Derek Sherinian

Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966 in Laguna Beach , California) is an American keyboardist of Armenian descent. He appeared as a member of Dream Theater and Black Country Communion , the bands of Alice Cooper , Billy Idol , Joe Bonamassa and Yngwie Malmsteen and as a studio musician for Kiss .

Derek Sherinian at a concert with Billy Idol in 2006

biography

After Sherinian had learned to play the piano from the age of five years, he was in high school -age a scholarship at the prestigious Jazz - University School of Music of Berklee in Boston . There he was able to make some important contacts, including Will Calhoun , who was later involved in groups such as Living Color and Megadeth , and the better-known rock guitarist Al Pitrelli (including Savatage , Alice Cooper ).

At the end of Pitrelli, who was the producer of Alice Cooper at the time, Sherinian was placed in his band in 1989. This collaboration resulted in more than 250 concerts for the million-seller Trash , later he was hired for two new studio albums and also asserted himself as a live and studio musician with the band Kiss.

In 1994 he found a connection with the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Here he was involved in three albums (including only one regular studio album: "Falling into Infinity", 1997, Eastwest Records) and two extensive world tours, and was able to prove himself above all by playing the Hammond organ . In 1999 the separation took place after the band had found a successor in Jordan Rudess , whose musical ideas for the further development of Dream Theater coincided more with those of the other members.

As of 2000, Sherinian released seven solo albums with the participation of a number of high-profile rock musicians, including Yngwie Malmsteen , Zakk Wylde , Steve Lukather , Simon Phillips , Slash , Billy Idol , John Petrucci and Tony Franklin . A music video was produced for the single In the Summertime with Sherinian, Slash, Billy Idol, Franklin and Brian Tichy, a cover version of the play of the same name by Mungo Jerry .

In 2005 Sherinian had already worked with Billy Idol on his comeback album Devil's Playground , in 2006 the two then produced an album with Christmas carols, which was titled Happy Holidays . For Idol's most recent release, the best-of album Idolize Yourself , Sherinian wrote the song John Wayne with Brian Tichy and Idol , and he also played keyboards for the track New Future Weapon . Both were released as bonus tracks on the album.

From his debut album Planet X , which he had recorded with the Australian drummer Virgil Donati , a progressive fusion band of the same name emerged, in which the guitarist Tony MacAlpine was also involved, but who has since left. The current album "Quantum" only names Sherinian and Donati as permanent members.

In 2010 Sherinian teamed up with Glenn Hughes , Jason Bonham and Joe Bonamassa to form the group Black Country Communion ; the jointly produced album Black Country Communion was released on September 16, 2010. In August 2010, the members of the group had already started songwriting for the follow-up album, which they recorded in January and February 2011. It has the title 2 and was released on June 10, 2011. The third studio album Afterglow and a live CD were released in 2012. After an interruption because Joe Bonamassa left the band, Black Country Communion reunited in 2017 with the fourth studio album BCCIV.

A new project called Sons of Apollo was created in 2017 with former Dream Theater bandmate Mike Portnoy, among others. With the album Psychotic Symphony they were internationally successful.

Sherinian runs a music studio called Leopard Room in Hollywood Hills .