Album Notes

With his solo debut, Derek See takes a sharp left musical turn from what is his norm.

It's definitely a departure from anything that I've done in the past," he said. "As far as original music, the bands that I've been in have always leaned more toward underground rock or garage rock. What I'm doing now is mostly acoustic-based."


After spending his childhood living just outside of Los Angeles, See moved to the region when he was in high school, graduating from Lake Central High School in St. John, IN. Reared in a musical household -- his mother also is a singer and songwriter and his stepfather is a musician -- See was weaned on '60's rock and pop as a child before discovering punk as a teenager. He also got his first major taste of acoustic music while working at a record store in his teens.

A guitarist since he was a child, See began writing songs when he was a teen.

"There really wasn't much deciding," he said. "It was always around me. It seemed kind of logical. Music, I think, kind of chose me."

Over the years, See -- without a doubt one of the hardest-working musicians in Northwest Indiana -- had immersed himself in the region's music community, before moving to the San Francisco area in 2005.

For his solo album, See drew on a variety of acoustic and acoustic-minded artists, ranging from the Kinks to Nick Drake to Robyn Hitchcock to Elliot Smith, to name just a slight few.

"Their music is so personal, it's so timeless," he said of the above-mentioned songsmiths. "To me, it's interesting because it's like looking into someone's diary. It's very vulnerable, and musically, its melodies are very, very strong. There's something about an acoustic singer and songwriter that's always been appealing to me."