Monday, July 10, 2017

Interview with The Derek Woods Band


Describe your band, telling a little about the band.
We tend to define our current sound of the band as a Singer-songwriter fronted Rock n' Roll & Jam Band.  Reminiscent of an energetic 60's-70's lyric driven rock n roll vibe while incorporating a new age jam style atmosphere.

What are your names? / Who plays what?            
Derek Woods (Vocalist, Acoustic guitarist, Harmonica)
Joshua Carns (Lead guitarist)
George Hilf (Keyboardist, Mandolin)
Chris Schaney (Bassist)
Justin Landers (Drummer) 
 
Have members played with any other bands?  Some of us perform live with other projects when not on the road performing with DWB.  It keeps it fresh and keeps the wheels continuously turning, as well as adds extra excitement to coming back to jamming together after a break. 
I (Derek), do a lot of acoustic performances when not with the full band, I also perform sometimes with my family band with my father and brother, The Woods Family Band.   Joshua Carns has a jazz-fusion instrumental group, The Rainbow Ends.   Everyone in the band stays pretty active and commonly sits in with other groups live. 

Do you write your own music or perform covers?  Has it always been this way?
Our show mainly revolves around our Original music, but depending on the performance we usually throw in some special cover songs from artists we enjoy and put our own twist on the songs. 

What year did the band form?  Starting as the release of Derek Woods solo recordings then morphing into the full band for live show, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. 

Where is bands home?  The band relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in 2012, where we now call our home base. 
 
What inspires your music?  Lyrics; Music that hold a positive message to contribute to the world, and feel good that gets your feet moving.
 
How often do you rehearse?  Between shows we play, We hold weekly rehearsals. We do double time work to prepare for certain large events though.  

What type of gear do you use?  Taylor Guitar, Hohner Harmonicas, Sennheiser microphone  

Do you utilize a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that?     
I handle all of the management, promotions; bookings for the band.  I do my work currently under the name Into The Woods Management.  We have built a strong team around DWB though through the years, including a Public Relations agent, a professional photographer, a professional recording studio, etc. 
 
What are your songs about?  Phases of Life, Love, Happiness, Sadness, Irony and Realization.  
 
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics?  I write the lyrics and the foundation idea of the songs, then  for the songs we decide to do with Derek Woods Band, I bring the songs to band and we all work together to make the best arrangement for it.  Everyone writes their individual parts to contribute their expressions into the song.  

Do you compose in a certain environment?  There has been certain environments that have worked well for writing, and the songs just pour out of me onto paper like a waterfall.  Some environments have been uninspiring.  I guess stimulating environments are the best, I say "I guess" because the absolute perfect spot to right is still unpredictable.   
 
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs?   Every band through the years building up plays their fair share of different rooms and to different audiences, we've been fortunate enough to sell out or at least fill out the venues we play more often than not.  

What ages are most of your concert attendants?  We've always aimed to appeal to and interest all age groups with our music.  

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary?  We have some of the Derek Woods Band live show staple songs that we let stick around for most shows, but we try to make each show a unique performance and rotate our set lists. 
 
Do you have a regular place you play live often?  We have regular venues & promoters that we work with when we are in a specific area but we perform both on the East Coast & West Coast.  

What was your first gig like?  My very first gig was 15 years ago.  I wrote a song for my fathers wedding and performed it solo. Also performing was a list of great musicians including Commander Cody known for the song "Hot Rod Lincoln".  
 
What was your latest gig?  Next week Derek Woods Band performs with The Werks, Fletcher's Grove in Pittsburgh, PA at The Rex Theater.  

Have you had to cancel a gig?  We try not to cancel any shows if it's in our power.  I think we've only had maybe 1 cancellation in the last 3 years. 
 
Where have you played live this year?   We performed at venues, music festivals on the east coast. We also did a West Coast run which included a featured 4 set performance at the famous Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California for the Gladiator Rock n Run event.  

Where do you plan to gig the coming year?  Derek Woods Band plans to have a great year of traveling in 2017 to support our upcoming album titled, "TASTE".  
 
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale?  Albums, Shirts, Stickers, Photography, and more.  

Where can people buy your merchandise?  Merchandise can be purchased at any of our concerts or through our social media sites.  

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days?  I don't think it's as common for people to listen to full albums back to back anymore.  It's a shorter attention span now a days when it comes to music.  Each song should be seen as more of a single in my opinion, seems to have more success overall.  That's just my observation though, I still buy albums and sit down to listen to it front to back when they come out.  

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this?  Album sales have went down, hurting the major record labels.  All this means is we need to continue to grow and invent new ways to succeed.  Either we keep up or be left behind.  

Do you have any role models or idols?  There are many artists and role models who influence me in many ways.  Some major artists that influence my writing style are probably Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Grateful Dead  

Why do you think they exist?  Their timeless music.  Iconic appearance.  Continue to stay relevant. 
 
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today?  There are so many new great acts coming out right now, the list is huge and I'm constantly scouting out new music.  I know the rest of the guys do the same thing. 
 
What have been your biggest obstacles?  Being seen; being heard.  Bringing our visions to reality on stage. 

What advice would you give other bands or artists?  Work hard and it will all come back to reward you in mysterious ways.  You will eventually get back what you put in.  Make investments into your career and keep dreaming.  

How do you get psyched for a gig?  Drink Hype Energy Drink from our sponsor, hang with the band before we go on stage and rev each other up.  I commonly say the band before each show "Best Show Yet".
 
Do you have any new material?  I am always writing and bringing new music to the table.  We are working right now on a big batch of new songs to be released in 2017 as well.  

Social media addresses?
Facebook: /DerekWoodsBand
Instagram: @DerekWoodsBand
Twitter: @DerekWoodsBand  

What do you think of my work?  We love what you do and we encourage others to follow and support your work!  It's a pleasure to do this interview with you.