Derek Smalls might be a fictional bass player for a fictional band, but the album he's releasing and the musicians who contributed to it are very real indeed.
"Derek Smalls," of course, is the bass player for
Spinal Tap
, the fictional band at the center of director Rob Reiner's 1984 rock'n'roll mock-umentary, "This is Spinal Tap."
On April 13, Smalls — who in real life is Harry Shearer, a regular in the series of films created by fellow Spinal Tap alum Christopher Guest — will release "Smalls Change (Meditations Upon Ageing)" on Twanky Records/BMG
And for a fictional bass player, Smalls sure knows how to recruit a great band.
Musical contributors to the album include Peter Frampton, Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, Ringo Starr, David Crosby, Dweezil Zappa, Paul Shaffer and world-class guitar wankers Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.
The first single from the album, "Smalls Change," has been released on YouTube, and features symphony orchestration as well as a Viking opera singer:
Smalls is also taking his new record on the road, via a tour dubbed "Lukewarm Water Live: An Adventure in Loud Music," where he will be backed by a full orchestra.
The tour will kick off April 14 at New Orleans' Saenger Theatre, with a June 29 stop at the Atlanta Symphony Hall and a future date at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. More dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
One thing's for sure: I'll be waiting with baited breath to hear Smalls' new tune, "She Puts the Bitch in Obituary."
Rolling Stone has a song-by-song lineup of Small's album. Worth checking out.