Born and raised in the “Steel City”, Pittsburgh, PA, where classic rock is king, Derek Jordan developed his guitar playing by studying his favorite blues rock players, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.  With no experience, and only the knowledge of playing, he was only 15 when he began performing at bars.  Although he was unaware of it at the time, this would prove to be the start of his journey to create an entirely new style of music.

In 2004, Derek moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University.  Based on his family’s expectations, going to college and getting a degree in marketing/real estate seemed like the socially acceptable thing to do.  Unlike many of his fellow graduates, Derek did not embrace a career in real estate.  His heart and his passion were clearly with music, and he felt increasingly torn as he moved away from pursuing that passion.  So, in a bold move, he headed out to Los Angeles, CA with a good friend in June, 2007 and immersed himself in the California scene.

Already having added singing to his repertoire, Derek was well prepared to face this stage of his life.  He also had over fifty tapes of original songs and the drive to do whatever it took to make things happen.  After a short stint with a local rock band, he decided to go solo and in February, 2009, released his first full-length album, titled, Identity.  The record is completely self-financed and all of the tracks display his musical tastes, while the lyrics focus on human/social psychology, ranging from the pursuit of significance to the most primal instincts.

Derek is a firm believer in self-development and a lover of psychology.  The way the human mind works is fascinating and his songwriting explores all aspects of it such as why it thinks what it thinks and craves what it craves, as well as internal conflict, external valor, and discovering your true identity.  In fact, when he performs, Derek bares his red handprint on his chest to embrace his Identity, and delivers a strong musical message of individualism and fighting conformity.  He calls it Psych Alternative Rock and uses music to encourage people to think outside of the box and pursue the things they want most with their lives.

More inspired than ever, what sets Derek apart is his desire to work hard at all aspects of his career.  With a degree in marketing, he is aware of the business side of music and understands the importance of it, especially when promoting an image or sound.  On stage, his goal is to entertain and create an experience for the audience in a full show format.  The future is both exciting and unlimited for Derek Jordan, and this is only the beginning.