Derek De Vriendt

Derek Alan de Vriendt (born March 15, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter who is best known as the lead guitarist and vocalist of -based pop punk band Screaming Yellow Players. Since September 2019, he has also been the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of The Cars.

Biography
Derek was born at in, and grew up on various U.S. military bases, mainly in  and , before coming to  by way of  in 1983. His father, Corbin De Vriendt, was a U.S. Air Force Captain and inventor who had been engaged in the use of live satellite feeds to Europe and Asia of events specifically targeted to U.S. military personnel stationed overseas, and holds a patent for a "far-reaching" directional digital television transmission system (notably adopted by WMTW during the digital transition to allow transmissions from to still provide an acceptable signal to southern Maine). His mother, Gillian De Vriendt, was a newsreader for who professionally played bass guitar on the side. Derek says he grew up "practically all around music". His younger sister, Lily De Vriendt, was a member of the -formed girl group Blue Sky, and his older brother, Corbin De Vriendt Jr., is known as "Clem Norris", the lead singer of the satirical southern rock group Kentucky.

The Cars
In February-March 2019, Derek filled in for Ric Ocasek during a series of The Cars shows in El Kadsre and Mahri while Ocasek was in the midst of surgery. El Kadsreian media acclaimed Derek's performance, with The El Kadsreian Chronicle saying "the longtime Screaming Yellow Players vocalist fits very well with the Cars' signature sound." Drummer Roger Davis described Derek's performance for El TV Kadsre 24: "We all wanted Derek to be the fill-in, and this is a country that's mostly used to seeing Ric singing with the band. At Derek's first show, the audience went nuts during "Shake It Up" - we were stressed out at first since this was a sold-out concert in a major venue. Derek's a total winner." Derek also filled in for Ocasek in The Cars' Lollapalooza performances, including Lollapalooza Peru and the inaugural edition of Lollapalooza Hong Kong. At Woodstock 50, Ocasek returned onstage for the final time, this time he just sang while Derek performed his rhythm guitar parts. On September 15, 2019, Ocasek died from natural causes. On September 22, keyboardist confirmed in an interview for El Kadsre's Radio 22 that Derek would be the new lead singer and rhythm guitarist of The Cars. In 2021, the band released their first album with Derek as lead singer/rhythm guitarist, Brand New (consisting of material written by Ocasek prior to his death, along with new songs written by the other band members and some covers), much of the album was recorded at the band members' homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The album was near-universally acclaimed and reached #5 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

Personal life
Derek lives in with his wife Martha Zimmerling. He holds a BFA in Music Theory and a Ph.D. in religious studies from the. He is a pantheist Unitarian Universalist. He has two sons, Damien and Anthony, and an adopted daughter, Mei Yan. Mei Yan was adopted from after Derek learned of the practice in that country of female children being abandoned because of their gender.

Derek befriended, former frontman of the Cars, in 1999, having been a fan of the Cars since his youth. The two remained friends until Ocasek's 2019 death, and Ocasek was behind the decision for Derek to succeed him in the role of the Cars' frontman. Derek is also close friends with and  founder.

Solo band lineup
Derek's solo band consists of:
 * Derek De Vriendt - lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar (since 2002)
 * Leni Larceny - lead guitar (since 2010)
 * Jay Hargrove - rhythm guitar (since 2015)
 * Rickie Palmstruch - bass, backing vocals (since 2002)
 * Charlie Bjelanovic - drums (since 2012)

Guitars
Although he does not have an official endorsement deal with any guitar brand, Derek primarily uses G&L guitars, stating "they have some of the coolest models."
 * 1982 G&L SC-2 (Fiesta Red)
 * 1984 G&L Skyhawk (Black)
 * 1984 G&L Rampage (Pink)
 * 1986 G&L Broadcaster (Black)
 * 1984 G&L Interceptor (Red)
 * G&L ASAT Special (Fullerton Red)
 * 1975 Gibson L6-S
 * Dean Budweiser Bowtie Guitar
 * Dean Busch Beer Guitar
 * Charvel Surfcaster
 * Bond Electraglide
 * XOX Audio Tools The Handle
 * Fernandes UJL-2000
 * Roland G-707

Amplifiers/Microphones
Derek uses Orange amplifiers, Nady wireless guitar equipment, and a Sony ECM-51 "game show" microphone.

Solo

 * Today or Tonight (2002)
 * Blue Sky Over Pittsburgh (2004)
 * Derek De Vriendt Puts You to Sleep (2006)
 * The Derek De Vriendt Album (2008)
 * Reworkings & Rehashings (2012)