Derek Sherinian

Derek Sherinian of Planet X has recently added a Nord Lead 3 and a Nord Electro to his keyboard rig. He's already been using the Nord Lead 2 and the Nord Modular for a couple of years now so he is quite familiar with Nord synthesizers and he likes them a lot.

Derek's musical career is really impressive and he has played with many great artists and bands over the years. In his junior year of high school he received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, which he attended for three years, where he was able to jam with musicians like William Calhoun (ex-Living Colour) and Al Pitrelli (Megadeth) who recommended him to Alice Cooper. After Berklee, Derek moved to Hollywood and worked at various jobs to stay afloat.

Derek got his first big break in 1989 with Alice Cooper to tour in support of his platinum album Trash. From the year 1989-1998, Derek played 250 shows with Alice and played on 2 albums. After doing a second tour and album with Alice, Derek was hired to tour with KISS which included being on their Alive III album. Says Derek, "I have been very fortunate to have been exposed to legends like Alice Cooper and Gene Simmons at an early part of my career."

In September 1994, Derek was hired by Dream Theater for their world tour in support of their album Awake. Six months into the tour, he was asked to join the band as a full-time member. After three releases and two world tours, Derek and Dream Theater parted ways.

After his 4 year stint with Dream Theater, Derek released his solo album titled Planet X. His debut solo effort was the result of a collaboration with Australian drummer Virgil Donati. The two turned the Planet X concept into a band by recruiting guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine adding a new dimension to the Planet X sound.

Derek currently resides in the Hollywood Hills where he owns and operates his state-of-the-art recording studio the "Leopard Room" Derek makes all his solo and Planet X records there, as well as producing many unsigned bands.

Click here to listen to MP3 extracts of two songs from the upcoming Planet X album "Moon Babies"!

You can e-mail Derek at DSherinian@aol.com. You're also welcome to visit Derek's web site at www.dereksherinian.com. Also, check out the official Planet X web site at www.xplanetx.com!