INTERVIEW: The Devil Wears Prada's Jeremy DePoyster Opens Up About Loss of Dave Shapiro + Daniel Williams, Discusses Latest Album

On Tuesday (June 9), Jeremy DePoyster joined Loudwire Nights to look back on the recent release of the Devil Wears Prada's ninth studio album, Flowers.

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

"Personally, I try and be really transparent in the lyrics that I write," DePoyster shared with Loudwire Nights' Chuck Armstrong.

"Obviously I've been friends with Mike [Hranica] for 20 years, we're close personal friends beyond being in a band together. And so, I kind of understand where he's coming from with the lyrics. Sometimes if you're too honest, which we are, you are like, 'Whoa' — but you're not really there to have your own experience."

DePoyster admitted that even as deep as they get in their lyrics, he and his bandmates strive to remember that a big part of what they do is entertain.

"People pay so much money to come to a concert, I try and push my stuff away and be like, 'This is everyone's night out, how can I let them have a good experience?'"

Obviously, though, a significant part of that experience is how fans connect with the transparency and honesty found in the Devil Wears Prada's songs.

"I think that's beautiful," he expressed.

"To be a producer and a consumer of the same product, I think is awesome. I need music to help me with my life and getting through things, [but] it's not like some somber thing where I'm like, 'Oh, this is going to help somebody.' But when people say that to me, I know exactly what you're talking about because I feel that with this other song. It's validating."

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On the other side of things, DePoyster said there are still plenty of negativity when the Devil Wears Prada releases new music, but he's gotten to a point where it doesn't bother him anymore.

"I've been in a band that's called the Devil Wears Prada for 20 years, any kind of criticism, I've heard infinitely," he admitted.

"I've toured with Gwar. I've toured with Slipknot and Slayer. I've done everything, so sometimes someone on a metalcore thing will try and hurt my feelings. I'm like, 'You can't get to me, bro.'"

What Else Did the Devil Wears Prada's Jeremy DePoyster Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• Remembering founding member Daniel Williams and agent Dave Shapiro a year after they tragically died in a plane crash: "I'm doing okay. I mean, obviously tragedy is horrible and awful. I've kind of pre-gamed trauma a little bit. I lost my mom in a really horrible way in 2020 and it basically had been a four-year process into that. You kind of just develop grieving skills, but it was tough getting back onstage and just thinking about all those things. David had put together this summer tour with a bunch of bands that not only are we friends with, but that him and many of his coworkers had worked with. And we kind of were able to just dive into everything together, fighting through it. Dave and Daniel were probably two of the hardest working people I've ever met. I wouldn't be sitting here talking about the Devil Wears Prada without either of them. Daniel started this band and fought for us to be relevant in any capacity. And then Dave picked us up very quickly and kind of gave us a career. I just try to keep pushing forward to honor their legacies and do things they'd be proud of."
• What runs through his head when he thinks about the band's debut album, Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord, turning 2020 in 2026: "I try not to feel old. I'm not even 40 yet, so I have some time, but I think it's just really cool. I wish people could go to the suburbs of Dayton, Ohio, these rural suburbs that we all came from and come to the local scene that we came out of and realize how improbably this dream was for us. I don't even know if it was a dream. It was kind of just a snowball that kept happening. I think we got really lucky that we were friends with A Day to Remember and they had a really similar experience and we were the same age and we were kind of just crafting this stuff out of nothing, this new movement. When I think about what spawned from Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord, I'm just like, that's crazy. I was literally in high school when we were writing those songs."
• What he attributes to the longevity of the Devil Wears Prada: "I think a big part of it is just separation of self from the entity. We always have kind of preached that the Devil Wears Prada is its own thing. And every decision we're trying to make is whether it's better or worse for that thing outside of your own personal experience, sort of like an ego death type of thing. And especially when it comes to having two singers that do very distinct, different things — I cannot do what he does and he cannot do what I do and we have a great respect for each other. It's just making the right decision at any given time."

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below or the Video at the Top of the Page

Jeremy DePoyster joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, June 9; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.