Something Interesting

So today I thought I'd break from the usual posts about the strife I'm having with the music / publishing business and my usual moans about the many fuckwits that infest this industry and give you all something interesting to read. It's been ages since I posted an extract from the book, so just to keep you reading this drivel (seriously, I'm impressed you stick with it) here's a short section from the chapter that covers the Awake era tour:

One of the more visible changes on that tour was the outlandish appearance of Derek Sherinian and his luridly decorated keyboard riser. Prior to Sherinian becoming a full-time member, he cut a bashful figure on-stage, preferring to dress plainly with little interaction with the crowd. But following his permanent appointment as Kevin Moore’s replacement, a new Derek Sherinian began to manifest itself. Wearing flashy and unbefitting clothes, he festooned the keyboard area with lava-lamps and a rug and even admitting himself that his stage area had the appearance of a “cross between an opium den and a bordello.”

“I knew it would help elevate me and make me more famous,” says Sherinian without a hint of irony. “It was a very calculated move. I knew during this transformation that a huge portion of the fans would resent the flamboyance but I knew that another portion would dig it. I wanted to step out from being the guy quietly playing keyboards in the corner and make a bit of a mark. The key to that was that I always had to make sure that the playing was there to back it up.

“I remember we were rehearsing at S.I.R studios in New York for the tour,” he continues. “I’d purchased these four lava lamps, and a television that only showed static which I’d set up at the rehearsals before they got there. So I had this huge production set up on my keyboard riser. First thing Mike said was ‘That’s fucking great – I love it!’ Then I think Petrucci didn’t say anything. After we had started playing and started doing some shows, I added this seventies, white shag pile carpet on the riser with it and I had incense going too. But it was a total anomaly on stage because nobody else had anything on there and I had this full production. I remember a couple of weeks later, Petrucci came up and said ‘Derek, you know, all this stuff up here looks a little bit out of place.’ So I just suggested we put them all over the stage to add a bit of a vibe and some colour. So if you notice, towards the end of the tour, the lava lamps extended all the way back and across the stage. Portnoy even put the same white shag pile carpet under his riser. So it was spreading a little bit!”