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A Word From
Deryn...
 I had never
really given it much thought but after years of
playing in different bands all over the world and
being told on a regular basis by the public “Man…you
look like Billy Joel”, it dawned on me to possibly
pursue the idea further.
This may sound a little
strange for a pianist / keyboardist to say but all
of my early musical influences were guitarists… in
particular Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits). It was
only over the last ten or so years that started
really listening and studying the top three
keyboardists in my opinion…Billy Joel, Elton John
and David Paich (of Toto). I found that Billy played
the piano in a very rhythmical style, not unlike a
guitarist, which suited my playing style and past
influences down to the ground.
After seeing Billy live
on the Australasian leg of the “Live in Leningrad
Tour” I started to add the occasional Joel song into
my band’s normal repertoire…to great effect. A lot
of cover bands don’t play Billy’s material so it was
a refreshing change to add such challenging anthems
as You May Be Right, Big Shot or even Scenes From An
Italian Restaurant.
Years later I was given
the opportunity to play support at the “Face 2 Face”
concert in Auckland, New Zealand. Unfortunately I
didn’t get to meet the two stars…but it was an
awesome experience to play on the same stage.
After that I had to put
together a show to play his music. The one difficult
thing when performing Billy music is what to play.
Everybody has a favourite song and they expect to
hear it.
But with 30 odd years of
great songs…where do you start and stop. I have
tried to accommodate by doing a greatest hits
package…including recent songs and gems of the
past…and the occasional surprise…while also staying
faithful to the Leningrad and Yankee Stadium
concerts.
Enjoy the experience of a
musical modern day Mozart duelling it out on the
grand piano."
Deryn
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Winner
of the New Zealand "Stars In Their Eyes 2008".
