A lot has happened to Derek See in the last year. It’s been about that long that since The Bang, the girl-group band he started with his partner Angeline King, broke up.
“There was a lot of turmoil,” he says, in the line-up at the time, with different members pushing for different directions. He and King wanted to eventually re-start the band, but they didn’t want to rush it.
“We took a little bit of time off,” says See. “We thought a lot about how we were going to approach it when we regrouped.”
And indeed, The Bang 2.0, which headlines at the Blank Club Saturday, is quite a bit different than its predecessor. Now, instead of three girl singers up front, there are two—King and new addition Rachel Mae Havens—but the whole band sings, as well. Richard Gutierrez has joined on drums, with Jafar Green holding down the basslines.
Perhaps the biggest change musically, however, is the addition of a co-lead guitarist in Alison Green (of the all-girl Kinks tribute band the Minks). It’s a surprising change, since See’s guitar is synonymous with the sound of the Band, but he says he couldn’t be happier.
“It allows me to play more how I want to. Trying to play horn parts and keyboard parts, it was exhausting,” See admits.
