Devin Townsend Clinic (Full) Axe Palace 

I could listen to Devin Townsend talk for hours

We are living in the Devin Townsend timeline people, always remember that when you need a lift.

It's weird, but I'm going through some really tough shit right now and listening to Devin talk has chilled me out more than I have been for probably a year. Strange where we find solace..

devin should release an album of just him talking while noodling on that drone. i'd buy that shit in a heartbeat.

I WAS THERE! When I met him, he was the sweetest person ever. Incredible musician, and incredible person!

0:00:00 Intro talk 0:04:42 Using Open C tuning for Writing riffs 0:11:05 Gear -- Q&A guessing what the questions are since there's no room mic AT ALL. -- 0:13:11 Mooer 'Ocean Machine' Pedal 0:15:57 The force of will of a lack of Vocal 'Technique' 0:19:00 That Obsessive Writing Process 0:22:30 The grueling making of Z2 0:27:26 Devs the writer 0:31:32 Allowing contributions, upcoming ideas 0:35:33 Working with Framus 0:37:18 Flipping the tire then flipping them the finger 0:39:37 Singers you would like to work with, sideprojects 0:42:12 Framus Ziltoid V 0:43:30 Vomiting lyrics and realizing you're gay 0:46:44 The Subconscious Preparedness of Unpreparedness, learning new skills 0:50:28 The Wall of Sound approach 0:52:47 Writer's cockblock 0:55:42 Transcendence Writing process, learning to Delegate 1:00:16 The Doucheplomatic Final say 1:02:40 Picking the Setlists 1:04:16 Inception of Retinal Circus 1:05:50 Copping a feel as a Bassist 1:08:21 Ignoring a Wolf 1:09:49 Flushing out the Creativity 1:11:13 Covering Ween 1:12:21 Huffing a flute while taking a shit 1:14:40 Deconstructing the Infinite Fractals of a Cheeseburger 1:17:42 A lesson learned from failure, The Improbable Swedish Improv project 1:21:34 Final words and the mandatory guitar clinic noodling

Devin is a gift it's just that simple. Visionary, Virtuoso, Empath, Entertainer (x10000) .... he knows he's all of those things but still seems to keep his feet soaking in the humble tub... and that is a rare thing. And the fact that he's one of the funniest people in music.... just makes his engagement with others that much more rewarding. Great video.... get him to do another some day. 👍

Am I the only one that enjoys watching these interviews just as much as listening to the music?

This guy is so naturally got damn funny...I am 53 years old and I wish I would of picked up on his brilliance decades ago. He has to be the biggest talent at what he does. I am equally blown away from his musicianship and his mind blowing range as a vocalist.

i am am electrician it is 3 am, why i am watching ? well Devin is authentic, this dude speaks from experience and the heart and he is so humble, and funny, i just vibe with his calm state, and this man got me good with the joke

Man, he's hilarious. I almost forgot, haven't been watching his interviews in a while. What a dude

Devin has a voice for radio, jeez. I'd listen to him talk on radio forever...

Damn, I asked this guy a question that I didn't know I needed the answer to until 7 years later.

One of the few people I could sit and listen to for hours on end. Such a great guy man, his music just tops it all off

This is the best clinic I've ever heard

He should collaborate with Steven Wilson..that would be massive..

You know it´s a Q&A with Devin Townsend when the Q is not audible but it doesn´t matter what-so-ever since the A is always most satisfying by itself.

1:18:20 Not quite "everybody." On the 25th October, 1993, about a month away from turning sixteen, two of my buddies and I went to see VAI play. Devy was . . . _unexpected,_ to say the least, but the three of us dug him *_HARD._* The show was in a smallish theatre / city hall kind of a building and had only sold enough tickets to fill up the floor seats. The upper level was empty. Devin, mid song, clambered up the speaker stacks on stage right, used them as a launchpad to gain access to the upper level's guardrail, swung there for a moment - still singing - before springing over into the empty seating, sprinting all the way around the upper half circle - *_still singing_* - and in one incredibly badass move, leapt back over the rail, landed on the speaker stacks at stage left, bounced back down to the stage and finished the song like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. Steve just watched the whole thing go down with a resigned expression, wincing a little as his frontman soared through the air, fifteen feet above the stage. Our tiny, teenage minds were blown right out of our numb, ringing ears. A few years later, when I heard that the very same lunatic who had thrilled me that night was putting out a record by his own, new band, I went straight down to our city's Virgin Megastore and made them order it for me. My mind never recovered after the crushing it got from "Heavy as . . . " and I've been a loyal fan ever since. I *_STILL_* think that nineteen year old Dev screaming over Vai's music is fucking wicked cool. Everyone who might disagree is wrong.

Boy, someone should have just recorded the super mellow guitar he was playing throughout and put that out as an easy listening record. Super nice chill stuff.

Townsend is the Socrates of Metal

Love his sense of humor

Didn't knew anything about Devin Townsend (except maybe that I've heard his name in a far, far away past), but I really appreciate his honesty , sense of humour, and (in a complex way) his 'simplicity' (down to hearth and the capacity to laughing at himself, a lost art!). * sorry for my bad English!

I spit out my drink at 46:08.. I did NOT expect that hahahaha

Devin is one of the coolest human beings on Earth. Have always and will always dig what he does. Very cool dude.

I watched until 2:15 and simply clicked the Like button, grabbed a cup of tea, and sat back, because I already knew this was going to be fucking awesome!

Was expecting epic playing, received epic enlightenment. Holy fucking wow! A trip with Devin is music, wisdom, and comedy.

The fact that he's getting deep into conversation totally focusing on that, but also letting his muscle memory play the guitar in the background is incredible.

Someone's gotta give Captain Quicksilver on the right a high-hat petal. Heel, 2, 3, 4.... Heel, 2, 3, 4...

This man is entrancing.

I honestly don’t know how anybody hates this guy, whether you like his music or not . He is a rare talent with a vocal range above anyone else, with the exception of Mike Patton

this was so damn wholesome and honest. Sweet

This guy is so truly cool. Calm, funny, humble but also somehow larger than life. Watching the interview makes me like his music even more

Best clinic ever

I was there for this, had a front row seat! it was awesome, Dev is such a cool guy. he answers a couple of my questions in this too!

What a fucking genius, and such an amazing person !!!

Devin is such a genius and a one of a kind guy that he managed to do the greatest guitar clinic ever whitout actually playing the guitar.. good luck beating that

This is by and away the most amazing "clinic" I've ever seen. The folks attending must have had the greatest time. Devin Townsend noodling on guitar and telling stories! Fuck yeah, sign me up!

The man is scary intelligent and interesting 🤔 very aware and in tune, no pun, with himself and the world. These days i get inspired by listening to musicians describing their creative process as much as I do a musical performance

Lucky to have this guy around

Biggest respect to the musicians who went waaaay to deep into drugs and found a way to get out of it and still going, doing great music...and stay alive

19:00 he just starts playing a soundtrack to his clinic, what a guy XD

videos like this are going to make Devin rich!

For anyone curious, the song he plays the Ziltoid guitar on during the Royal Alber hall show is "March Of The Poozers". He talks about the guitar starting at about 42:12.

The way he responds to questions from the audience with "Yes Sir?" is so humble!

There is more humanity pouring out of Devin than any other musician I can think of.

I really want to get my hands on one of those signature guitars just to jam on it a little bit. It's such a great shape but it looks so comfortable to play.

Some guitar clinic. Haha. Still awesome. He’s so articulate that the lack of guitar talk was totally fine. What an interesting musician and person.

One of the things I've always liked devin is his balance of seriousness and funny side.

I know you can't 'record' the session again, but It would be great if you could add subtitles so we know exactly what questions he is being asked.

Yes Devin; I too am wired to be a banana

This guy can make a full album while entertain the crowd.Amazing.

It's been one week getting to know this guys work (happy accident). And this was wonderful too. Had me smiling all the way into work - better motivational content (perfect mix of cynicism, humour and sheer inspiration) than many. Life masterclass....

I just got home from seeing Devin live in Dallas. The dude kicks ass, no two ways about it. He's still coming down from a cold, yet he still sounded great even though he was sure he'd sound like crap. And talk about class, I got to meet him before the show and he could not have been nicer and more patient with me as I nervously blabbered my admiration for him as a musician. Definitely would go see him live again.

what a good genuine dude. Love that Framus guitar too

So excited for the symphony!!!! My gosh so excited.

He's always like a good mate, you've always had in your life! Honest, sincere and even funny! Great combo as we all know. Amen

this is fantastic, thank you for posting

I keep coming back to this video, just to listen to some ideas over and over again, it's one of his most inspiring talks documented on video. As other people say, I could listen to him talking about random deep subjects for hours. Love the way he articulates his ideas.

7:18 - a wild Zim appears!!

I was at this clinic. It's way cool to play it back and revisit the choice comments! Nothing at Axe Palace but great guitars and amps... and vintage video game consoles that don't require quarters! Supa-sick!

As a creative person, I can relate to Devin saying he "focuses on one thing to the exclusion of all others". When hours literally seem like minutes trying to reach a certain goal within any project. And there's a certain "soul's satisfaction" when that project is complete, especially if it's successful - not necessarily to everyone else, but to yourself. As a professional graphic artist and photographer or as an amateur guitar player, I would love to do something with this guy. Or just hang out in a forrest...

This was a blessing upon my life

This was absolutely incredible!

Could listen to him for hours! Fantastic guy.

Such a down to earth dude great clinic

It's really awesome to see a guitar player surprised by the chord he is playing, as his subconscious mind works things out better than his conscious. I found the same thing this year as I did National Novel Writing Month. I wrote the book without planning and was surprised at what happened next. It's a great process.

Loved this! Devin is the man!

Brilliant! Thank you for this! :D

this man is so wonderful

Immensely entertaining, insightful, reassuring and inspiring. Devin is incredible.

I loved every minute of this. Even if I'd heard it before.

Thanks for posting this. That was one of the best guitar clinics ever, that had basically only 3 minutes of actual guitar playing (apart from the ambient chords that Dev was playing during the Q and A). Gotta love Devin. Humble, down to earth, funny guy with a fantastic sense of humor and some great stories. I could listen to him for hours. P.S.: thanks for not censoring any of the "strong language" ;-)

Total musical GENIUS!

I would love to just spend a day hanging out with this dude. Great clinic.

such a wonderful guy and a talented artist. I LOVE YOU DEV

This, is the most genuine and informative clinic. Thank you Fishman and Devin

The best advice for musicians and entertaining as usual, what a legend!

Devin is a truly gifted musician and human being. Thank you for all the music and insights you give us.

Just discovered that guy few weeks ago, he’s friggin awesome!!

what a refreshing person!

What a good man! Down to earth, totally genuine dude. I have just tons of respect for this guy.

I can't get enough of him, his music, his talking, his jokes. Best musician and the nicest hu-man, stay awesome Devy and I can't wait to see what you do next :D

SO MUCH CHILL

Like all stuff Devin - fun and amazingly informative. Love it.

Did not expect a beautiful and authentic clinic on psychology and philosophy. A welcome surprise.

saw him on the 5th in S.F.......amazing......genius

I love this dude haha he’s just an all around great guy, great musician and a strong spirit. Absolutely great clinics every time!

he has such a warm personality!

Such a Badass and yet so nice

I am so thankful to have seen this. Devin has so much humor, and is so grounded in his atmosphere...and real, and deep, and caring as he gets closer than he is far out...I feel it...and I can trust it. I love his music so much, but I admire his perspective even more. There are so many amazing life lessons in this talk...thank you Devin, thank you Fishman Music.

The fact that he randomly plays those sweet notes while talking at around the 20 minute mark, brings me joy for some reason.

46:05 is the best part of this clinic hands down.

So amazing. I've never heard anyone verbalize how I feel about writing. last year I wrote so many songs I'm proud of and I tell everyone that I dont know how I wrote any of them. One moment Im noodling around and 4 hours later I've written a song, and it would just happen. but since then, I studied music theory and can write songs that are a million times better than what I use to do. But I have not written a song Im proud of in about 8 months. and I really feel its cause I think too much now. before there was no thinking. sounds would come out and I'd just play other sound that felt went together. now, I'm trying to harmonize or using specifics progressions, way too much conscious thought. If I do get on to an idea, I only get half way till I start over thinking it. So I have hundreds of good half written songs from this year, but nothing that really inspired me. so after listening to this I'm just gonna try hard to get lost again and just let the sound and emotions talk, not the theory.

Oh my god, that is the most actual description of his symphony I've heard so far, I had no idea it would be so...Devin! I guess I shouldn't be surprised :P

Dev is such a talent and such a great guy.

This is the most wonderful man ever.

I don’t have an ounce of talent myself, but I can’t help but be in awe the great personalities in the biz. Dev here can play the shit around many and I unfortunately have trouble grasping DTO prog stuff. Yet watching him speak about everything about being a musician or even just joking around, puts me in a mesmerized state and I wanna worship him, so to speak. I could listen to him go on like this all day, even at parts where I don’t get it. He’s just that good. Play on, my good man Dev.

Wow i want this open c tuning now. Devin is awesome

He really loves enya, he mentions them every time he does an interview. Also that forest green mesa is pretty fekkin cool

most insightful and thought provoking vid, love dev. will 100% check these pickups out. fishman rock. that guitar price thought. ouch. rock on in life \m/