The Melville-based band Derwood is about to release its debut album.
The writing process for this album consisted of Derwood’s song ideas mixed with the shredding lead guitar of Jeff Muller.
“All the songs on the album I wrote myself other than the main riff in ‘Cruel Angel’ which a buddy Butch Molnar from an earlier band wrote… and ‘Highway to Hell’,” explained Christian Dales (known musically as Derwood) the bands front man.
Derwood said he writes based on the germ of an idea.
“The process for me usually starts with a catchy guitar riff, then if I’m lucky I will find another that flows with the first one,” he explained. “Then I’ll work on some lyrics and if I enjoy playing it enough then I will take it the rest of the way to a finished product.”
It is a process Derwood has repeated often, with the best gleaned for the inaugural recording.
“I’ve written hundreds of songs over the last 15 years and all my favourites are on this album,” said Derwood. “In the future I look forward to writing with the new band, I just needed to get these songs out there and I’m glad I did.”
Derwood & The Renegades formed in April of 2017, with Derwood – taking on the lead vocals and guitar. He is joined by Melville’s Kyle Kosedy on lead guitar. Vern Nixon is on bass, having grown up on a farm between Rocanville and Wapella. Dylan Shipowick plays drums, having grown up on a farm just outside of Yorkton.
“Our first show was at the 2017 104.9 The Wolf’s battle of the bands where we played about five songs off the album,” said Derwood. “We later learned the rest of the new album so we could also play them in a live setting.”
Derwood said the band draws from a range of musical backgrounds.
“The bands influences are broad and honestly are not confined to a specific genre although for the most part we enjoy heavy hitting rock and roll from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, such as Judas Priest, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Ratt, the Foo Fighters and Big Wreck just to name a few,” said Derwood. “The style of music we play reflects what we listen to, our style would be described as heavy rock and roll mixed with classic metal.”
Derwood said the album is one he likes a lot.
“When I look back on this album I’m most proud of the fact that I finally finished a quality album that can be listened to over and over again,” he said. “Nowadays it seems that music is a very disposable thing but I wanted to create a rock album that would last and hold up through time, so check back with me in 20 years.”
As for a favoured song, Derwood picked ‘Walk Away’.
“I put it there because I love it,” he offered, adding it is “high energy rock and roll and it introduces the album quite nicely I thought. If you don’t like ‘Walk Away’ then chances are you won’t like the rest of the album.”
