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Derek Sherinian

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Derek Sherinian
Sherinian performing with Billy Idol in 2006
Sherinian performing with Billy Idol in 2006
Background information
Born (1966-08-25) August 25, 1966 (age 58)
Laguna Beach, California, United States
GenresInstrumental rock, progressive metal, progressive rock, hard rock, jazz fusion, neo-classical metal
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, producer
InstrumentKeyboard
Years active1982–present
LabelsInsideOut, Magna Carta
Websitewww.dereksherinian.com

Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains.[1] He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994–1999, is the founder of Planet X and also one of the founding members of Black Country Communion.[2] His solo albums often feature a variety of prominent guest musicians, including guitarists Slash, Yngwie Malmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Lukather, Joe Bonamassa, Billy Sheehan, Zakk Wylde and Al Di Meola.

Sherinian has distinguished himself by his aggressive "guitaristic" approach to his keyboard style. He has appeared on numerous keyboard magazines covers across the world, including the November 2011 issue of Keyboard Magazine, which declared Sherinian a "Keyboard hero for a new generation". He has also been called the "King of the Keys" by Guitar World magazine and the "Caligula of Keyboards" by Alice Cooper. His main musical influences include Elton John, Van Halen and Jeff Beck.

Biography

1966–1999

Sherinian was born in Laguna Beach, California of Greek-Armenian descent. He began taking piano lessons at age five in Santa Cruz, California.[3][4] After his junior year at Soquel High School, he received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he was the roommate of future Megadeth guitarist and Trans-Siberian Orchestra musical director Al Pitrelli.[3][5] He has since studied with other keyboard players, including Mitchel Forman, T Lavitz and Russell Ferrante. His first professional gig after leaving Boston was with ex-Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies drummer Buddy Miles. Sherinian got his first big break with Alice Cooper in 1989 to tour in support of the platinum selling "Trash" album.[3] After touring with Alice Cooper, Sherinian played offstage keyboards on the 1992 KISS Revenge tour.[3]

In 1994, Derek replaced Kevin Moore in the progressive metal band Dream Theater, originally just for the band's promotional tour for Awake. On February 1995, however, he was made a full-time member of the band. He recorded the albums A Change of Seasons (1995), Falling Into Infinity (1997), and Once In A LIVEtime (1998) with Dream Theater before being replaced in January 1999 by Jordan Rudess due to creative differences and turmoil within the band.[5][6][7][8] Sherinian remained on good terms with the band, and reunited with Dream Theater for a one-off concert in 2004, which was recorded and released as When Dream and Day Reunite (2004). The band's performance of "Metropolis Pt. 1" featured an extended improvisation between Sherinian, Rudess, and guitarist John Petrucci.

During the late 1990s, Sherinian released two albums with the progressive rock supergroup Platypus, which also featured Dream Theater bassist John Myung, Dregs drummer Rod Morgenstein, and King's X guitarist Ty Tabor. The group released two albums, When Pus Comes to Shove (1998) and Ice Cycles (2000), before disbanding in 2000.[9]

1999–present

Since 1999, Sherinian has recorded seven solo albums, featuring performances by numerous highly acclaimed musicians.

Sherinian's first solo album, Planet X (1999), written and recorded with Australian drummer Virgil Donati, led to the formation of a band of the same name (Planet X). Guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine was recruited to complete the band. Sherinian has stated that his intention when forming Planet X was to create a group of musicians that "played their instruments so fiercely, that they would strike fear in the hearts of all musicians".

In 2001, Derek teamed with drummer Simon Phillips and guitarists Steve Lukather and Zakk Wylde to record Inertia,[10] followed by Black Utopia (2003). For Black Utopia, three new faces joined Sherinian’s group: bassist Billy Sheehan, rock guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, and jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola.[11][12] With respect to this fusion-influenced lineup, Sherinian stated:

I have always been a fan of jazz fusion, but from the perspective of a rock player crossing over to jazz, not vice versa. I think that is how Jeff Beck (who Sherinian stated he hopes to play with in numerous interviews) approached his classic instrumental records and I like to follow in that path.[3]

Sherinian also calls the album "a lot darker and heavier than [Inertia]".[13] In Japan, the cover of Black Utopia was altered to remove the cross in the title without Sherinian's consent; Sherinian has commented that the cross "meant nothing" and was added for aesthetic purposes.[13]

Sherinian extended further into the fusion realm by collaborating with guitarist Allan Holdsworth and violinist Jerry Goodman (formerly of the Mahavishnu Orchestra) on Mythology (2004).[14] In addition to another appearance by Phillips, other musicians appearing on this recording were Zakk Wylde, John Sykes, Steve Stevens, and Tony Franklin.[3][14]

Since 2002, Sherinian has toured with several well-known artists, including Billy Idol and Yngwie Malmsteen.[15] Derek's fifth solo album, Blood of the Snake (2006), features contributions from Idol, as well as former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, John Petrucci of Dream Theater, and Brian Tichy; Phillips, Franklin and Lukather make return appearances.[16][17] A video for a cover version of Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" was released along with the album.[18] Sherinian also worked with duduk master Djivan Gasparyan on the song "Prelude To Battle" on the release, written for his great grandmother who survived the Armenian genocide.[citation needed] In 2009, Sherinian released his sixth solo album, Molecular Heinosity, again featuring Zakk Wylde, Tony Franklin and Brian Tichy. Later that year, Sherinian also performed a one-off acoustic gig with Alice In Chains to launch their Black Gives Way To Blue album.

In 2010, Sherinian became a founding member of supergroup Black Country Communion with Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, and Joe Bonamassa.[2] releasing their eponymous debut. 1n 2011, Sherinian performed on a second Black Country Communion record titiled "2", followed with a nine week tour of the United States and Europe. In September of that year, Sherinian released his seventh solo album titled Oceana, reuniting with Simon Phillips and Steve Lukather, and featuring a guest appearance from BCC bandmate Joe Bonamassa.[19] In January 2012, Sherinian performed at two shows with Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan, and Tony MacAlpine (PSMS) for the Guitar Center Drum Off, and Sabian Live. Sherinian recorded with Black Country Communion on their 3rd studio release Afterglow in June, followed by a five week tour of Europe with Billy Idol. PSMS is currently on a tour of Europe and Asia. Sherinian will be guesting with Black Label Society for their "Unblackened" acoustic set next January in Los Angeles.

Derek Sherininan performing with Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and Tony MacAlpine at De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands (Oct. 21., 2012)

On September 13, 2012 Glenn Hughes and Derek Sherinian met Bako Sahakyan, the president of de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and organized a concert there.[20] After his visit to Artsakh, Sherinian was placed on the Azerbaijan black list due to conflict between the two countries.

Influences and collaborations

In a 2000 interview, Sherinian cited his early keyboard influences as being Jan Hammer (Mahavishnu Orchestra), Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake & Palmer and The Nice), Rick Wakeman (Yes), and Elton John.[4] Other influences include guitarists Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Beck, and Eddie Van Halen. Sherinian enjoys co-writing material with fellow musicians, and often finds that he writes better material with drummers.[21] Sherinian cites Van Halen's guitar playing as having a direct influence on his aggressive unique approach to keyboards in terms of technique as well as tone; his unique signature lead patches contain numerous elements of guitar sounds such as distortion, harmonics, and palm-muting, eventually leading to playing a gig with Eddie for a party at Van Halen's home in 2006, of which Sherinian said "It was the highlight of my career, it was completely surreal." Sherinian's work with noted Toto guitarist Steve Lukather on the 2001 solo CD Inertia was cited by Lukather as "probably my best recorded work in my whole career. Great record! I'm very proud of it!".[3]

Sherinian's collaborations with top musicians were featured in a 2007 article in Guitar World magazine, where guitarist Zakk Wylde offered "People want to play with him because he’s that good. He can play everything from the easiest licks on a piano to the most complex Beethoven sonatas with ease." Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci added "...Derek -considering the fact that he’s heavily into guitarists and rock music, his history, and the range of all the great guitarists he’s worked with —plays with a fire unheard of from most keyboardists.”[22] Sherinian explains that he enlists a variety of guitarists because he "[does not] think there is one guitarist who can cover all the styles featured on [the] albums." Sherinian often tailors songs for specific guitarists, such as Holdsworth and Wylde for "Day of the Dead" (off Mythology);[22] in this respect, he seeks to take certain aspects of genres and make them "collide in an eloquent way".[13]

Equipment

A Clavia Nord Modular

Derek Sherinian currently uses and endorses Korg and Moog keyboards.[23][24] Sherinian was presented the G2 Modular synth serial number 001 by Clavia representative Bengt Lilja in January 2004.[25] As a Korg endorsee, Sherinian was one of the first artists to adopt the Korg Trinity keyboard series in 1996. In collaboration with KORG sound designer Jack Hotop, they created Sherinian's signature "guitaristic" lead sound (the "Monster Lead", made famous on the Dream Theater album "Falling Into Infinity") on the Trinity, as well as other, more "modern" and "aggressive" keyboard patches, owing to his fondness of guitar tones and technique. Derek is currently using the KORG Kronos in the studio and live. Derek also uses the Hammond B3 organ; he thinks that "every rock keyboardist should have a B3 and overdriven Leslie as part of their sound."[26]

Derek is also known for being one of the first keyboardists to use vertical keyboard stands, influencing a new generation of keyboardists. A more detailed list of equipment can be found at Sherinian's Web site ([1]).

Sherinian currently uses the following gear: John Bowen Solaris, Korg Kronos 61, Moog Voyager XL, Clavia Nord Lead 3. His vintage gear includes: 1977 Yamaha C9 Conservatory Series Grand Piano.Moog Taurus Pedals. Mellotron 4000D. A 1974 Fender Rhodes 88-key Suitcase Model, 1973 Wurlitzer 200 Electric piano and a 1962 Hammond B3, Crumar Multiman, Hohner Clavinet D6 two Leslie 147 speakers, all modified and maintained by Ken Rich Sound Services. Sherinian runs his Moog Voyager and Wurlitzer through two Marshall Vintage Modern 100 watt heads, and two 4 x 12 Marshall cabinets. Custom pedal board and rack designed by Dave Friedman of Tone Works. Sherinian owns Beachwood Manor Studios, located in Burbank, California.

Selected discography

Information courtesy of Allmusic.com.[27][28][29]

Solo albums

With Dream Theater

With Planet X

Black Country Communion

With Alice Cooper

With Platypus

With Yngwie Malmsteen

With Kiss

With Billy Idol

A complete list of projects is at Sherinian's website and the Allmusic credits page.

Movie appearances

References

  1. ^ "Bravewords.com > News > ALICE IN CHAINS - Keyboardist Derek Sherinian Reports From Hollywood LIstening Party". bravewords.com. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
  2. ^ a b "Producer Says BLACK COUNTRY Debut Is 'Promising To Be Phenomenal'". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Derek Sherinian - Bio". DerekSherinian.com. Retrieved 2007-06-12. Cite error: The named reference "SherinianBio" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "Derek Sherinian Interview". ProgSheet.com. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  5. ^ a b "Derek Sherinian - Overview". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  6. ^ "Mike Portnoy FAQ". Mikeportnoy.com. Archived from the original on 2006-12-13. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  7. ^ "Dream Theater FAQ". Archived from the original on 2006-05-24. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
  8. ^ "Dream Theater returns to roots". Deseret Morning News and FindArticles.com. 2006-03-10. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  9. ^ "2001 Archives". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  10. ^ Wildran, Jonathan. "Inertia - Overview". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  11. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Black Utopia - Overview". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  12. ^ "Former DREAM THEATER Keyboardist Completes Work On New Solo CD". BlabberMouth.net. 2003-02-13. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  13. ^ a b c "Interview - Derek Sherinian". RevelationZ Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  14. ^ a b "New DEREK SHERINIAN Solo Album To Feature Guest Appearances By ZAKK WYLDE, JOHN SYKES". Blabbermouth.net. 2004-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  15. ^ "Billy Idol to Release First CD Featuring New Music in More Than 10 Years; Rebel Rocker Offers DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND on March 22; `Scream' Goes to Radio Early January". Business Wire and FindArticles.com. 2004-12-06. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  16. ^ Prato, Greg. "Blood of the Snake - Overview". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  17. ^ "DEREK SHERINIAN: More Solo Album Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  18. ^ "DEREK SHERINIAN's Video Featuring Slash Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-07-27. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  19. ^ ""Oceana" the new CD out on September 5". dereksherinian.com. 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  20. ^ The President of Artsakh meets the famous rock musicians, Slaq.am
  21. ^ Jan van der Vorst. "Derek Sherinian: Interview 2004". Dutch Progressive Rock Page. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  22. ^ a b Lalaina, Joe. "King of the Keys: Derek Sherinian". Guitar World. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
  23. ^ "Clavia instrument users: Derek Sherinian". Clavia.se. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  24. ^ "Korg.com: Derek Sherinian". Korg.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  25. ^ "Derek Sherinian receives Nord Modular G2 #001!". Clavia.se. 2004-01-20. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  26. ^ "Chat with Rod Morgenstein and Derek Sherinian of Platypus". Artist-shop.com. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  27. ^ "Derek Sherinian Discography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  28. ^ "Dream Theater Discography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  29. ^ "Planet X Discography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2007-10-01.

Multimedia

Primary guest musicians
Discography
Associated acts

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