LISTEN: Derek Day Shares ‘Vergüenza’

LA rocker’s new EP, I Can’t Imagine, out now

August 22, 2025August 22, 2025 Ron Hart 0 Comments 2025, Dave’s Room, Derek Day, I Can't Imagine, Los Angeles, Mother Love Bone, Mötley Crüe, Vergüenza

The sound of hard rock and metal from the mid-to-late ‘80s is all the rage on the nostalgia circuit these days, which makes the sound of Derek Day right on time.

With little competition on the current new music circuit, the Los Angeles guitar ace delivers the kind of streetwise melodic brashness that soundtracked the Whiskey a Go Go and the Rainbow Room for decades, making him ripe for discovery by fans who continue to hold their copies of Ratt’s Reach for the Sky and Michael Monroe’s Not Fakin’ It near to their tiger-striped hearts.

However, as Day’s upcoming solo EP I Can’t Imagine signifies, there’s so much more to the artistry of this young man than the sound that helped him land opening spots for everyone from Steve Vai to Joan Jett to Ted Nugent and gigs like singing backing vocals for the latest Mötley Crüe single “Dogs of War.”

With a vocal style reminiscent of the late Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, this 7-song set reveals Day’s pop heart, expressing himself in a myriad of ways that reveal the influences of Jellyfish (“Nowhere”), late ‘70s Gregg Allman (“If You’re Real (Tomorrow)”) and Cheap Trick (“Push & Pull”).

“I’ve written with so many artists”, says Day. “When you collaborate, by necessity you often have to meet in the middle. The new record is top-to-bottom mine.” The songs on this record all began as self-inflicted ear worms; choruses that existed nowhere else would get stuck in his head for days. “Hours and hours and days in my head, then I sit and in a matter of minutes I bring it into the physical world. It all always starts with the chorus. Then the verses sort of coalesce around that, and the lyrics fall into place later.”

Derek Day I Can’t Imagine EP, Label 51 Recordings 2025

Rock & Roll Globe is proud to premiere the latest single off the EP, “Vergüenza,” today on the site, a song that not only closes out the collection but prominently showcases Day’s dazzling guitar playing.

“TRIP OUT! This one is an ode to all of my upside down experiences — out on the town for a week straight, surfing different couches, conversing with LA River Shamans and the Anthony Bourdains of Top Ramens,” he explains. It’s truly about my turbulent relationship with Alcohol and Substance abuse. A cry to find not who, but WHERE I am by any means necessary. The tag caterwauls “when I’m down, I’m down Sin Vergüenza,” meaning something somewhat two-faced — shamelessly down for any self-destructive activity, yet embracing the chaos that is me without any shame — living as myself to eventually love myself.”

I Can’t Imagine was recorded live to tape at the iconic North Hollywood studio Dave’s Room. Formerly known as Mama Jo’s, Dave’s Room was originally built in 1970, and the place where soft rockers Ambrosia recorded their debut album 50 years ago, and where Lucinda Williams cut her classic 2014 LP Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone. In addition to Day,

the record features Alan Toka on drums and percussion, Griffin Tucker on bass, Rhodes, piano, bassist Ben White, Camilla Darling on keys and synths, and backing vocals from Roberta Freeman. It was co-produced by Darling and Day.

Derek Day is endorsed by Cream Guitars, Vega Trim, Fender and Yamaha.

Listen to “Vergüenza” below.