Del Marquis
| Del Marquis | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Derek Gruen |
| Also known as | Del Marquis |
| Born |
August 31, 1977 New York City |
| Genres | Disco, alternative, pop, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass guitar, keytar, guitar synth, vocals, organ, synthesiser, electric piano |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Associated acts | Scissor Sisters |
| Website | www |
Del Marquis (born Derek Gruen on August 31, 1977) is an American musician and the lead guitarist for the US group Scissor Sisters. He is also the creator and producer of the US group Slow Knights.
Born in New York City, he was introduced to the Scissor Sisters in 2001 at the insistence of a friend who, at the time, was dating Jake Shears. He originally dismissed the band when he first saw them perform at The Cock, a New York City gay bar.
Del produced the DVD Kuvaputki released in 2008 by Embryoroom director Edward Quist about Finnish noise artists Pan Sonic.
On Halloween 2008, he began releasing solo material, starting with the song "Hot House", only available with a digital film from his official site. The video was made by Embryoroom, the same director who made Kuvaputki. Further to this, on November 6 it was announced that Del was to digitally release a series of solo EPs, with one released the first Tuesday of every month from December 2008 to April 2009. These contained collaborations with Joan As Police Woman and Basement Jaxx. The first EP, titled Hothouse, was released on December 2. The Runaround EP was released in September 2009, and includes remixes from Baron von Luxxury and Lifelike. The other EPs were titled Character Assassination, and Litter to Society, each with an accompanying videos by Embryoroom.
Del Marquis was included on a list of openly gay entertainers in The Advocate's "Forty Under 40" issue of June/July 2009.
After collaborating over a two-year period with musicians like Rod Thomas (a.k.a. Bright Light Bright Light), Xaxier, Mykal Kilgore, former Scissor Sister members Chrissi Poland and Bridget Barkan and members of Prince's The New Power Generation in between world tours, Gruen eventually compiled what became a new project called Slow Knights, whose debut album Cosmos was released on March 26 on iTunes and through the band's website on limited edition vinyl.
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