The Derek Trucks Band to Perform Nov. 12 in the Center for the Arts

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The UB Center for the Arts will present The Derek Trucks Band on at 8 p.m. on Nov. 12 in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. The concert is sponsored by the UB Student Association and WBFO-FM.

Twenty-three-year-old Derek Trucks' musical career began at the age of nine, when he picked up an acoustic guitar at a yard sale. Within the span of a single year, he learned how to play, and began touring. Derek got his first paying gig at age 11 and formed his first band at age 12.

The Derek Trucks Band released its eponymous debut (Landslide) in 1997, following it up in 1998 with "Out of Madness" (House of Blues). Both albums were produced by John Snyder, and quickly informed listeners that there was a lot more to Trucks than his blues-guitar-prodigy-label would indicate.

In 1999, Derek was asked to join the Allman Brothers Band, taking over slide guitar duty. "When your childhood heroes ask you to play, 'no' is hardly an option," said Trucks. But with so much invested in the Derek Trucks Band, breaking up the group was also out of the question. Derek decided to balance the two, and between them he keeps up an extensive touring schedule that leaves little time at home in Jacksonville. In fact, between his own group and the Allman Brothers Band, Derek played more than 365 shows in 2000 & 2001, reaching a combined audience of more than a million people in those two years alone.

The band is touring in support of "Joyful Noise," their debut album on Columbia Records, which combines the group's naturally diverse sound with an even more eclectic mix of styles and performers, concocting a spiritually-based "world soul" collection. At the core is the band's energetic rhythmic unity, blending Derek's skilled-beyond-his-years slide guitar technique, Todd Smallie's deep and steady six-string bass grooves, Yonrico Scott's vibrant drum rhythms and Kofi Burbridge's inimitably inventive keyboard textures and flute flourishes.

Tickets for The Derek Trucks Band are $20.50 for the general public, and $16.50 for UB Students. Tickets are available from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center Box Office and at all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS or visit the Web site at http://www.arts.buffalo.edu. The Center for the Arts is a Ticketfast location.