Rowe around Yarraville
Derek Rowe profile
After audiences see the Melbourne Fringe Festival puppet rock musical, Tyrannosaurus Sex, Yarraville composer Derek Rowe is hoping his musical future includes some lucrative publishing and recording deals. T. Sex is about a penis called Bob and his journey through a fun sexual minefield to eventual reconciliation with the rest of his body. 'The show's about much more than just sex', says Rowe. 'It's about self-esteem and how it's so difficult to measure up to the media ideal.' Right now you can see Derek's band, Sweetheart Deal (yes, the name does reflect the pay scale) gigging around Yarraville and Williamstown. 'Or if you know someone whose having a fortieth birthday party we may be playing there too,' says Rowe.
Derek loves living in Yarraville. He admires the strong musical community. It's a great mix with young kids and full on professionals. 'I met Billy Miller here, the lead singer of the Ferrets. That was very exciting for me.'
Music is clearly in his genes. 'My earliest memories are of my father at the piano composing novelty songs and that's what I do too.' Apart from his composer father, his Grandmother was a brilliant accompanist and his mother also played piano.
'It's all that thing about early childhood development, what you see grown-ups do, it's what you think it's okay to do. So I've always written music, even from a very early age, because that's what you did.' Yet Derek chose to earn an income as a teacher and continues his career in education.
He hasn't had any formal training as a musician apart from a few obligatory piano lessons from the man over the back fence when he was a child.
He values the time he spent as a member of the Melbourne Chorale. 'Just sitting there with all the other singers who are better than me technically and just going through really hard music with a really good conductor with the support of other people around me.' That was much better than a paid lesson.
Derek divides music up into melody, chord structure accompaniment and the lyrics. He finds melody easy, he finds playing and getting the chord structure reasonably okay and the lyrics? 'Words are very very hard.'
Luckily Rowe has reconnected with Philip Millar who does write lyrics. Philip is a puppeteer and an old friend from Rusden teacher training days, and they've written Tyrannosaurus Sex together. It will be performed during the Melbourne Comedy Festival at Bar Open in Fitzroy. Musically Derek describes T.Sex as 'half way between 'Les Miz' and 'Hunchbax'. You know, broad musical theatre. It's fun.'
Derek's hoping that if people like Tyrannosaurus Sex they'll ask for more. 'I'd like to think that we could actually create an ongoing thing because essentially Philip writes really good lyrics and I think I write good music in response.'
Tyrannosaurus Sex can be seen (adults only) at Bar Open, 317 Brunswick Street FITZROY during the Melbourne Comedy Festival
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