Sons of Apollo is a new rock band featuring members from rock legends Dream Theater, Mr. Big, Guns‘N Roses, and Journey. With such an amazing lineup of talent, the supergroup has had massive success with their debut album. Derek Sherinian sat down and spoke about all the hard work that went into their album.
Side Stage Magazine: I was listening to your album from last year and reading a little about it. It’s pretty awesome! What can you tell me about it, about the process going into it, and what processes in forming the band?
Derek Sherinan: Mike [Portnoy] and I used to play in Dream Theater twenty, twenty-five years ago and we reunited about 6 years ago while working on side projects, and we realized that we could do something bigger together. And so, here we are; 5 – 6 years later, we decided to form Sons of Apollo, and hired out the line-up: Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on guitar, and the legendary Billy Sheehan on bass, and I started writing a little over a year ago. And, this record came together rather quickly; we got in the studio in March 2017 and ten days later, we had a record.
WOW!
And we’ve played maybe 60 shows in the US and South America. We’re playing the album in its entirety, and it’s really resonating great with the crowds. It’s awesome to see everyone singing all the words, no matter where we play, and we’re just having a blast out there.
That’s awesome, that’s a quick turnaround for an album.
Yeah, there was a lot of prep work in the writing, but once we got in we started connecting the dots and then writing other stuff on the spot, as well. So, we’re really happy with the results.
I was watching that video of the first track, how you how first went in, and how it all kind of happened in about 11 minutes, a rock masterpiece!
Well, that’s a song that I wrote all by myself, all of the music and I brought that in to the studio and some of my critics said that should be the album opener, and it also turned out to be the show opener as well. So, I’m very proud of God of the Sun.
I really like it! It seems like you guys assembled a “Dream Team.” It makes sense that you guys could just mesh and be able to create something so easily.
We’re fans of each others’ playing and we all respect each other as musicians, so we all try to work together in the best way possible in order to create the best sound.
That definitely shows! I see that you are booked for the entire year. Are there any particular shows you are looking forward to?
All of them! Every night we play, we bring it and we give it our all. Every crowd is different, and we love to play it so.
That’s great! I saw your Japan dates in September. Osaka is a beautiful place, I hope you guys have fun over there!
It’s going to be great!
Are you going to make any stops at any festivals?
We’re playing a lot of European festivals this summer. You can see all of our touring activity at sonsofapollo.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, and we’re constantly giving updates for ticket links for where we’re playing.
I know that you’re busy focusing on all your tour dates and you have a lot of dates already set up – are you working on any new music, or focusing on what’s right now?
I am working on some new music; I had a bunch of stuff written before we left on this leg [of the tour], and I’m constantly practicing and coming up with new things that can be used later, so it never stops, the writing.
That’s good. So, what’s a typical day for you guys on a performance night?
Usually, we roll onto the bus and then we pull into the town that we’re planning to leave after the show, and then we check into the hotel, and then the crew sets up the gear and then we leave the hotel to check out like around 3:30 and then do a soundcheck, and play the gig, and then start it all over again. And then during the day, it’s always at the gym with me and Ron, and Jeff Scott Soto. We do “The Workout of Apollo”.
“The Workout of Apollo?”
Yes.
It sounds like you guys are really hard-working and you put a lot physically and emotionally, and put in a lot of your time and effort into your music and it shows on your album, so I bet your performances are just as good and you can see that.
I think the performance are even better, because they take on a new life. And I’d love it if you could come and see the show. Where do you live?
In North Carolina. Jacksonville.
Oh, I don’t know that we’re playing near there.
I think you played nearby in the past.
Oh, well if we’re ever playing nearby we’d love for you to come to a show!
Absolutely, I’d love to! Well thank you, that’s all the questions I have for you today. Thank you for sitting down with me today and taking your time.
It’s my pleasure! Again, please follow Sons of Apollo on Twitter, Instagram, and on Facebook and you can find any other information on SonsofApollo.com. Thank you so much for your time!
