m laid-back one who listens and watches, Wendell is up there doing and moving, creating and conducting. Jeff brings the comedy with snappy one-liners from behind the kit and Wheeler is the calming glue,” Mark (who goes by Bovine) explains. “Everyone balances everybody else out, and it makes for a great atmosphere.” Each member also brought diverse influences into the collaboration, ranging from East-Coast traditional and Neil Young (Wendell) to big band and traditional jazz (Jeff) and, from The Rolling Stones and classic rock (Wheeler) to symphonic compositions (Bovine). All those elements added up to bringing something distinctly modern, yet grounded in old-fashioned country style. “It’s really an amazing blend of talent,” Wheeler says. “It’s a great combination, musically.” Their old-school approach led them to choose a moniker that was inspired by a small-town colloquialism. “When I was a teenager,” Wendell says, ”There was a beer store linked to a gas station in a town called Devlin close to where I lived. If you need more beer and the beer store in town was closed, you had to go to Devlin. People started calling whoever was elected to go- “The Devlin Runner” And when we were looking for a band name… the term was just sitting there waiting.” Over the course of 2009 the band worked on and completed a 5 track demo EP "TDR" that was released in October 2009 on itunes worldwide. The album has been played on the web, and radio in Ontario and Manitoba and has also been a part of a Country radio show from the UK. From the country anthem "Back to the Country" to the rock-fused "Hip-kickin'" and the wedding ballad "On This Day" the album is an incredible 5 track journey that truly showcases the band's flexibility. The feedback from the Demo was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. Audience reaction will no doubt be just as instantaneous when The Devlin Runners begin playing gigs around the golden horseshoe. With a one-of-a-kind musical chemistry that blends the tradition of classic country, with an up-to-the-second modern sound, The Devlin Runners offer a combination that’s both freshly exciting and comfortingly familiar. Discography : TDR- Demo EP - October 2009 www.myspace.com/thedevlinrunners