Influences: Jimi Hendrix, Yo La Tengo, Wilco, Radiohead, The Rolling Stones, Al Green, Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Ray Vaughn ... this list could get very long so i'll give it a rest.

Derek Fairchild went to high school a block from Haight & Ashbury. He studied the blues more than algebra. Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, B.B King, and Albert King were his favorites. But Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn played a major role as he started gravitating towards a psychedelic sound that is unique to San Francisco and the Haight. his fate as a musician was sealed on August 20th 1983 when he and his guitar player friends got tickets to see yet another southern blues guitarist [oh no, he's white?] play at The Stone on Broadway. The four of them packed in and managed to crush up to the stage. When Stevie Ray Vaughn sidled out in his snake skin boots, feathers, and beads, hot boxing a cigarette and committing what seemed to be felonies against his pre-historic Stratocaster ['59] Derek knew that nothing would ever be the same. He and his high school friends, all of whom were competitively studying the guitar and the blues, walked out stunned. Silent. There was nothing to say. After the initial shock of that night wore off, Derek decided there were two options. Double, no, triple down and do whatever that man SRV had done to achieve his sound … or quit. Nothing in-between seemed worth doing.

Decades later after years of working out of Manhattan touring, doing shows, sessions, musicals etc. with some of the world’s finest musicians, Derek made his way home to San Francisco and started Flat 12 with Andrew Laubacher and Oscar Westesson, two very busy and accomplished musicians in their own right. 

Since Andrew is going all rock star on us [seriously congrats Andrew - we miss you already], we are really pleased to announce that Bennie Murray will be joining us on drums. He's Aaron Neville's go to guy when he's in the bay area, along with many other greats. I've had the great pleasure of playing with some of the worlds best drummers and Bennie is right up there atop that list.

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