A Dirty Dozen with JACOB DERAPS from DERAPS – May 2022

According to a recent press release: “Today, Deraps release the official video for “Live Fast Die Slow,” the second single from their self-titled debut album, which will be released on June 17 via Metalville Records. The video for the track, which will also be released as a digital single this Friday, May 20th. The young, explosive Canadian/Australian power-trio Deraps is already considered a small sensation in the hard rock scene. Deraps capture the sound and essence of late ’70s rock ‘n’ roll with their music – a time when a new generation of bands rocked the global scene, led by Van Halen, who strongly influenced the members of Deraps.” We get the band namesake Jacob to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Absolutely! For example, in “My Side of Town” there are a lot of city noises and characters’ voices happening around the music, we really wanted to get the vibe of the city inside the music, especially New-York. The city noises are all audio clips that we took ourselves when we went to New-York, in 2019. The characters’ voices were all recorded by Josh. In “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll,” the break just before the solo sounds like when you’re at the bar and you’re too drunk and everything’s blurred and makes you sick so we put an actual clip of me getting sick at the bar in there, you can hear it when you listen closely with headphones on. In “Live Fast Die Slow,” right at the end, there are beer bottles breaking. We setup the mics to record and threw the bottles on the ground. Everything you hear on this album is 100% made by us.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I grew up in a musical environment. When I was a kid, there used to be music in the car, in the house, my parents are both musicians and I would hear them play and even go to their rehearsals. I loved listening to music and it always felt natural for me to groove, to follow a beat and to sing melodies on pitch. What really got me into guitar though was the video game Guitar Hero, I was addicted to this game and loved all the Classic Rock songs on there. When I picked up a real guitar, at around 11 years old, I learned all the basic chords in an evening and was instantly hooked by the instrument. I was improving very quickly. Then at 14, I started playing bars and care less about school so, at 16, I ditched it and decided to dedicate my life to music, which I was already doing anyways.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Anything by Van Halen from 1978 to 1984, but their first album is what had the biggest impact on my musical journey, perhaps on my entire life. More precisely, the song “I’m the One.” To me, it’s the greatest guitar track ever recorded to this day, go check out the isolated guitar track on Youtube.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Probably David Lee Roth. He’s a creative genius, a great lyricist and he can adapt to pretty much any styles. I’m sure it would feel very natural to write songs with him and the result would be awesome.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

There are a lot of things I like to do, besides music. I love going out with friends for a couple microbrew beers and for partying. I also love driving, I have an old 1988 Pontiac Firebird 5L that I like to take out for a spin and listen to some cassettes. I’m also a sim-racer and a gamer. And, of course, I love to just play guitar by myself, that’s how most of my songs are created.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I describe my music as classic rock, basically, I think it’s what describes it best. It’s got the same characteristics as classic rock, it’s good old guitar based music with dominant riffs and big solos, with a raw, organic, “live” style production, reminiscent of the late 70’s. I haven’t had a weird comparison yet. So far, everyone seems to get it!

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Me and Josh both love to cook but Josh doesn’t drink. Me and William like trying out new beers, we’re big fans of microbrews, especially stouts and IPAs. We all like to go out and do some acoustic jams on a hot sunny day.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

That was a while ago but the last guitar hero I really discovered was probably Stevie Ray Vaughan, he also made a huge impact on my playing.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part of being a musician is to be able to love what you do for a living, it’s a lot of fun and every live show is a big party. If I wasn’t a musician, I’d probably choose F1 driver, I love racing.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I don’t have a particular question in mind but I guess I’d love to talk more about gear, guitars and amps. I love to talk about Marshall amps, pickups, tone, etc. It’s just a lot of fun.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

No, not at all. I have no regrets and believe that everything we go through, whether it’s good or bad, makes us for who we are in the present and I’m happy with who I am now.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Definitely Van Halen’s first album. I’d just love to be in the room and listen to the entire recording session, live off the floor. That album changed my life, there’s nothing that makes me feel better than listening to this album, even to this day. I can’t imagine what it was to actually hear it in the making, live, coming straight from their instruments.

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Category: Interviews