| The Sounding Board © ARTIST OF THE MONTH May 2009 |
Derrick McCandless
Derrick is also a seasoned musician and a wonderful songwriter and skillful guitar player. He is a luthier and makes beautiful guitars (in his 'man cave'). These instruments are for sale. If you are interested, drop him a line. A little more about Derrick... In the middle of a bench seat in a 1976 green short box 4X4, a 9 year old boy is crammed in between rifles, shotguns, fishing rods, bad coffee and bologna sandwiches. Tammy Wynette, Chet Atkins, and The Black Watch Pipe Band wait their turn in a fake snake skin box. A moose is spotted, the truck stops and with the looming words, “Stay in the truck!”, this 9 year old boy is left listening to the same 8 track cassette over and over and over again. This was Derrick McCandless' introduction to music. A former piper, Derrick taught himself how to play guitar after coming to the conclusion that bagpipes required too much maintenance and way too much alcohol. Derrick joined the Airforce in 1985 and moved to PEI. Kitchen parties and lobster boils washed down with local moonshine and fiddle music planted the seeds for ending Derrick's military career and starting his song writing career. Performing in PEI, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, Derrick explored his Irish roots as lead singer and multi-instrumentalist with The McEamondys, and Austin's Pocket. The CD “Middle Of The Road” was Derrick's first solo effort as a songwriter and led to a partnership with The Sir Jazz Trio as the eclectic and popular band Black Sheep Outcast. Irritating the “Celtic Police” across northern BC, the Blacksheep played at the Midsummer Folk Festival (Smithers, BC), Kispiox Folk Festival (Hazelton, BC) and headlined at The Music Mountain Gathering (Prince George, BC). In 1998, Derrick became one of thirteen songwriters chosen for the BC Festival Of The Arts with mentors Stephen Fearing and Caitlin Hanford. When Caitlin expressed interest in one of Derrick's songs, he made the decision to take song writing seriously and released his second CD “Third Ave Tour”. He has opened for Clive Gregson, Rick Bockner, David Essig, Gerry Barnum, Alex Houghton, Susan Aglukark and many others with whom he has built great friendships. Derrick has performed in many venues across Canada including The Kipawo Arts Centre (Wolfville, NS), Black Swan Tavern (Toronto, ON), Rasputin's (Ottawa, ON) and The Jumpin' Jack Fest (Chetwynd, BC). He has been commissioned by CBC (Mugalor, 2001), (Hedy's Lament, 2001), and his song Don't Take Me Fishin' was featured on the National CBC Program Gone Fishin' along with Taj Mahal's Gone Fishin'. Derrick McCandless now lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is once again reunited with renouned guitarist Shawn Nelson and vocalist Brad Connell in newly formed 3 Man Period. Instrumentation: Derrick McCandless plays McCandless guitars and plays through Ashdown amplifiers. Discography: Middle of the Road 1999 Canadian songwriter "...one of the best we have... amazing and his lyrics are huge..." Derrick McCandless is one of those artists whose performance leaves you feeling certain that you’ve known and loved his music for years. Media and booking inquiries: Website: www.derrickmccandless.com |
Derrick McCandless is a very generous and compassionate person which is reflected in the kind of work he does. He volunteers at the