On any given weekend, whether it be downtown or on the Strip, cover bands of all genres can be heard filling the area with nostalgia, and The Divines are a prime example.
Members Kenny Divine, drummer; Jimmy Divine, singer; and Nikky Divine, singer and synthesizer, all use the stage name Divine and met through various church functions and family members.
“I thought [Nikky] was an interesting sort of fella,” Kenny said. “I met [Jimmy] in all of his luscious goodness shortly thereafter. We’ve been fairly inseparable ever since. They’re like the older brothers I never had.”
Members started The Divines to get additional gigs when their other projects failed. When Nikky has a vision, you listen to everything, and it works like it is supposed to, Kenny said.
“We wanted to be one of the 10 percent of bands that don’t play a Luke Bryan song,” Jimmy said. “Kenny had always been a drummer who could sing. At the time, we still needed a drummer, so we fixed both issues by sticking the drums right in the front.”
The members said they agree that the bar scene has its ups and downs, but it’s rewarding to play because of the crowd’s excitement. Playing in bars has also forced them to become better musicians and to communicate with crowds more effectively on and off stage, Jimmy said.
Each member has a slightly different expectation of what the crowd will see when attending a show.
“Expect three guys that enjoy themselves,” Nikky said.
Kenny, on the other hand, said to expect a singing drummer, a lot of flailing about on stage and very fashionable young gentlemen.
“We are just a group of guys that want to play great music and get folks moving and smiling, and, if the mood strikes Kenny Divine just right, he will be shirtless,” Jimmy said.
Jimmy and Nikky said when playing live, they love watching the crowd respond to [Kenny’s] performance. Kenny said he loves “existing as [himself] and losing [himself] to the beat.”
The Divines are most looking forward to the good time that will accompany them, band members said.
“What’s not to look forward to?” Jimmy said. “They are great friends of ours and have really helped encourage us as musicians and performers. I love playing there.”
They are especially excited for this weekend because of A-Day. The atmosphere of campus changes and is the closest thing to football season that they will have for a while, Nikky said.
“The one mistake most bands make is that they take themselves too seriously,” Jimmy said. “At the end of the day, we are a cover band playing other people’s songs. We aren’t trying to be the Beatles or anything. At the end of every night, if people had fun, we’ve done our job.”
The Divines will play at Rounders on the Strip on Friday at 10 p.m.
