Art, Business, & Culture in the 6th Borough
Lady Rocks the Blues
Debra Devi Reps Her 'Hood Everywhere on the Road
On American Blues Scene’s short list of top female blues/rock guitarists alongside Susan Tedeschi, Ana Popovic, Rory Block, and Bonnie Raitt, and hailed as “one of the great guitar players of our time, a master of tone, touch and shading” by New York Music Daily and “one badass guitarist” by the North Jersey Blues Society, hometown heroine Debra Devi continues the tradition of trailblazing women musicians in what today is still very much a man’s, man’s world.
Like any properly initiated rocker, Devi came up listening to her brother’s rock albums and vocalizing the Jimmy Page guitar solos as her teenage neighbor got the Led out while working on his (muscle?) car. But back in that Milwaukee suburb in those days, people were still being cheeseheads about girls in bands and the yearning to play began to steadily build within her.
While in college, she caught Bonnie Raitt play live and the fire was lit. Thumbing her nose at all the naysayers, Devi strapped a hocked Fender Mustang on her back and embarked on that long blues road east to the city of the world and its sixth borough.
In New York City she hit her stride and paid her dues playing in every kind of rock band from punk to industrial, touring everywhere in America, Canada, and Europe.
Not even a global pandemic could stop her, so during the Covid lockdowns Devi began live-streaming performances from her living room in Jersey City, the collection of which evolved into the hit ‘Jamification Station’ bi-monthly broadcast, a full band line-up, and a 2022 live EP, ‘Jamification Station Vol. 1’. The self-produced, no-label release from an unknown artist spent that entire summer and reached #5 on the Relix/Jambands.com Radio Chart Top 30.
Her songs are as witty as they are catchy, a wink and a nod to the craziness of life. The lyrics reference everything from high art to street talk. The melodies will take you to all kinds of highs and lows. Her work has been featured on feature and indie films alike.
I avoid comparisons as much as possible, most especially with artists I admire, yet at rare times it is worth noting reflections of greatness. At its most sincere, Devi’s voice evokes the seemingly paradoxical girl-next-door easiness and hauntingly plaintive urgency of a certain pioneering rock goddess of the 70’s and 80’s, "Just like the white-winged dove, Sings a song, sounds like she's singing".
And her fretwork? There’s a reason why she gets those props she does and why music critics and that guy at the bar routinely reference her cover of Jimi’s ‘Crosstown Traffic’. Catch her live and she puts paid to any lingering doubts. The performances are ebullient and Devi lights up her fellow players like a natural born bandleader.
As an added plus, Devi is wise enough to not take herself too seriously, and a joyful playfulness permeates much of her music, both in her recordings and the live performances. Though no stranger to tragedy and heartache, she has learned well that life is way too short for the Boo Ship. And along the way, she learned the language of the blues.
She even wrote a book about it, ‘The Language of the Blues: From Alcorub to Zuzu’, “"[o]ne of the wittiest, bawdiest, most fascinating dictionaries ever," shouted Reuters, and featuring a foreword by Dr. John hisself.
Devi co-wrote ‘GOOBYE HOMEBOY’, the biography of legendary teacher Steve Mariotti, which recently fulfilled the San Francisco Review of Books’ literary wish of becoming a screenplay, by Devi herself.
And Devi also co-authored the acclaimed rock musician Jesse Malin’s new book, ‘Almost Grown - A New York Memoir’, which Malin will be reading from and signing at Little City Books in Hoboken on Wednesday, May 13th at 7 pm. Devi will be on deck to show her support and later next month hits the road again to play a double bill with blues rocker Katie Henry at John and Peter’s music club in New Hope, PA.
Even with all of her active literary projects, gigs across the tristate area, promotional events, and having a personal life, Ms. Devi took the time to answer Live Wire’s six stringed questions. Her answers appear unedited below.
(LW): You are a true road warrior, having crisscrossed the country and the state several times over on tour. What small tricks or rituals help you maintain a healthy balance between life on the road and life at home?
(DD): I practice yoga at home and on the road; it keeps my shoulders from seizing up after slinging an electric guitar around my neck, and keeps my head together. I have celiac disease, so I need a strictly gluten-free diet. I carry safe food with me like rice cakes, almond butter and Italian tuna in olive oil (my favorite!).
LW: (2 parts) a. In New Jersey, what is your favorite large stage to play? b. Again in Jersey, what is your favorite small room for intimate performances?
(DD): For a large stage, I enjoyed playing the big SoundWaves Theater at Hard Rock in Atlantic City recently. My favorite small room was Fox and Crow in Jersey City, which had a beautiful intimate vibe but has closed unfortunately. My band and I also love playing the wonderful house concerts available around Jersey.
(LW): (3 parts) a. What’s your favorite people-watching spot in Jersey City? b. Where’s the best place for an occasional glass of good wine or a shot and a beer? c. What’s your favorite JC landmark?
(DD): I like to sit by the fountain in Hamilton Park on a beautiful spring day. The walk up Jersey Avenue when everything is in bloom is so pretty. I love Van Vorst Park also for people-watching...and bird-watching. The Roxy in my Bergen-Lafeyette nabe is a nice spot for a glass of wine. They play great blues music on their stereo. My favorite JC landmark doesn't strictly belong to JC...the Statue of Liberty. I love to ride my bike through Liberty State Park and visit her.
(LW): What separates the girls from the women, so to speak, in the world of touring blues musicians and what advice can you give to an upstart guitar slinger?
(DD): I think what separates the girls from the women, so to speak, is...well, you want to be someone who works hard and doesn't waste time moaning that someone else got some bit of success that you want. Because you probably didn't put in the hard work that person did to achieve it. Bands like Gov't Mule, for example, built the consistent big audiences they have today by touring relentlessly in backbreaking conditions for decades.
For guitarists, my advice would be to explore your own voice on the guitar. Don't seek to copy or imitate anyone else. It can be good to learn another guitarist's solo, in order to expand your vocabulary, but always try to play from the heart and soul and let yourself be surprised by what emerges from your hands.
(LW): We all know JC needs more rock and blues clubs (and punk and jazz and folk and so on). Apart from grossly inflated rents for commercial spaces, what do you see as other possible obstacles to sustaining a more robust live music scene here like you’ve seen in other large and mid-sized cities?
(DD): Any small to mid-sized venue that opens in JC and support original, local artists would be a huge success. We need our own Maxwells! Pet Shop books really cool bands and is packed when it does! I think the biggest obstacle besides the rents are certain people who make harassing noise complaints when a venue tries to open. Move to the suburbs already!
(LW): In writing a book about the language of the blues, you simultaneously write a sort of history of the blues. When did you truly know you wanted to walk that long road of legends, and to unravel the musical mysteries that are the blues?
(DD): I fell in love with the blues when I went to see my first live music show at age 16 -- Koko Taylor with Son Seals on guitar. It knocked me out. Years later, I became curious about the origins and history of words like mojo and hoodoo. What languages were these words? Where did they come from? That led me to write my book so that I could delve deeply into figuring that out. Along the way, I was blessed to interview legends like Hubert Sumlin and Robert Jr. Lockwood who generously shared their insights.
The artists’ website: Official Website of Debra Devi
Cover photo by Arnie Goodman, courtesy Debra Devi
photo by Carissa Johnson, courtesy Debra Devi
Hit-and-Run Seriously Injures Pedestrian on JFK Blvd
Authorities Ask Public for Info About Saturday Morning Collision
The Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit is investigating a hit-and-run collision
in Jersey City that injured a pedestrian on Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Shortly before 8 a.m., the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a pedestrian struck in the area of John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Duncan Avenue. Responding officers located a 37-
year-old female victim with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The striking vehicle did not
remain at the scene. The victim, a Jersey City resident, was transported by Emergency Medical
Services to Jersey City Medical Center where she remains in stable condition.
The circumstances surrounding the collision remain under investigation by the Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at: hcpo.org/tips. All information will be kept confidential.
Reward Posted for Union City Fugitive
Luis "Luisito" Marin Sought for March 23rd Murder
The United States Marshals Service is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Luis Marin aka "Luisito." Marin is wanted for Homicide by the Hudson County, NJ Prosecutor's Office for First Degree Murder and Weapons Offenses.
Luis Marin is to be considered Armed and Dangerous.
Investigative Contact:
Task Force Officer/Detective Sean Kennedy (USMS NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force) - (201) 469-7703. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
Wolf among the sheep
Hudson County Family Services Worker Accused of Repeated Sexual Assaults of Jersey City Juvenile
Journal Square, 02/19 – A 46-year-old employee of the county Department of Family Services was arrested today on second-degree charges of Sexual Assault and third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Tejas Patel, of Woodbridge, was taken into custody by members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at their offices in Secaucus.
Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello this afternoon released information pertaining to the investigation and arrest of Patel, who in 2017 was arrested in Fairfield, NJ, for possession of child pornography on his work computer.
In Jersey City, Patel allegedly met his 15-year-old victim on the social media platform Snapchat and sexually assaulted them on multiple dates in 2024.
In the 2017 arrest, Patel’s fellow employees at Command Nutritionals in Fairfield, reported accidentally discovered suspicious icons on Patel’s work computer, which was eventually confiscated and inspected by Essex County authorities who were able to retrieve files of child pornography.
Patel is currently being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first court appearance.
Mall Brawl
Monday Night Fracas at Newport Center Involving Dozens
Newport, 02/17/26 - A large fight broke out in the area between the Newport Centre Mall’s east entrance and the Pavonia-Newport light rail station north platform last night, 2/16, between 7:30 and 8pm and involving over two dozen people.
Multiple NJ Transit Police Department units were dispatched to the scene, including its Emergency Services Unit, as well as an EMS ambulance. At least one Jersey City Police Department was also seen present.
Jersey City Live Wire arrived on the scene as at least three groups of people were being separated by NJTPD officers; the largest consisting of more than a dozen juveniles, and two smaller groups that included both adults and minors.
It is unclear who, if anyone, was injured or if any arrests were made. Statements were being taken by NJTPD officers and some detained individuals were being permitted to leave the scene one at a time.
Initial phone inquiries to Simon Malls (the owner operator of Newport Centre) and New Jersey Transit Police were referred to official email channels and we are awaiting responses to a request for information and details submitted at the time of this posting.
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