Derby

www.derbyrock.com

Derby makes you happy. Actually, think about what it used to be like to hang out and listen to the Beach Boys (if you're old enough). The music is so infectious and catchy, you almost feel a little silly for smiling so broadly when the music is playing. But you just can't help yourself.

This is not bubble-gum pop. This is still a very edgy pop band, who smartly decided that louder is not always better. I know, you can hear all the words and everything, it's crazy. No ripping guitar riffs, no deep bass blends, no drowning drum thumps. These three guys just wrote great songs and let the quality of the material stand for itself.

Nat Johnson is not a prototypical frontman. He is very tall, seems like he would be the lanky kid knocking on your door when college is out of session to mow your front lawn. Then you hear him sing, you watch him get lost in the song, and then he becomes a rock god. Dave Gulick seems completely comsumed by the music. You can read every note in his eyes, feel the anticipation of the key changes in his slightest of movements. One of the few performers who seems to be one with the song they are playing. Ah yes, then Isaac Frost who is one of the most unselfish drummers we have seen in a band in years. Almost like a jazz drummer, he knows how to make his drumming a subtle compliment to the music, as opposed to have to drive each song to its eventual end. Take note indie bands.

These guys are for real. They have the coolest music videos you will likely see from any unsigned band (and most signed groups). They know how to put out a good face, always dressed fairly well, while not losing their youthful and aloof personalies in the image. We could easily see this band selling out many an all-ages show. The music is edgy enough for the finicky Portland indie crowd, sane enough for the post-baby boomer audience, and peppy and light enough to draw in the kids.

Rarely do we see a band with so much broad and compelling appeal as Derby. Their first record, 'This Is The New You', released in 2005, did very well for an independent release. But we are even more excited to get our hands on the new upcoming record 'Posters Fade', coming out any day now. We have just closed out our awards for the 2007 crop of music, and 'Posters Fade' is already an early favorite.

Derby is the band you need to go find before they go national and become everyone else's favorite band too.