DEREK FRANK THROWS AWAY THE SAFETY NET ON NEW LIVE ALBUM ‘IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, VOLUME 2 – LIVE AT THE BAKED POTATO’

No rehearsal, one night at a legendary Los Angeles jazz club: Bassist Frank (Melissa Etheridge, Don Felder of the Eagles) releases a live funk album out Nov. 7.

LOS ANGELES, CO, UNITED STATES, November 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Pittsburgh-born bassist Derek Frank has spent years as a fixture of the Los Angeles music scene, with credits that include Shania Twain, Gwen Stefani, Shakira, Kelly Clarkson, Air Supply, Melissa Etheridge, Don Felder, Mindi Abair and Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express. He has played Dancing with the Stars, Ellen and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and in 2025 he joined Yungblud, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Nuno Bettencourt for the Ozzy Osbourne tribute at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Now he is back with his own band, The Derek Frank Band. Frank will release “In Case You Missed It, Volume 2 – Live at The Baked Potato,” a live album of seventies-inspired instrumental funk, on Nov. 7, 2026. Recorded May 21 at the legendary Los Angeles jazz club during a brief tour break, the album captures the seven-piece band turning a night without rehearsal into one of his favorite performances.

“Rehearsal is overrated,” Frank joked after the first set.

Conflicting schedules left no time to rehearse, so Frank relied on a familiar approach among LA’s top session and touring musicians: send the set list, charts and recordings in advance, then trust everyone to “do their homework.” Several songs were new to the group, and substitute keyboardist Michael Bluestein, the longtime Foreigner member, was tackling most of the material for the first time. Frank had every bit of confidence in the musicians around him, and it paid off from the opening downbeat.

“One of my favorite shows we’ve ever played,” he said.

Fortunately, the cameras and multitrack recording system were running at “The Spud” that night. House recording engineer Jeremy Krull captured both sets, preserving the interplay and energy that made the evening stand out.

“When I listened back to the board recording a few days later, I decided that the first set deserved to be made into a live album,” said Frank.

Stream the album NOW.

The Baked Potato was founded in 1970 by keyboardist Don Randi, of the legendary LA studio musicians collective known as “The Wrecking Crew,” and it has long been a gathering place for Los Angeles’ finest session musicians and fans of jazz and fusion. The intimate Studio City venue gives artists room to stretch out and audiences a close-up view of the musical conversation.

“There’s something in the energy of the first take… the freshness of playing something for the first time with no formal rehearsal, that often results in some magical musical moments,” said Frank.

The night’s repertoire drew from Frank’s three studio albums, “Let the Games Begin…” (2009), “Eleven Years Later” (2020) and “Origin Story” (2024), along with recent singles and select covers. An opening medley, “Da Break/Breakout,” paired fellow bassist Oskar Cartaya’s “Da Break” with Frank’s original “Breakout.” Narrowed down to eight tracks, the album features five originals and three covers: The Meters’ “Give It What You Can,” Tower of Power’s “Squib Cakes” and The Greyboy Allstars’ “Happy Friends.” Together they showcase Frank’s blend of funk, blues, soul, jazz, southern rock and seventies soundtrack influences, with tight arrangements, slinky grooves and room for each musician’s personality to shine.

Joining Frank are Matt Hankle on drums (John Fogerty, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Soul Asylum), Anthony King on guitar (Slash, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock), Demian Arriaga on percussion (The Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Iggy Azalea), Dan Fornero on trumpet (Phil Collins, Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, Mumford & Sons), George Shelby on saxophone (Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Bono & Sting) and Foreigner’s Michael Bluestein on keyboards. For his fifth solo album, Frank reunited with frequent collaborator Jim Scott (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Tom Petty, Wilco, Sting, Red Hot Chili Peppers), who mixed the record with assistant mixing engineer Benjamin Knapp. Fellow bassist Whynot Jansveld (The Wallflowers) handled mastering.

Frank’s solo work has earned praise from Bass Magazine, Guitar World Magazine, No Treble, American Songwriter Magazine, Bass Player Magazine and Music Connection Magazine, along with podcasts such as “Everyone Loves Guitar” and “The Bass Shed.” He received a Hollywood Independent Music Award nomination for “Best Instrumental Song,” and his work has drawn comparisons to Lettuce, Vulfpeck, Cory Wong, Snarky Puppy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Karl Denson and John Scofield.

Frank has spent much of 2026 on the road with Etheridge and Felder, and he squeezed this performance into a two-week break between a run of shows with each, trading larger stages for the intimate club setting. The evening gave him a chance to reconnect with his own band and step into his role as a composer and bandleader, with the results captured on tape.

“In Case You Missed It, Volume 2 – Live at The Baked Potato” release date: Nov. 7, 2026. For more information, visit www.derekfrank.com/about.

Nathalie Baret
Win-Win PR & Artist Management LLC
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Watch the video, “Breakout,” with Cartaya’s “Da Break” as an intro, recorded live at The Baked Potato on May 21, 2026.

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