The Dark Stuff Podcast 114: Dereck Higgins (Part Two)

For episode 114, I bring you part two of the interview with Omaha music legend, Dereck Higgins. In part one, we went through Dereck's musical childhood, his earliest bands, and his time in bands Digital Sex and RAF. Part two picks up exactly right where the first one left off. 

We discuss Dereck's move into ambient and electronic music, the formation of his record label (DVH Recordings), his introduction to the online Vinyl Community, his collaborations with filmmaker/musician Nik Fackler, and all of his current projects. 

Remember that all of Dereck's music can be purchased through his bandcamp page: dereckhiggins.bandcamp.com.

This episode contains snippets of the following music: "War Statement" by Dereck Higgins, "Drebump" by Dereck Higgins (© Dereck Higgins), "Saw a Blind Dad" by In Dreama (© Team Love). The music embedded under my voice in the intro and outro of the podcast is "Passing Apparition" from Dereck's album Sonospheres (©2013 Dereck Higgins). 

Thanks for listening. Enjoy.

©2014 The Dark Stuff Podcast

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The Dark Stuff Podcast 113: Dereck Higgins (Part One)

For episode #113, I have part one of an interview with Omaha music legend, Dereck Higgins. Higgins has been making music and playing in bands in the Omaha area since the 1970s. Two of his bands from the 1980s - Digital Sex and RAF - are considered by many to be the foundation of the modern Omaha indie music scene. Most people know about Bright Eyes, The Faint and Cursive. But the Omaha music scene did not start there, obviously; it began decades earlier, and Higgins was right there in the middle of it.

Dereck Higgins is still playing in bands and performing today. He also makes music as a solo artist and releases it through his website: http://dereckhiggins.bandcamp.com.

Dereck has also achieved some notoriety from his popular Youtube channel: youtube.com/user/dereckvon. His videos are among the most popular in the "Vinyl Community" - an online group of record collectors and enthusiasts who show the world their collections and offer insights into the artists. Over the years, Higgins' videos have gone beyond the normal "VC" subject matter, and often times venture into politics and social commentary. They are a lot like diary entries that he shares with the world at large.

Since Dereck and I both live in Omaha, I had him come down to the bunker (aka my basement) for the interview. We spoke for over an hour; and because I wanted to include some snippets of music along with the interview, I have decided to make this into a two part episode.

In part one, Dereck discusses his earliest days as a child fascinated with music, his meeting famous jazz musicians like John Coltrane (who used to stop by his childhood home both to "jam" and to "score"), and his early difficulties being a black rock musician in an overwhelmingly white music scene.

Part Two will be the next episode - #114.

This episode contains snippets of two Digital Sex songs - "Dervish Dance" and "When Feelings Change." Both are ©Digital Sex.

The music embedded under my voice in the intro and outro of the podcast is "Passing Apparition" from Dereck's album Sonospheres (©2013 Dereck Higgins).

Thanks for listening. Enjoy.

©2014 The Dark Stuff Podcast

Listen/subscribe with itunes.

Listen/subscribe with Stitcher.

Listen/subscribe with Spreaker.

The Next Podcast Interview: Dereck Higgins

I am about an hour away from my interview with Dereck Higgins. Dereck is something of a local legend here in Omaha. He has been playing in bands since the 1970s, including being a part of two early and seminal bands to the Omaha music scene: Digital Sex and R.A.F.

Dereck's music cannot be put into any type of genre or category, as it is all over the place and covers many different genres. I met Dereck a few weeks ago at a Peter Murphy concert, and he graciously agreed to be interviewed for the podcast.

The finished show should be posted in 2-3 weeks. In the meantime, check out some of Dereck's music on his bandcamp page.