Artist of the Month: Derek Hambly, multi-hyphenate
JEFFERSON, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – When it comes to artists, I love a multi-hyphenate. Terry Crews is an actor-illustrator, Greta Gerwig is a writer-actor-director, Donald Glover is an actor-writer-producer-musician-comedian. I am wildly impressed by someone who can stretch themselves in any number of directions and find fulfilling ways to express themselves. It speaks to the tenacity of the expression within them. To me, the mark of a true ‘Creative” is an artist that can’t, or won’t, be contained by one medium
Derek Hambly is that sort of artist. Derek uses the same kind of frenetic energy to reach out with his palette knife and show us what he sees through the haze, as he does to disrupt the silence in the world with his music. Right at home with the likes of The Cure, The Psychedelic Furs or Joy Division, Derek has 3 full albums (The Legendary Artist Supreme, 16 Rockin Choons, 11 Red Hot Hits) and an EP (Magnetic Energy). In the same way you can “feel” his paintings from across the room, you can sense the chaos through your headphones. You can sense youthful exuberance and heartache, the low end of finding oneself, and the maturation of a man and his voice through these songs. It would be interesting to see what paintings were being created with what ere of his music.
Derek has a captivating rawness in his work. It’s simultaneously impressive and approachable. It might look like he throws paint at a canvas until he runs out of pigment, but make no mistake, there was a maestro behind the knife. The more naïve might think they could “do that” when they first see it, but upon further inspection would find him to be a master of chaos and color. They would see that the cacophony of paint has rhythm and rhyme to it.
His music is the same. It sounds simplistic. It’s approachable and fun. The way a good garage rock should be. But it’s also New Wave. It’s raw and melodic. It is everything great about punk rock without the hard edge to it. It is everything great about pop music with a touch more menace to it. It makes you want to dance and party. Exaggerated beats, quirky lyrics, jerky rhythms, electronics, experimentation… New Wave!
All 3 albums (and the EP) are available on Derek’s “All Music” YouTube Playlist. If I get a vote, I think we need a fourth. Soon
Make sure you check out all of the work that Derek has at, our sponsor, B-Framed Galleries. Cynthia Wing-Reed and her staff can help you find the perfect Hambly for your home or an exquisite frame for the masterpiece you already have. Check out B-Framed Galleries in beautiful Eau Claire, Wisconsin
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