Derrick McKee is a man in transition, and it couldn’t be more evident than on his new LP, “Drive Until Daylight.” The eleven-track album, which was produced by McKee, Rick Witkowski, and Anthony Rankin, serves as McKee’s country-music debut as well as his first release on Navway Records. However, just because the 24-year old Wheeling, WV native is a new voice in the genre of country music doesn’t mean the genre is new to him.
"Wheeling, WV is a town that has a very rich and historical country background,” says McKee. “My grandparents and parents use to go in to watch Jamboree USA at the Capital Music Hall on the weekends, and they’d head out to Jamboree in the Hills every July for four days of fun. You could say that country music is in my blood."
McKee represents a new generation of country musicians who combine traditional elements of the genre’s past – banjos, fiddles, mandolins, and more – with contemporary, up-beat songwriting based around hooks and conversational-styled lyrics, sometimes with a dash of humor or sarcasm.
“Every time I sit down to write a song, I want to write the best song I’ve ever written and I want it to connect with as many people as possible,” said McKee.
It’s no wonder that “Drive Until Daylight” is filled with down-to-earth, nitty-gritty anthems about everyday life that the majority of people can relate to. Whether it’s the sure-to-be hit single about curing what ails ya’ via the bottle “What Doesn’t Kill You,” the slightly vindictive “You’re Ugly Now,” or the humorous/ridiculous near-bluegrass tracks such as “My Biggest Fan (Is My Mom),” and “When This Old World Breaks Me,” McKee packs a punch.
“I’m not one for taking life too seriously, so it’s my hope that people listen to these songs and laugh once or twice and make the live show incredibly entertaining.”
Despite not taking life too seriously, McKee manages to add remarkable depth to the album through the tracks, “This Old Town,” “The Second Time,” and “It’s Time For Moving Out,” three songs about lost love – albeit, different kinds of love – which should at least form a lump in the throat of those with even the coldest of hearts.
“This entire record is about all of the crazy things that could happen to you in life, the ways that you deal with each situation, and the lessons you learn. The opening track says, ‘You’ve gotta shift your gears while you’re getting where you’ll go.’ I truly believe that this is where I’m supposed to be right now: writing and singing country tunes. Hopefully, I’ll be here for quite a while.”
