Derek Mortland’s musical life began at an early age on various toy instruments. His parents gave him his first guitar at age 12. As the years swiftly went by, he explored many styles of music which primarily included the electric guitar before finding his passion: the 12-string acoustic.  
While he has always built on his parents’ love of jazz and classical music, his inspiration for today’s compositions come deep from his soul and spirit. His guitar has become a musical voice, providing a backdrop for his life’s experience.   “(The acoustic) really takes you to a different place and plane than where an electric instrument can,” Derek says. “There’s just more soul there.”
 
With Quick Stops and Starts…
 
In the 1990s, Derek tapped into his thrill-seeking, competitive nature and competed semi-professionally in motorcycle road racing. His success led him to be ranked 11th in the nation in this sport in 1996.

But in 1997, at a St. Louis speedway, the quickest stop came when Derek survived a paralyzing crash that changed his life.  With a sustained spinal cord and head injury he had to totally re-learn how to do many things we generally take for granted- including the way he played guitar. With a re-adjusted torso balance, simply holding the instrument became a major test of creativity and fine tuning.  Tony Cooper, a guitar-playing physical therapist, took extra interest in helping Derek develop positioning and seating that better stabilized his ability to play. 

"Tony would strap me in my chair and give me the guitar. We would un-strap and re-strap as we looked to find the most comfortable and efficient position for playing. Thank God I don't have to use those straps anymore!"
Since Derek’s accident, he has performed in festivals around the world through the Artists with Disabilities Network, and grown in ways which seldom occur without the ability to look at life from a different perspective.
 
Led to A Full-Sounding Serenity…
 
In time, Derek reclaimed, redeveloped and redefined his own, unique and distinctive sound. He started to play around with alternative and specialized, non-traditional tunings. Derek credits Guitarist Richard Leo Johnson for showing him the "Gershwin" tuning and for his advice on composition. Through his music and musical compositions, Derek seeks to build a bridge to the timeless, mystical, and ethereal side that lives deep inside all of us, but that has hidden itself away in our modern, fast paced world. The fast paced world he left behind.