Derek Pignataro, who goes by Derek Alan on stage, performs at Tootsies in Nashville.
Courtesy of Derek Pignataro
LIMA —Derek Pignataro’s parents did not know that their son could sing when he first did it on stage.
Maybe Alan and Tina, who respectively drum and sing themselves, should have seen it coming, though.
And maybe it should not have been that surprising that Derek, who goes by the stage name of Derek Alan when he performs in Nashville, would become so successful that he would be booked to perform in this July’s Country Concert Festival in Fort Laramie.
“Last year, I did a get-the-gig contest at JD Legends in Franklin and since the winner of that contest gets an automatic bid to perform at the festival, they invited the other finalists to perform at the following year’s entry,” Derek said. “I’ve been going to it the past couple of years and it’s always looked like a lot of fun. That’s been a goal of mine to get on once I started performing. To be a part of it and know that a lot of people from back home go to that and I’ll get the opportunity to perform in front of them is so exciting.”
But this was never a sure thing.
Derek’s parents really did not know he could sing until he took the mic at a performance.
They, of course, knew about his talent.
“He started the whole music thing with Derek because he taught him how to play drums when he was in the first grade,” Tina said, about Alan’s influence. “And then he took piano from a friend at church. But in middle school, it’s way cooler to play guitar.”
Alan and Tina had never heard Derek, who graduated from Lima Central Catholic, sing even in the shower when he moved from backup mic to the front at a show with his band Minor Blues.
“We didn’t know he sang,” Tina said. “All of a sudden he’s singing on stage in high school and he says he’s going to play at a bar in Bowling Green. Alan told him he had to have three hours of music, but Derek was confident. And he got up there and he killed it.”
But before Derek could really make it, he had to take a big chance.
“This past May, I moved down to Nashville to play down on Broadway on a circuit of four bars,” he said. “I pretty much spend my time playing there and I try to make it home once in a while to play here.”
“We were shocked,” Alan said about Derek making the move. “Because you know how they do it down there. It’s all about tips. That’s how they get paid.”
Alan thinks that the sky is the limit for Derek, though.
“Honestly I think he’s got what it takes to go as high as he wants to go,” he said. “However, I think it’s like any business. You need marketing. You need a manager. You need all of that if you want to take it to the next level.”
But Derek knows that no matter what, he has strong support from the Lima area behind him.
“I haven’t been able to see everyone as much as I’d like to, but it’s really cool to see that the support is stronger than ever when something like that (Country Concert) gets announced,” he said. “It’s really nice to see that everyone’s still showing that support and is still excited about it.”
The future is still bright beyond performing though and Derek remains focused on recording new music in his signature country and rock style that should come out within a couple months. And he said he hopes to keep booking more shows in the area.
Anyone interested in checking Derek’s music out can follow him on social media under the name “derekalan_” and stream his songs on Youtube, Spotify and Apple Music.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
