Derek Sherinian

[ColdFireYYZ]

I'm thinking of picking up Oceana, what do you guys think about it?

Its the only DS solo album that I have (other than Planet X's Quantum and the BCC stuff) and I really like it a lot. I love fusion so its right up my alley.

[wolven74]

OIALT is an awesome live album.
And when it comes to live playing, I think he totally owned Kevin.
He also owned Jordan Rudess on the "when dream and day re-unite" cd/dvd. 
What's cool with Derek is that he knew how to take a step back and leave some room to the guitar, unlike Jordan who's always trying to be the 2nd rythmn guitar player.

I regard all those statments as factually incorrect.

+1

[Adami]

OIALT is an awesome live album.
And when it comes to live playing, I think he totally owned Kevin.
He also owned Jordan Rudess on the "when dream and day re-unite" cd/dvd. 
What's cool with Derek is that he knew how to take a step back and leave some room to the guitar, unlike Jordan who's always trying to be the 2nd rythmn guitar player.

I regard all those statments as factually incorrect.

+1

Well I agree that he "owned" Kevin live and I agree with the last statement.

[wasteland]

Too bad. He started so good with the first two statements... 

[timothyL912]

Hi Everyone,

I followed DT a ton from about 1992-2002 (in terms of going to a LOT of shows, the ytsejam mailing list, trading boots on audio cassette, being listed on the original DT FAQ as a contributor, etc.).

So not that I am some DT expert, but I was around a lot during those days ...

I attended the first two shows of the AWAKE tour in 1994 including Derek's DEBUT gig with DT
in Providence.    I remember being floored when we all found out that Kevin was leaving the band.
Everyone feared that it could mean the end of DT ...(just when things were getting great!!) ...

So after the Providence gig I hung out with my friend on the side of the venue waiting for the members of DT to come out to the bus or van or whatever it was....  (I was a Petrucci fanboy bigtime in those days) ...Derek was one of the first to come out to talk to us.   I ended up having a solid 30 minute conversation with him.    His comments mirrored what he said in the 2005 20th anniversary that the music was so different than what he was used to.   I remember he said that learning the parts to Caught in a Web took forever .... I also (stupidly) asked him if they would be playing Scarred on this tour (as it was the greatest song in the history of the world).   He didn't know the tune (having taken the gig as essentially a touring "side man" on keyboard -- wasn't required to know the entire DT universe like the rest of us did) ..... He asked me if Scarred was a good tune  - and I said YES YES YES!   (not sure if they ever ended up playing it live!).

I think the eventual hiring of DS as a full-time member was partially because he was a good personality fit with the band and part because of his street cred (Kiss, Alice Cooper) and pop
sensibility at a time when management / label was pushing DT to be more commercial ... (ie: bringing in Desmond Child to help with songwriting, etc.) ... And on balance DT probably saw DS as a fair compromise to choosing keyboard player from the group called "Everyone on earth besides Jordan Rudess"  ....   Don't forget that DT auditioned many players after Kevin left the band  - jordan included...and they even played a half-gig at the Foundation Forum event in CA WITH JORDAN (this is pre Sherinian) ....  In the end, for whatever reason (probably $$$ and schedule), jordan decided to stay with the Dixie Dregs .....  I can remember most everyone on the mailing list being completely stoked about the possbility of Jordan then joining the band (in 94)....and being so disappointed when he declined the invite .....
     So DS, for as talented as he is, was always DT's 2nd choice for the position ...
     As soon as the first LTE album came out and John and Mike had another chance to work with Jordan in the studio the writing was on the wall...Derek's time was finished ...
     I think most all of us had grown to like and appreciate DS as a player and as a person (as much as you an get to know a person in a band from afar) ....  Some were sad, some were ecstatic, but I think everyone was completely psyched to finally have Jordan R. in the fold as a full time member of DT ...
    It does kind of make you wonder though if JR initially saw DT as a job that wasn't going to pay enough $$$ or be worth it -- and what happened to change his opinion in the intervening years between 1994 and 1998.   That being said, I love JR...

Sorry if this is rambling - I am writing this while dealing every 30 seconds with a crying 5 year old!

[timothyL912]

And to answer the actual question posed in this thread (as opposed to my rambling above).

I loved Derek's work in DT.  For what they were trying to accomplish with FII, DS was a great choice at the time.   

I am also naturally a big fan of Kevin.   But how can anyone compete with the sheer wizardry, mastery and chops of Jordan Rudess?   The man is a virtuoso - there is no other like him..... To me, he is the ultimate DT Keyboard player.   

[rumborak]

I don't know. It's a bit like setting up a good basketball team. Having a whole team full of huge players sounds good on paper, but then you find out that each player approaches the game the same exact way. The homogeneity that JR (and now MM) bought them really locks them hard into their current style. I doubt we'll see any significant advances in their style in the future.

[nikatapi]

I don't know. It's a bit like setting up a good basketball team. Having a whole team full of huge players sounds good on paper, but then you find out that each player approaches the game the same exact way. The homogeneity that JR (and now MM) bought them really locks them hard into their current style. I doubt we'll see any significant advances in their style in the future.

Great post. 
I completely agree with you, i've always said that some "creative conflict" does good to a band's sound. That is why i believe KM was the best DT keyboardist, he was not exactly on the same page with the others in terms of musicality, and that provided an interesting dynamic.
And that is why i hoped they would take someone who would give a different edge to the band when Mike left, and specifically Virgil.
Of course MM is a great guy and incredible player, it just seems that they will continue to play it safe musical wise.

[ZirconBlue]

In the end, for whatever reason (probably $$$ and schedule), jordan decided to stay with the Dixie Dregs .....  I can remember most everyone on the mailing list being completely stoked about the possbility of Jordan then joining the band (in 94)....and being so disappointed when he declined the invite .....


<snip>

    It does kind of make you wonder though if JR initially saw DT as a job that wasn't going to pay enough $$$ or be worth it -- and what happened to change his opinion in the intervening years between 1994 and 1998.

With his family situation, Jordan didn't want to embark on the extensive DT world tour at that time.  I don't think it was money that was an issue, but just that the Dregs schedule fit better with his family life at that point in time, something you can perhaps appreciate if you have a 5-year-old child to look after.

[Olexandr]

Awesome player that have awesome unique style, both musically and visually. What he added to DT was superior, love the guy!