Highly acclaimed keyboardist DEREK SHERINIAN (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, BILLY IDOL, ex-DREAM THEATER) released his seventh solo album, Oceana, on September 5th via Mascot Records. He is featured in a new interview with Jeb Wright at Classic Rock Revisited, an excerpt is available below:

Jeb: You really do put a lot of thought into your solo albums.

Derek: "In this music business, I’ve been a sideman, I’ve been a bandleader, I’ve been a band member and I’ve been a solo artist. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I have to follow rules, or be part of a democracy, or I have to follow someone else’s vision. The one percent of this business where I get to be exactly the way I want to be is on my solo records. I take a lot of pride in them and I take a lot of time in their outcome. I want to work with the very best musicians and I want to put my best foot forward because in the end, I am going to be remembered for this work more than I will be remembered for being a sideman."

Jeb: Would you consider your solo efforts to be categorized as ‘musician’s music’?

Derek: "I guess so because there are no vocals on there. A person who listens to vocal music is probably not going to be into my records as much as an aspiring musician. If you want to call it that, then that is okay, I’m fine with that."

Jeb: I have to ask, are there any guitar players that you’ve not worked with, other than JEFF BECK, who you would love to work with?

Derek: "I’ve said it a million times, it’s Jeff Beck [laughter]. If he has not heard of me yet then he will hear of me by the end of this press campaign. All I ask is that he gives my record a fair listen and then he will know, at the end of it, that I’m the perfect support player to come play with him, or to have him come in and play on one of my records."

Jeb: I saw Jeff last year and you would fit in great. Simon (Phillips/drums)would fit in as well.

Derek: "My dream is to either do a tour with Jeff Beck and have Simon on drums, or have Jeff Beck play with Simon and I on one of my solo records – have him play on the whole thing."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Ocena was produced by Derek Sherinian and Simon Phillips, and features the following special guests: Joe Bonamassa, Steve Lukather, Simon Phillips, Steve Stevens, Tony MacAlpine, Doug Aldrich, Tony Franklin and Jimmy Johnson.

Produced by

Sherinian states, "This record is heavily inspired by vintage Jeff Beck across the board in the composition and the first class musicianship. Simon and I worked very hard on this record."

Oceana features the following nine songs:

'Five Elements'

'Mercury 7'

'Mulholland'

'Euphoria'

'Ghost Runner'

'El Camino Diablo'

'I Heard That'

'Seven Sins'

'Oceana'