Biography

Taken from Amir of the desert

Music Education: He is a self taught musician and has a production/engineering certificate from UCLA. (Not a degree, but a special course for theories.)

Publishing Company/Record Label: Amiricol Music, DeRock Records Publishing Inc.

Other musical work & experiences:

*Mixed and produced Coal Chamber's self-titled album (the song "Amir of the Desert" on that album was jokingly written about him)

*Produced Spineshank's Strictly Diesel

*Engineered the Eel's Beautiful Freak

*Did mixing on the Strangeland soundtrack

*Does some work with Yamaha and also designed an amplifier with them

*Is a long time Jackson abuser and designed the Disrupter and Roswellian Star

*Appears with Jay Gordon on Forever Mod: A Portrait of a Storyteller, where he plays bass, guitar, and keyboards; also does the looping, arranging, mixing, producing, and overdubs, and also does vocals on their cover of "Hot Legs

Other bands he listens to: DJ Diesel boy, Squarepusher, Love and Rockets, Placebo, Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Ratt

All-time favorite album: Dead or Alive's Youthquake

Favorite Music Video: "So Alive" by Love and Rockets

Makes himself pretty in: Diesel, D&G, Gucci, DK, Raf Simmons, Lip Service, Dirk Bikkembergs, Goodwill, Costume National, Hugo Boss, Helmut Lang, Creepers, Cool Shoes, Swear Shoes, Urban Decay, MAC, and Makeup Forever

Favorite Drink: Guinness Beer, Merlot, Jagermeister, Arizona Green Tea, Smoothies, Mountain Dew

How he likes his eggs: Scrambled or poached

Usually wakes up at: "About 1pm."

Has he ever received an expresso enema?: "No, thank god!"

If he could trade places with anyone in the world, it would be..: "An astronaut the day he left on a mission in the space shuttle."

How bad he was in school: "In first grade in Catholic school, I don't remember what I said to the teacher, but I got kicked out of school."

Most Embarrassing Moment: "Someone asked me to be in this movie from a picture they saw of me. I'm the worst actor in the world, so I took some lessons and went to read for the movie. I was so bad, they kept giving me smaller and smaller parts 'til it was one word. I didn't get the part."

Does He Keep Gifts From Fans?: "Of course."

What about Rough Cutt's "Never Gonna Die?": "That song sucks."

Is he ever gonna die?: "No."

Oh the miscellany!!:

*He absolutely hates tomatoes.

*When introducing himself he often gets mistaken for "Eric," "Ear," "Air," or "A Mirror."

*He's a huge Star Wars fan but he gives The Phantom Menace "5 out of 10."

*He didn't like the movie Happy Gilmore. He thought it was stupid.

*No, he doesn't shave his legs.

*He has three piercing in his left ear, one in the right.

*People keep saying that he has a tattoo of angel wings on his back with Michael's name in them. This is NOT true.

*On the tour bus, there is a page from a magazine taped up on a cupboard with an article titled "Listen to Grandpa" in which someone drew hair and eyebrows on the old man, and wrote "Amir!" in white out, so it says "Listen to Grandpa Amir!"

*He shortened his last name to Derakh from Goharderakhshan, and Amir was raised by his stepdad so sometimes he goes under his last name which is Davidson.

EQUIPMENT:

Guitars:

*Black Roland G-707 synth guitar (used for "Stitches" on the Family Values '98 video)

*Gray Roland G-707 synth guitar with bridge pickup in neck position (shown in a Guitar One photo shoot)

*White Roland G-707 with bolt-neck

*Roland GR-700 guitar synthesizer (used in accordance with G-707's)

*Parker Fly Supreme in transparent honey finish, with Roland GK-2A synth pickup and DiMarzio Air Norton pickups, and neck widened to accomodate for lower tuning

*Black Parker Fly Deluxe, with Roland GK-2A synth pickup and DiMarzio Air Norton pickups, and neck widened to accommodate for lower tuning (seen in "Blue Monday" video)

*White Parker Fly Deluxe, with Roland GK-2A synth pickup and DiMarzio Air Norton pickups, and neck widened to accommodate for lower tuning (seen in "Blue Monday" video)

*Jackson Roswellian Star, with built-in GK-2A synth pickup, custom pickups by Tom Holmes, LSR machine head tuners, Sustainer system and in "interference" finish with bolt-neck

*Jackson Disrupter, with built-in GK-2A synth pickup, custom pickups by Tom Holmes, LSR machine head tuners, and in silver finish with red stripe and bolt-neck

*Jackson Disrupter, with built-in GK-2A synth pickup, custom pickups by Tom Holmes, LSR machine head tuners, and in white finish with red stripe and bolt-neck

*Jackson Disrupter, with built-in GK-2A synth pickup, custom pickups by Tom Holmes, LSR machine head tuners, and in black finish with red stripe and bolt-neck (Seen in Guitar World, November 2000)

*Yamaha extended guitar prototype with built-in GK-2A synth pickup, lights in the neck and red laser in the headstock.

*Andreas Custom guitar in Horizon Blue

*Roland GR-30 guitar synth used in accordance with all GK-2A equipped guitars

**All guitars are tuned to B flat.

Amps:

*Live: Marshall JCM-2000 amplifier

*Studio: Modified Marshall JCM-800 amplifier "The 800 is the one piece of gear we cannot be without."

*Roland VGA-7 amp

*Line 6 Flextone amp

*Yamaha 2x12 AD-80 Modeling Amplifier Combo (Amir Derakh model)

*Marshall 1960 4x12" cabinets with Celestion Greenbacks

Effects:

*Roland GR-700 Guitar Synthesizer (used in accordance with G-707's)

*Roland GR-30 Guitar Synth (used in accordance with all GK-2A equipped guitars)

*Digital Music Corporation GCX Ground Control Switching System

*Digital Music Coporation GCX Ground Control MIDI Foot Controller, which controls the following:

-Avalon Direct Box (direct to mixing board)

-Korg DTR-1 Rack Tuner

-TC Electronics 2290 Delay Unit

-Roland JP-8080 Synth Module

-Boss PS-5 Super Shifter pedal

-Boss PH-2 Super Phaser pedal

-Boss HM-3 Hyper Metal pedal

-Ibanez BL-9 Bi-Mode Chorus pedal