artists » Derek Weber of Bedlight For Blue Eyes

Derek Weber likes it bright and fat…the tone on his AC50CPH amplifier, that is. He keeps the amp’s two switches by those names engaged while rocking on tour with his New Jersey-based pop/rock band, Bedlight For Blue Eyes. Having just finished their sophomore album, Life On Life’s Terms, Derek and the guys are psyched to be on the road.

Bedlight For Blue Eyes formed when guitarist Derek Weber and his friends Itchy Bishburg (drums) and former member James Granuzzo (bass) decided there was something lacking in today’s music. Influential bands such as Aerosmith, Boston, and Scorpions were the inspiration for a new band that would plan to set itself apart from the mundane. Derek explains, “I was always big on big guitar sounds and I just think everything is like old power chords now.” Since then, Bedlight For Blue Eyes has been making a mark for themselves and after a few member changes, is really providing the energy of arena-rock shows they missed out on when they were younger.

The band just got back from Atlanta where they finished recording at Tree Sound Studios. It happens to be the largest recording studio in Georgia and was definitely a new experience for Derek. He says, “You know when you go in there, it’s a little overwhelming. There are plaques on the wall for people like André 3000 going Platinum and a lot of the crunk rappers coming through there, so it’s pretty cool.”

Going to Atlanta seems to have paid off for the band. Derek sees this record as an improvement over their previous album. He says, “The first album was kind of like a glory war. Everyone wanted to shine at the same time. So it was just constant noodling and riffing. Our old singer was a little over the top at times…didn’t have much dynamics and kind of ‘in your face.’ We have a new singer now and he’s easier on the ears…I think it’s just better overall.”

This time around, the band has been very serious about improving on their already impressive musicianship. “The new album is better structured. We’re trying to write better songs…and trying to come up with a good format and structure,” he adds.

Bedlight tours a lot and they happen to like it a lot, too. It’s no surprise, being that they go out of their way to tour with other bands they enjoy. Derek remarks, “We’d listen to other bands’ CDs, and if we’re real big fans of the music, we’ll try to pursue playing with them.” Their current tour is with Sound The Alarm and Tokyo Rose. Derek notes that with Sound The Alarm, “We thought they were really good and they live close by to us…so we talked to our booking agent and we were able to work it out.”

Derek has tried many amp/cabinet combinations but recently found his match in the VOX AC50 Classic Plus head and V412BN speaker cabinet. He remarks, “I used to have a Marshall JCM 900, and I played that a lot. Then I went over to Mesa and I started playing their amps and it was just balls all the time. There was really no dynamic to it. I like a little pick dynamic to my amp and such.” Now, Derek is getting all the dynamics he needs in the new AC50. He says, “I was checking out an AC30 and I really liked the sound of it, but I just wanted another channel…the AC50’s second channel sounds amazing and being able to switch over to that VOX clean is definitely something good.”

Not sure if Bedlight for Blue Eyes is coming to your town? Check them out online, where they are often lurking. In August of last year, they released a download only digital EP on iTunes. On top of that, Derek says, “All of us frequent our myspace site a lot.” For the new album release, the band has a promotion in which they will be making phone calls to all of the fans that pre-ordered the album!

To learn more about Derek Weber and Bedlight For Blue Eyes, visit their myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/bedlightforblueeyes.

By Michael Harris and Jenn Plonski