You say you're tired of songs about the thug life, lyrics about lady lumps and whatever it is that Justin Bieber is singing about? That's all right mama and papa. The Derivatives do not traffic in the latest ideas about rock and roll. When they play Rye Town Park on July 27, expect the classics. And won't that be a relief.
"We play rock and roll," says David Kalson, a daytime public relations man, who blows sax and flute at night. "We start, literally when the music was invented, with Fats Domino and other New Orleans artists and we go right up to REM and Green Day. Not a lot of cover bands go so far back and can also be modern."
The brainchild of now-retired Wall Street traders, guitarist Mike Giliberto and bassist Jon Barry, this bunch of (mostly) Rye residents have been rocking the suburbs since, "94 0r 95 or 96" says Kalson, before cracking up. "I joined about 4 years ago, so I don't know the exact date. But say, a long time!"
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As for their ages? Everyone in the band, which also includes singer and keyboardist Carol Manire, vocalist John Van Bomel and drummer Adrian Delgado, is old enough to have heard the songs they play when they were first on the radio. They've had gigs from The Larchmont Club to Milton Point. They've seen a million faces and they've rocked them all.
Not easy in a world that's rocked by the twin forces of Hip-Hop and The Recession.
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"We use to do about a gig a month," says Kalson. "Lately, with the economy and kids being more interested in rap, it's slowed a bit. And of course, sometimes we get edged out by a deejay. But I think that's starting to change again. There's something about classic rock that is timeless. I have a daughter, who's in her mid-20s and she loves the Velvet Underground. So, I know great bands and their music survive, whatever the current fashion."
So, what can you expect to hear when you come to their concert next Tuesday in the park?
"We start with Chuck Berry stuff. And we do things like 'Barefootin,'' 'Knock On Wood' 'Birthday,' and go right up to 'Born To Run' and beyond. You know, the canon!' says Kalson.
The sax player says this is a result of a pretty rigorous rehearsal schedule. Although where that takes place is up to the kindness of strangers. Or, at least, the forbearance of neighbors. Or the vagaries of middle-aged parenting.
"We've been known to rehearse at my house, but we've also been know to get kicked out, due to noise or lack of space. We also had a space at another band member's house, but their son is moving back home and they're turning that room into an apartment for him. So, mostly, we just use a local studio. It costs money, but you can make as much noise as you want and they can't tell you to leave."
Now, you may wonder about the name? Does it have a double meaning or what? It sure does, according to horn man (and background vocalist) Kalson.
"Well, since Mike worked on Wall Street, we'd been looking for a good, punny name for the band. We were going to call ourselves The Bailouts. That would have been pretty good. But Derivatives is just perfect. Obviously, that pertains to us being a cover band. But also, 'derivatives' pertains to the toxic aspect of Wall Street. These items helped create the mortgage crisis that started a few years back and is still going on."
As far as Wall Street goes, Mike Giliberto is one of the good guys. And fortunate, too. He's recently retired and seems set to play his guitar full-time.
"I started playing guitar because of my exposure to the British Invasion," he says. "Eric Clapton really influenced my playing. I don't really write stuff, but playing with The Derivatives allows me to pay homage to the kind of bluesy style I like. I'm also in another band called Winston Wolfe, where I get to stretch out and play Allman Brothers and Grateful Dead covers. It's all about roots music for me. And whatever band I'm playing in, there's a similar mission. I really want to make sure, that whatever happens in music, that this kind of classic rock endures."
