The Big Takeover, issue #59
Derek See
"Adobe Creek"
"What Derek See lacks in strong cover art, he more than makes up for in impeccable taste. In
addition to the drool-worthy collection of instruments listed in the liner notes, his tasteful
collection of acoustic- based songs, recorded on a 4 track reel to reel, recall Emmit Rhodes and
the work of Millennium, Sagitarius and related West Coast pop produced by Gary Usher and Curt
Boetcher. The stripped down, austere arrangements puts the focus squarely on Derek_s
excellent guitar playing and warm vocals. There may be an occasional dodgy harmony, but there
are some gorgeous guitar tones, strong song-writing and gooey analog tape compression to
warm the heart of any sympathetic listener. _Sun Comes Early_ sounds like the perfect blend of
Dylan, the Byrds and Rubber soul- era Beatles." -Corin Ashley
The Times, May 27, 2006
Singer/songwriter, Derek See, has always believed music was his destiny and has forged ahead
to that destination with his latest solo album "Adobe Creek."
"Music was never something I chose to do with my life," reflected the former region resident
who now resides in San Francisco. "Music chose me a long time ago."
Music has been around See since the womb -- his mother was also a singer/songwriter and his
stepfather was a working musician -- so his tastes and influences are deep and varied. From folk
and blues, to psychedelia and punk rock, See embraced all styles and has woven them into the
fabric of his own music over the years.
"The Beatles and Bob Dylan have probably been the biggest influences on me," he noted, while
adding such disparate artists to that list as Elliot Smith, Nick Drake, Robyn Hitchcock and Ray
Davies.
An exceptional respect and love for the Beatles songbook even prompted See to put together a
fun project called the Beatle Nerds during his last couple of years living here. It also featured
like-minded local rockers Chad Clifford (of the Crawpuppies) and Lou Samaniego (of Electric X).
See spent his childhood living just outside Los Angeles and relocated to the region during his
formative high school years, attending Lake Central High School.
During that time of personal upheaval, the transplanted teenager first began to dabble with
writing original songs on the guitar he had been playing since early childhood.
Many of those early compositions ended up on cassette-only albums released by his teenage
alternative rock group, I-Sharko, whose sound was psychedelic garage pop-punk.
In March 2005, See reclaimed his California roots and moved to San Francisco where the
atmosphere inspired him to make "Adobe Creek," a 12-song set of strongly melodic
acoustic-based pop-rock.
The album begins with "Hair From Your Face," which See describes as "a love song to both my
wife and to California."
It also includes See's first-ever political song, "Step Down," written not only with anger towards
the Bush administration, but with love for American lives lost in the Middle East, on 9/11, and in
last year's hurricanes
Aside from "Adobe Creek," See also recently recorded a four-song CD with his Bay Area
folk-rock group, Careless Heart. - Tom Lounges
The Big Takeover, issue #55
derek see
(Treble Damage)
This singer/songwriter¹s bio says his acoustic LP is influenced by Nick
Drake, Robyn Hitchcock, Elliott Smith, and The Kinks. "Yeah, right,"
I'm thinking. "Like he's really going to be on that level. He's probably
just a pale imitation." Nope! Way off! The Valparaiso, IN rocker, better known
there for his underground bands I, Sharko, Cosmic Slop, Resplendent and
Long Division, has in fact created a totally high-level work, heightened by
some splendid use of all six strings, that sounds nothing like the roll call
above but has some of their good qualities. He sounds like a less boyish
Nick Lowe mixed with Harry Chapin, and on songs such as "Three Seasons"
he picks and pulls and rings his strings in such an appealing drone, that
you barely notice his end-of-romance tale. He doesn¹t do poor acoustic
versions of rock songs; he manhandles the thing and uses its special timbres.
And rather than just be a way-personal folkie, he alternates that with
bright 1964 Beatlesque pop tunes like "Accommodate Two" and forceful
country-pop roots ditties like "Not Afraid to Dream." Teach me to be cynical!
(www.dereksee.com)