Derek Scott Pressnall is the guitarist for indie-pop group Tilly and the Wall from Omaha, Nebraska. He is also in the bands The Flamboyant Gods, Flowers Forever, and Dead Bird.
DEAD BIRD
Honestly, i have never met Derek of DEAD BIRD, i only really know Theo. the DEAD BIRD split with MADELINE came out on SHAKE GOT THE BEETS records. SGTB is/was ran by Theo Zumm Zumm (of DEFIANCE OHIO, NANA GIRZOL etc.) Who also played in the band. at some point he decided he didn't want to get too serious about running a record label and offered me the split and of course i took it since i love MADELINE. sometimes i feel weird about not really knowing one of the musicians on plan-it-x but i know Theo and i like the music that they made together in DEAD BIRD and i really wanted to put this split out. DEAD BIRD is no longer together.
He and fellow bandmate Nick White are from Dunwoody, Georgia. He married bandmate Jamie Williams on August 12, 2006 in Omaha. They had started dating soon after the band formed.
Derek paints all of Tilly's album covers.
He has 9 siblings. His youngest sister Darci Pressnall accompanied Tilly and the Wall on their 2006 tour and was mentioned in the band's song, "You and I Misbehaving", where the first line is: "Oh Darci, Darci, don't look so sad/Don't let the daytime get you down".
ABOUT TILLY AND THE WALL
The group formed in 2001 after the demise of several Omaha groups, including Conor Oberst's Park Ave., of which Neely Jenkins and Jamie Pressnall (then Jamie Williams) were members. Jamie brought along Kianna Alarid from another band that broke up called Magic Kiss. Derek Pressnall and Nick White, natives of Dunwoody, Georgia were drawn to the music scene in Omaha, Nebraska and moved.
Their first show was an open-mic night at the now defunct Ranch Bowl. Their first release, Woo!, was recorded in Conor Oberst's garage, self-published, and distributed at shows around the Omaha area. The group released a limited-pressing eponymous 7" on Rue Royale Records, followed by their debut LP, Wild Like Children in 2004. It was the flagship release on Oberst's Team Love label and made with the help of Presto studios. Wild Like Children garnered the band a substantial amount of critical acclaim and propelled them to national tours with Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, and Of Montreal. In early 2005, Tilly and the Wall became the first "band in residence" at Omaha's Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, using the Bemis Underground's Studio T to develop their follow-up album to Wild Like Children.
In September of that year, they released You and I Misbehaving as a limited-pressing 7" in the UK through indie label Trash Aesthetics. This release picked up further critical acclaim as well as support from BBC radio broadcaster Steve Lamacq.
They have recently been touring with Jenny Lewis in support of her album featuring The Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat.
They played their first show outside of the US at the Freebutt in Brighton on February 14 2006
Bottoms of Barrels, the band's follow-up to Wild Like Children was released on May 23, 2006. They have recently finished their first headlining tour to promote their new album alongside David Dondero, Now It's Overhead, Wolf Colonel, and many other bands.
The members have all been involved with other projects in the Saddle Creek extended family, most notably Jamie and Neely as members of Park Ave. (with Clark Baechle from The Faint and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes), and Nick White as one of the few constants on recent Bright Eyes records and tours.
[edit]Recent years
Jamie Williams and Derek Pressnall were married August 12, 2006.
Tilly and the Wall appeared on the Late Show With David Letterman on October 27, 2006, to perform "Bad Education". The song was not played in full due to time constraints.
They played the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 27, 2007.
They are going to Australia in August to play at the Splendour in the Grass festival.
On their recent tour, they have been playing a new song called 'Too Excited'.
The band has been spending the past few weeks writing their new record. Kianna has documented some of the writing process in with short video clips which can be found on the band myspace.
On Sunday 2nd of September '07, Tilly & The Wall played a blinding set in glorious sunshine on the 'Guitars @ Other Machines Stage' at the first Connect Festival - held in the grounds of Inveraray Castle, Argyll, Scotland. As the band started the set, Jamie Pressnall broke the heel of one of her tap shoes - something the band insisted had never happened before.
BAND MEMBERS, TILLY AND THE WALL
Jamie Pressnall - tap dancer
Derek Pressnall - vocals, guitar
Neely Jenkins - vocals, shakers, bells, bass
Nick White - keyboard
Kianna Alarid - vocals, shakers, tambourine, recorder, bass
