We were lucky to catch up with Derek Anthony Wilson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Archpalatine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

When I think about a meaningful projects I think about the two most important things in my life right now other than family, love, and faith. Those two meaningful things are my new full band album “Doozies to Daisies” and the “CarBags” homeless drive that I am proud to be a part of.

Doozies to Daisies is a meaningful project in my personal life. I have been working as a musician in Philadelphia for over a decade. In that time I’ve had the honor of releasing original music to the public and playing many live shows. But this album is easily my most meaningful accomplishment to date. It is a dream realized and a finished product that I am excited to share. I was fortunate enough to record it with some of my best friends and bandmates. It signifies overcoming the challenges before us and shows that perseverance and determination are valuable, and necessary when pursuing a dream such as this. “Doozies to Daisies” is not a studio engineered album, it is live instruments. The band of this album is featured in each song on their respective instruments. Eric Allenson is playing drums, Anthony Pompey is singing background vocals and a good amount of lead vocals, Ben High is playing bass, Dave Coulson is playing guitars, and I, Derek “Arch” Wilson am playing the keys and singing most of the lead vocals. This album was produced by Michael Trycieckyj.

The “CarBags” homeless drive is a special function I’m proud to be partnering with St. Martin’s Church Radnor to accomplish. We are creating care packages that are to be kept in the car for homeless people we encounter. This drive is meaningful because it is helping me show my heart and give back. I have been blessed in my journey and I feel a grand desire to do something specifically meaningful. St. Martin’s Church Radnor is a special place and they have been the hub and pioneers of many outreach programs. Them agreeing to partner with me to make an impact is monumental and a great honor! We are making an impact with our meaningful project on June 3rd on the church’s campus at 10am.

The “CarBags” homeless drive is an special function I’m proud to be partnering with St. Martin’s Church Radnor to accomplish. We are creating care packages that are to be kept in the car for homeless people we encounter. This drive is meaningful because it is helping me show my heart and give back. I have been blessed in my journey and I feel a grand desire to do something specifically meaningful. St. Martin’s Church Radnor is a special place who have been the hub and pioneer of many outreach programs. Them agreeing to partner with me to make an impact is monumental to this entire thing and a great honor! We are making an impact with our meaningful project on June 3rd on the church’s campus at 10am.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Well first, to readers who have never heard of me I want to start with saying hello, I greet you with kindness and love. Thank you for reading this far. My name is Derek “Arch” Wilson, and I am a songwriter, pianist, and bartione/tenor from Philadelphia. I have always been a songwriter even as a child and now as an adult I get to perform my original music with fellow musicians. I have a new full band recorded album entitled “Doozies to Daisies”. It is named this because with songwriting I take the “doozies” (bad circumstances) of life and turn them into “daisies” (music and storytelling) representing beautiful creations.

My music is light-hearted and for people of all ages and walks of life. and I mean all, ages. This is what sets me apart as a musician. My music is not easily categorizable and yet it is pleasing to the ear. It challenges the listener and is embraced by people who love music that is not the same formula as garden variety popular types. It sits outside the box but is still palatable as if it were inside the box.

My influences come from a plethora of places. I enjoy a broad spectrum of music from classical, to deep pop, dance, rock, soul, gospel, and even some hard punk. Because of my broad range of musical influences this album, Doozies to Daisies” shows my versatility as a songwriter, and I am very proud of it.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

As a creative who consistently shares space with other creatives, there is something we share that I can offer non-creatives a glimpse of. Being in a band is like being in a romantic relationship. Sharing the intimacy of music together is like making love. Music shares and escapes, it transcends time and speaks language without words. It is a back and forth conversation and creates both angelic moments and monstrous scenes. In a band, as many creatives have been in the history of time, you are deeply connected and your heart and soul go into each moment and person.

It isn’t always easy to see that from the outside because we are also supposed to show face and perform and entertain like nothing is ever wrong or ever happens. And let me tell you, it isn’t always easy. But something that keeps me focused is this… If I work at a job and there is drama and awful days, but I am a musician, I know that my music will transcend the job no matter how involved it is.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

There are few lessons I’ve had to unlearn in my journey. Some of them stem from church, and some from my upbringing. But one that I recently had to unlearn is one that I was taught as a child. I was taught to cast down imaginations… and in my youthful mind that meant don’t imagine because it is an evil indulgence. But being a creative all I do is imagine and create, or plan to create or imagine. How can I live with that fear? Who would I ever cast them down? I cannot! No, instead I control them and move to the places I want in my imagination without doubt. Of course there are times when there are thoughts that are not good for me that lead me to imagine things contrary to my growth, and those imaginations are renounced. This is how I have to move to be the best me that I am.

Contact Info:

• Website: archpalatine.com
• Instagram: @archpalatine
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/archpalatine
• Linkedin: Derek Anthony Wilson
• Twitter: @archpalatine
• Youtube: @archpalatine
• TikTok: – @archpalatine @archpalatine on Spotify / Apple Music / streaming services

Image Credits
Nick Williams Aceadelic Jamie Kassa Shayne Palmer Paul Csi