Derek Beauchemin has been a fellow music guy with me going back to when I was about 18. We both went to Glendale High School and played in separate bands together. He and I struck up a friendship while Scott Gorham and I were looking for an organist to join our band Redeye in 1969.

I knew Derek from around town and knew we liked the same kind of music. We were both very into The Band and Procol Harum with a large dose of Traffic thrown in. We went to the Pasadena Civic together to see The Band on their very first tour and were blown away. We still talk about it. Derek moved to England in 1977 and played around on the circuit for quite awhile, landing a good gig with Cliff Richard, a well respected performer in England. he played in a band or two with fellow Glendale transplant Scott Gorham in London just before Scott went on to Thin Lizzy fame.

When it came time to begin Giants In Our Own Room I felt the time was right to get Derek involved in the record. We had co-written and demo-ed a bunch of stuff before he went off to England in '77. He came to LA to do the record and stayed in Los Angeles. I still see Derek these days and we occasionally play in a band for a pint and a laugh called The Half A Chance Band.