To Be Released in 2009.

"Out from the Light" immerses the listener in Derek's deepest, darkest, most personal lyrics and music to date. In places eerily sparse. In others, overwhelmingly layered. Definitely Derek's bravest statement to date. He displays a boldness like never before, covering subjects that other writers might not be so willing to touch. The record begins discussing his mother's death (having occurred when he was 14). Such subjects are a common thread through the record, which is probably best summed up as a chronicle of what it is like to struggle through pain and loss, but end up on the other side of it. Be assured, there IS hope on this record. Some of it is implied, but if nothing else "A Turning" lays the cards right out on the table and offers a hopeful, even worshipful moment--being the only truly "Christian" song on the project. The bonus CD-R entitled "Departure" is less focused, but still discusses serious topics--some pretty grim.

Says Derek: "I have no interest in the falling action. Once the story ends in a movie, it just ENDS for me. Like that last "Lord of the Rings" movie. The ring goes into the lava (60-year-old spoiler alert!) then there's 20 minutes of falling action where people are happy and life is returning to normal. Where's the fun in that? (Don't get me wrong, I love Frodo and Gandalf and all that hippy nerd crap.) Happy people aren't interesting. I don't like happy stories. I'm interested in the struggle and the difficulty. Once the problem's over, the story is, too...or at least, as Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers says in one of his songs, "You better roll the credits before something else goes wrong." Just finish the thing, and get out of there.

So...that's what this record is. I'm giving you the interesting part. My life, at present anyway, is basically happy. But you don't really want to hear about that, do you? I don't want to tell you, either. The interesting parts of my life are the times when I struggled. The fact that I lived through it and that I'm now happy--that's great...but it's not the interesting part of the story. "Out from the Light" tells you how I became who I am, via the bad parts of my life. I offer very few solutions in the songs--mostly because if I did that, then you wouldn't go on any journey of your own. You've got to make your own mistakes...and I shouldn't be telling you how to get through them...but I CAN tell you that you CAN get through them, and you do not suffer alone.

This one's dark. I talk about my mom dying. I talk about my grandparents dying. I talk about losing the only real TRUE love I can claim to have had in my life--a lot. I talk about struggling with my faith--a lot. I talk about suicide. ...but there's also a moment of worship in there at the end of the record. I want this project to be an uncomfortable listen for some people. I want it to even be downright disturbing in places. I want it to make people think...hopefully force a person or two to face some of their own demons. That's what it did for me...I had to FIGHT some of my demons while recording this record. So far, they haven't killed me, and I'm stronger for it.

That's really what my message is these days... If you live through it, you learn from it. These songs are the lessons I learned. Same goes for the bonus disk...but it's mostly just stuff I wanted to get out there, or that I didn't feel like fit with the actual CD.

I may as well mention it here... This is kind of a swan-song...at least for now. I'm going to be focusing on my band, Blue Tattoo, for a while. Solo records are on the back burner. Don't expect another one for a couple of years. Sorry. I'll still throw out an occasional new song on this website, though...so keep an eye out for that...but as far as full records? Derek Brink, the solo artist, is on vacation. Derek Brink, the member of Blue Tattoo is working overtime. If you like my solo stuff, you'll probably like Blue Tattoo, though. So, it's not like I'm going away forever! :)

Hope you like this one as much as I do. It may represent some of my finest playing and singing. I'm not going to say that everything's toe-tapping...but I may even be prouder of this one than I was of 'Things I Meant to Say.' ...and that's kind of a BIG statement, coming from me. Time will tell."

Commentary and write-ups coming shortly.