Derek Day has unique style. Whether it’s the way he writes music, the way he dresses, the silence he likes to keep in his head when he’s in writing mode or the way he lays down complicated vocal melodies with seemingly ease. Honestly – it’s just him.
The first time is heard his new song ‘Another Day’, my interest level peaked almost immediately. I thought – okay, these are good sounding drums and I like the guitar strokes. Then – the song explodes briefly and this guys voice is doing some crazy, cool stuff. By the time Derek goes octave with his vocals, I am completely hooked. Throw in a couple of complete stops and some impossible high register vocal runs and I am ready to tell people about it. It can’t any better than this, right?
Enter the guitar solo.
Wait – who the hell is this again?? I literally said this out loud. Forget telling people about him, I have to do some further listening. So I go to YouTube and go down a path of watching him play in Santa Monica at the promenade. Dude draws a crowd for good reason. He is an insanely good guitar player and may be just as good a showman as a guitar-slinger.
The next phase begins – I’ve gotta get this guy on the phone and talk about his music.
Derek tells me he used a wide array of guitar gear in the making of songs that came out of this session. Derek tells me, “We jumped around a lot. I think, well I used a Fender guitar. A Stratocaster. I used a few different guitars. A Strat here, maybe a Fernandes for like little overdubs. I brought in my little Fender Bass Breaker, it’s like a really cool Twin kind of amplifier. Ten inch speakers. I think I used a Marshall as well.” He continues, “I felt like it was important to kind of mix some sounds in there, to get, like, different warm things. I might have used a Vox because you have to use those AC 20’s. They just scream at you!”
I also learned that he recorded it at Secret Asian Man Studios in Los Angeles with Walter Ino. Ino has played with a countless number of musicians and bands such as The Baby’s, Survivor and has been playing lead guitar for Eagles of Death Metal.
I asked Derek about playing in Santa Monica and wanted to know about some of his experiences there. Derek says, “I started when I was like, twelve, thirteen on the promenade. I just always wanted to do it. When I was a little kid, five, I saw Adam Ho, this Asian kid who shredded on the promenade. So when I finally learned guitar, around nine (years old), I was like, I can do this! I picked it up pretty quick and I learned all my favorite songs. I wanted to try it out in front of people. I wanted to make some money and buy Star Wars action figures. That’s all I wanted to do. So I did it like from thirteen, non-stop every Saturday and Sunday from maybe thirteen to seventeen.”
Talk about getting thrown to the wolves. But here’s the thing. Derek’s story is so unique I would expect nothing less than him being the one doing the throwing. He has that special passion that won’t allow him to do it any other way, than the way he has done it. I am definitely excited to see what the next few chapters look like. I’m sure the soundtrack will be amazing.
You can hear my entire conversation with Derek Day by clicking on one of the links to your favorite place to listen to podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe and make sure you check out Derek’s social media pages for his latest music news.
-Tommy Marz
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