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Direct From Los Angeles… Seventies-Inspired Funky
Instrumental Jams From Former Gwen Stefani/Shania Twain
Bass Player and His 7-piece LA Supergroup.
Derek Frank- Bass
Anthony King- Guitar
Dan Fornero- Trumpet
Demian Arriaga- Percussion
George Shelby- Saxophone
Matt Hankle- Drums
Tom Amend- Keyboards/Flute
Derek Frank has built a career as a touring bass player, traveling
the world with such icons as Shania Twain, Gwen Stefani, Air
Supply, and many others. In the downtime on these gigs, he
discovered a private music world inspired by the cultural debris of
his 1970s childhood.
Years ago, the bassist-composer began to write the kind of music
he used to hear on 1970s TV and movies. Today, Derek is leaning
into the solo artist side of his career with his third solo album,
Origin Story, released March 25, 2024 on all streaming platforms,
CD, and vinyl. Origin Story boasts Derek’s strongest instrumental
jazz-funk compositions to date.
“I used to love the music in Dirty Harry movies, and in the Wonder
Woman and The Incredible Hulk television series,” the LA-based
artist says. “When I finally found my voice as a solo artist, I
decided to make that kind of music along with jazz and funk as
the main influences.”
Derek and his handpicked five (sometimes seven)-piece band
blend funk, blues, soul, jazz, southern rock, and seventies
soundtrack music into a genre all their own. Derek’s compositions
feature tight arrangements, slinky grooves, telepathic band
interplay, and restrained virtuosity where chops are implied but
not flaunted.
His solo work has garnered critical acclaim from such taste-
making outlets as Bass Magazine, Guitar World Magazine,
American Songwriter Magazine, Bass Player Magazine, Music
Connection Magazine, “Everyone Loves Guitar Podcast,” and
“The Bass Shed Podcast”, not to mention a Hollywood
Independent Music Awards nomination for Best Instrumental
Song. He’s earned favorable comparisons to Lettuce, Vulfpeck,
Cory Wong, Snarky Puppy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Karl Denson
(who guests on Origin Story), and John Scofield. Previously,
Derek has released Let The Games Begin (2009), and the aptly-
titled Eleven Years Later (2020).
Derek has fond memories of growing up in Pittsburgh, watching
1970s TV and movies, and 1980s MTV. He discovered his love for
the bass when he first picked one up off the wall of a music store
while he was waiting for a guitar lesson. Derek later formally
studied bass, and eventually moved to Los Angeles to be a
professional musician.
Since then, Derek has emerged one of the most in demand
touring and studio bassists in Los Angeles. He has worked with a
“who’s-who” of A-list artists, including the aforementioned Gwen
Stefani, Shania Twain, Shakira, Kelly Clarkson, Air Supply, Aly &
AJ, Victoria Justice, Dancing With the Stars, Daniel Powter,
Palaye Royale, Mindi Abair, The Boneshakers, Brian Auger’s
Oblivion Express, and countless others.
As the title implies, Origin Story is an instrumental homage to his
roots in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “I often reminisce about my
childhood, thinking of the David Byrne lyric: ‘How did I get here?,'”
Derek says. “The songs on this album loosely sketch experiences
of my early years, before I discovered my calling and current
profession as a bass player.”
In what’s become a tradition with Derek’s solo records, he opens
the 8-song album up with the funky, 1970s cop chase song,
“Demon On Wheels,” replete with wah wah bass. The name is
pinched from the late 1960s cartoon Speed Racer, and the
monster jam features Las Vegas’s Fat City Horns. The percolating
16th notes on “The Yinzer” tastefully touch on Jaco Pastorius, but
the overall compositional structure nods to the work of Karl
Denson (The Greyboy Allstars, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, the
Rolling Stones) who makes a cameo on the track. The slippery
fusion funk of “Paperboy Blues” recalls Head Hunters-era Herbie
Hancock, and features abstract Jimmy Herring-like jazz guitar
melodies.
Up next, catch Derek and his band performing in sweaty
nightclubs, at jazz & jam band festivals, and wherever live groove
music is showcased. You can also see Derek rolling through town
with major artists at a theater or arena near you—he’ll continue
pulling double duty as a hired gun. “I feel grateful to have my day
job as a session and touring musician,” he says. “But now I am
also focusing on using my bass playing in service of my own
music.”
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