handsome productions presents:
derica
Links:
MEDICATE
Derica's new record
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The story of an ungendered folksinger from Cleeb-land named Derica.
Derica started playing guitar at the age of 9 in the late 80's and folk music at the age of 13 in Wexford, PA. D went to the same middle school as Christina Aguilera and lasted just about as long. One year. An alienated Derica by now going to a private school after finding out just what the public school kids thought of him (they broke his arm) started to meet a few other kids to jam with. Two outfits became of this: Dead Society, with a kid in most of D's classes named Brian Baker on Bass which DePrator was teaching him how to play as they wrote songs, also The Living Dead which D was forced to play Bass in due to the fact that the lead singer had a Gibson Flying V and all Derica had was a Fender Squier II Strat that fed back like crazy.
After a couple shots at getting other kids to get into Bob Dylan with him; Vince Cornwall's Musical Review and Leviticus (we like Genesis, Exodus is that metal band, what's the 3rd book of the bible again?), Derica moved to Cleveland with his family in 1996.
Cleveland changed everything. A short running gig playing every other week at a local coffehouse that shut down when the Starbucks and Borders and Caribou's of the world moved in. Menial local interest seeing D play John Fahey the best he could at the age of 17. While at the same time playing Bass for locals The Exclusives and eventually, Curmudgeon!
Curmudgeon was a two piece punk outfit from Wickliffe with two kids a couple years younger than Derica. They came over one weekend for a jam and D ended up going over to Chris the guitar player's mums house to jam every weekend after for 2 to 3 years. This was where "Derica" was first introduced to an unsuspecting Cleeb-land; there was a dewd playing the hell out of his guitar dressed as a woman. Soon other bands in Cleveland experimented with some makeup and some womens clothes (oh, you know you did!) and most gave it up after a few months.
D left Curmudgeon in Feb. '00 after a dismal show at the Blind Lemon (how many of us had one of THOSE?) and he..she...IT? formed an attempt at emo called The Milk & Honey with friend and fellow Elliott Smith fan Bart Garmon. Billy from Curmudgeon also joined. This, again didn't last and fizzled out after going thru drummers like stockings for a couple months after the 1st drummer moved away.
During this time, a 2nd band was also formed with Death of Samantha drummer Steve-0 and Curmudgeon drummer Billy on Bass; Lazy Dynamite was kick ass for about 5 gigs. Two songs were recorded, How Great It Is and Blue Horizon, which were used in 2003 on D's first and last release under the name The Atomic Crash.
The AC was more of a group of friends that hung out a lot and played music together than a band. Anybody that went to the AC's shows saw that the bands lineup changed every single show because of conflicting schedules and interests within the band. This went on from '03 to '05 with only the 12" EP/CD LP When The Train Left The Station to show for it. Many recording sessions were done afterward which never produced anything completely satisfactory and the band broke up when "The Derica Band" formed out of short lived glam rock band The Voluptuous Panic which D was Lead Guitarist in. The D.D. band played shows from Feb. of '06 until Sept. when they were finally given a name, The Square Casanovas.
Now we're in 2006 near the end and Derica has a new album coming out called MEDICATE and you can preview tracks from it here. It will be available by the Christmas season. You can also check out The Square Casanovas, which includes Jeff DuBois on 6-String Bass, his brother Steve DuBois on Keyboards, Adam James on Drums, and Stefan Ravello on Rhythm Gutiar. They are currently preping to record their first album.
Cleveland's rock & roll chameleon...
Read about him in the Cleveland Free Times.
Hip To Be Square Casanovas
Local Band Takes Great Pride In Not Fitting In
By Emily Anderson
Before we can talk about the Square Casanovas and their music, an indefinable mash-up of countrified folk-rock, post punk and what have you, something has to be addressed. Their lead singer Derica Deprator sings with a deep, road-weary voice that steadily rambles off a list of hardships with a grain of salt and a hint of smugness. He plays guitar, dobro and banjo. But if you see the band live, this won't be your first impression of him. You won't have an opportunity to be bowled over by his musicianship or his songwriting talent before you notice the obvious: He's a crossdresser.
"I'm done with putting a can on it so write whatever you want to," he says.
When asked how his lifestyle choices might've hindered him as a musician, drummer Adam James quips, "He's stuck working with us."
In reality, the members of the Square Casanovas — Deprator, James, bassist Jeff Dubois and keyboardist Steve Dubois — have played together in various incarnations since their teens. Reclining around Dubois' living room outfitted with retro thrift finds, numerous guitars on the wall and ambient string lights, the band reminisces about high school battles of the bands in 1989. Their most recent outfit before SC was the late local glam-rock outfit Voluptuous Panic. Deprator migrated to Cleveland from Pittsburgh in 1996.
The crossdressing came into full bloom about six months after he made the move. "He got enough of that Cleveland water in him," says James.
"When I started playing shows here, I started out with that kind of persona because I wasn't comfortable with anything else," Deprator relates. "I was picked on by kids in the punk scene a lot — but I'm no longer in that scene and I'm more comfortable now that I'm doing this all the time." His songwriting, understandably, is inspired by "unfortunate events in my life." "Weird-ass strange things that happen to me because I go out every day dressed as a woman," he says. The Squares play several songs Deprator penned for his folkier solo efforts, fleshing out numbers like the banjo-driven road ballad "Exit 231." Other songs like "Boys in Eyeliner" have led some to mistakenly believe that the band has some sort of "transgender youth" agenda, which isn't exactly the case.
Deprator's songwriting only occasionally references his skirt-wearing ways, and more often focuses on broken relationships, lost friends, landscapes and the loneliness of the open road. After the demise of their last band, Deprator, James and Dubois started playing together in March of this year as the Derica Deprator Band, for lack of a better name. Dubois is the most recent addition to the band, bringing to the table some haunting organ effects and backing vocals.
When asked how they came up with the name Square Casanovas, James replies, "We're all very studly in our way. We're studly, we're dorkish, we're fat, we're svelte." Dubois adds, "It's kind of about not fitting in anywhere." Indeed it's hard to fit in anywhere when your music spans so many genres. Even their closest friends haven't been able to put a label on them, though many have tried. "Rockabilly folk punk" seems adequate for the time being, with the occasional Giant Sand or Tears for Fears cover thrown in. Nonetheless, the band has found a dedicated fan base.
"Reactions have been very positive," says James. "We have a really strong core of friends who don't blow sunshine up our asses at all — friends who enjoy many different types of music." Of the many places they've performed in the last few months, Verlie's Café on W. 46th, Bela Dubby's on Madison and Pat's in the Flats remain some of their favorites.
The band will be doing its last show of the year at Pat's on December 1 before retreating into Dubois' basement to record an entirely self-produced, self-recorded album.
music@freetimes.com