Date of Birth: May 27, 1974
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Lived for years: Houston, TX
Place of residence: Nashville, TN
Status: Married to Sandra McCracken on 01/06/2001
Random Facts:
- Born in the same hospital as Elvis.
- As a child, had a speech impediment that caused him to say all his “r”s as “w”s. Thus, he pronounced his own name “dewek”.
- Has five tattoos, the first of which was done by his mother (she had to convince him to do it).
- At one point, drove a silver VW beetle.
- Up until recently, would only be seen wearing Fruit of the Loom size medium white t-shirts. Now, reportedly prefers Hanes tagless.
- Once had a crush on Chelsea Clinton.
- Has one brother, Brandon, who is a doctor and lives in Nebraska.
- Often seen devouring a half gallon of Tropicana Original orange juice after shows.
- Known for dedicating cheesy pop songs to members of their touring entourage from stage.
- Sometimes called “anal retentive” and uses a fork to eat just about everything (donuts? pizza?!).
Favorites:
- Favorite clothing store: Goodwill
- Favorite restaurant: Chuy’s
- Favorite tea: Arizona
- Favorite movie: Back to the Future trilogy
- Favorite food: hot dogs
- Favorite shoes: Fluevogs
- Hobbies: Computers, movie trivia, reading, theology
- Obsessions: Reformed theology, list-making
Top 10 records one must own to be his friend (circa 1997):
- Indigo Girls – Swamp Ophelia
- Barenaked Ladies – Rock Spectacle
- U2 – Rattle and Hum
- Indigo Girls – Rites of Passage
- Toad the Wet Sprocket – Dulcinea
- Rich Mullins – A liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band
- Indigo Girls – 1200 Curfews
- Barenaked Ladies – Born on a Pirate Ship
- Bebo Norman – The Fabric of Verse
- Wallflowers – Bringing Down the Horse
Six books he really likes:
- A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
- Chosen by God (RC Sproul)
- The Apostle (John Pollock)
- Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
- Inside the White House (Ronald Kessler)
- The Singer (Calvin Miller)
Musical Influences:
- Indigo Girls
- Rich Mullins
- U2
- Toad the Wet Sprocket
- Anything 80′s rock
History with the band:
Derek was introduced to the band via Aaron Tate. After Aaron decided he wasn’t going to tour as a performing member of the band, Derek filled his spot. In fact, Derek didn’t even meet all of the band members until after they played their first show together! Derek famously left the band in 2003 to embark on his solo career, then reunited to record Overdressed.