Band:

Derek Sherinian

BiografieIt’s rare to find an equal mix of style and substance – especially somewhere as famously fantastic as Hollywood – but keyboardist Derek Sherinian has balanced the two admirably during his 16-year professional career. While he has performed alongside some of rock’s flashiest showmen, Sherinian has also proven that he’s more than capable of trading licks with many of the most respected musicians on the planet.

Born in Laguna Beach, Calif., a picturesque town an hour south of Los Angeles, Sherinian began playing his family’s piano at age 5. A few years later, he was introduced to the music of Elton John. “Right around the time Goodbye Yellow Brick Road came out, I started reading the credits on records, and I found out that Elton played electric piano,” Sherinian remembers. “That really interested me, because I didn’t know that you could amplify a piano to play loud enough with the band.”

During his junior year of high school, Sherinian was offered a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, Mass. Enjoying its “completely concentrated musical environment,” he jammed with the likes of Will Calhoun, who later went on to play bass with Living Colour, and future Megadeth, Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra guitarist Al Pitrelli.

After three semesters at Berklee, Sherinian felt he was ready to test the waters of Los Angeles. There, he was soon introduced to Buddy Miles. The drummer of Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsies was in the process of assembling a band to tour R&B clubs across America, and he invited Sherinian to audition. “We jammed, and he ended up digging my playing,” he recalls. “It was my first time working with a well-known musician, but to this day, I don’t think I’ve played with anyone that has more of a gift. He’s a total natural.”

From there, Sherinian got a phone call from his old Berklee buddy Pitrelli, who had just been named musical director of the Alice Cooper band. “They were looking to hire a keyboard player and drummer, so Al called me right away,” he recalls. “I went down and auditioned, and it all worked out.” He subsequently joined Cooper on the road in support of the multi-platinum album Trash, performing the first of some 250 shows with the legendary shock-rocker on – quite fittingly – Halloween 1989. (Also debuting with the group at that show was drummer Jonathan Mover.)

Soon after completing another tour with Cooper – this time in support of Hey Stoopid – in 1991, Sherinian learned that Eric Singer, Cooper’s then-drummer, had been hired by Kiss. When it came time to tour in support of their Revenge album, the band needed an offstage keyboard player. Singer suggested Sherinian. “The first thing Gene said to me was that I looked like Paul Stanley and Cher’s love-child,” Sherinian says, laughing at the recollection. “Then Paul asked me to play the opening chords of ‘Love Gun,’ and I nailed it because I’ve heard that song since I was 12. Afterwards, Gene came up and shook my hand, and that was it – I was on the Kiss tour.” (Alive III, recorded during the Revenge tour, became Sherinian’s first major label release.)

"Derek´s CD (Inertia) is probably my best recorded work in my whole career. Simon got the best outta me. It´s just me playin’ thru a 1/12 Marshall with my guitar, no efx, just a little delay from the board. Great cd! I´m very proud of it!" -Steve Lukather, 2001

After the tour wrapped up, Sherinian pondered switching from keyboards to guitar. “I’d always loved the instrument, so I figured it would be a perfect time to start practicing,” he says. “I played for a whole year and I got to a certain point, but then I heard about the Dream Theater audition, so I figured I’d better start practicing keyboards again. But I think my time spent on guitar helped give me a certain understanding of the instrument and the ability to communicate my ideas to other guitar players.”

Sherinian was told about the Dream Theater keyboard vacancy by former Cooper bandmate Mover, but he admits he “didn’t know much about the band going in. When I first heard the material, it was terrifying, because I’d never played stuff that technical before. I flew out to New York and went into the audition, and I felt like I did OK. I didn’t feel like I did great; I figured it could have gone either way.”


The band thought otherwise, naming Sherinian as their new keyboardist just in time for the kickoff of the Awake tour in October 1994. “I think it’s pretty funny that for someone who’s never played in a progressive rock band before, my first progressive gig was the biggest one at the time,” he says. “When I was a kid, I would have never thought I would be in that kind of band.”

After four years, three CDs and two world tours comprising more than 200 concerts, the relationship ran its course and Dream Theater hired a new keyboardist. “At the time, I was disappointed with their decision, but it’s now clear that they did me the biggest favor in the world,” Sherinian says. “I now enjoy complete creative control in my releases, which I think is invaluable. I couldn’t imagine having to turn in dailies to some record company guy and have to listen to his opinions and comments.”

Sherinian had already begun recording his first solo album, Planet X, when he parted ways with Dream Theater. “I never in a billion years thought that I would ever be a solo artist, but I was approached by Magna Carta Records to do a solo record and I loved the freedom of not having to compromise,” he says. Following up on a recommendation, Sherinian recruited Australian drummer Virgil Donati to perform on the album. The chemistry was immediate, as the two wrote the “Atlantis” trilogy during their very first jam session.

The Planet X album, released in 1999, led to the formation of the group of the same name, as Sherinian and Donati decided to expand on the concept by recruiting guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine. Now a true band, Planet X issued their debut recording, Universe, in 2000; it was followed by MoonBabies in 2002. (That same year, Live From Oz – recorded during the band’s inaugural Australian tour – was also released.)

Although Sherinian values his experiences with Planet X – he says the group’s goal remains to be “the sickest instrumental band in the world” – he also has not forgotten his rock roots. “Planet X kind of developed into a wild, out-of-control musical beast, and there are certain things, sounds and grooves that I just cannot do in Planet X,” he says.

In that spirit, Sherinian joined forces with drum legend Simon Phillips (Jeff Beck, Toto) to write, co-produce and perform on his second solo album, Inertia, released in 2001. The album also featured guest spots by guitarists Steve Lukather (Toto) and Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society), along with bassist Tony Franklin (Blue Murder, The Firm) and violinist Jerry Goodman (Mahavishnu Orchestra).

But just as Planet X (the album) was the foundation for Planet X (the band), Inertia became the building block for Black Utopia, Sherinian’s third – and fiercest – solo record. In addition to the returning members named above, three new faces joined Sherinian’s all-star team: bassist Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Talas, David Lee Roth) and legendary guitarists Yngwie Malmsteen – with whom Sherinian toured in 2001 – and Al DiMeola. Three tracks were co-written by drummer-turned-guitarist Brian Tichy, who Sherinian met during a stint on the road with Billy Idol in 2002.

Much of the album was recorded at Sherinian’s own Leopard Room studio, located in the Hollywood Hills. Considering that he has released eight full-length recordings in the last five years – three solo albums, two with Planet X, two with all-star quartet Platypus and one with Platypus offshoot Jughead – the studio is always busy. That’s just the way Sherinian likes it. “All I’m trying to do is create music that moves me first,” he says. “I hope other people dig it too.”
Quelle: http://www.dereksherinian.comDiscografie2004 Derek Sherinian - Mythology

2003 Derek Sherinian - Black Utopia

2002 Yngwie Malmsteen - Attack!!

2002 Jughead - Jughead

2002 Planet X - MoonBabies

2002 Planet X - Live From Oz

2001 Derek Sherinian - Inertia

2000 Planet X - Universe

2000 Platypus - Ice Cycles

1999 Derek Sherinian - Planet X

1999 Platypus - When Pus Comes To Shove

1998 Dream Theater - Once in a LIVEtime

1997 Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity

1997 Pat Torpey - Odd Man Out

1996 Alice Cooper - Classicks

1995 Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons

1994 Alice Cooper - The Last Temptation

1993 KISS - Alive III

1993 Brad Gillis - Gilrock Ranch
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Reviews

Blood Of The Snake  - Cover
Derek SHERINIAN, der ehemalige Keyboarder von DREAM THEATER sowie Mastermind bei so ambitionierten Progprojekten wie PLANET X oder PLAYTUPUS unterstreicht mit seinem neuen Solowerk "Blood Of The Snake
Molecular Heinosity - Cover
Zehn Jahre ist Solo-Keyboarder DEREK SHERINHAM schon nicht mehr bei DREAM THEATER, dabei kam es mir eigentlich noch gar nicht so lange vor.
Mythology - Cover
DEREK SHERINIAN, seines Zeichens Keyboarder (Dream Theater, Platypus, Planet X) mit langjähriger Liveerfahrung (unter anderem auch schon mit Kiss und Alice Cooper unterwegs) legt nun seinen dritten So
Oceana - Cover
Das letzte Solowerk von Tastenvirtuose DEREK SHERINIAN „Molecular Heinosity“ aus 2009 war für mich inhaltlich schon eine relativ größere Enttäuschung.