Artist: Derek Michael Marc

Featured song: “Little Black Dress”

Upcoming shows: Derek Michael Marc and Friends at Northside Bar & Grill, 62860 Boyd Acres Road, Bend; 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; $3.

Bend singer-songwriter Derek Michael Marc is best known for leading the touring Eric Clapton tribute After Midnight and hosting the Wednesday open mic nights at Northside Bar & Grill. Members of After Midnight also perform with Marc locally in various permutations. Born and raised in Snoqualmie, Washington, Marc moved to Bend in 2005 to work construction.

At the time a drummer and vocalist, he picked up guitar and started writing songs about seven years ago, and has been a full-time musician ever since. Though mostly known for performing covers, he is recording an album of his original music, including this song, “Little Black Dress.”

Q: What’s the story behind this song — how was it written, recorded, etc.?

A: I’m one of those kind of people that I have to go, OK, I’m gonna write a song. And I gotta come up (with it) kind of like a story, writing a plot. A lot of songwriters are gifted with the — well, it’s a gift and a curse — but they wake up in the middle of the night with this really great idea. It doesn’t work that way for me. I’m more of a, OK, I’ve got an emotion to put something down; I’m gonna sit down and write a song, and then it just kind of moves from there. I start with one verse at a time and throw it away if it’s not good. And sometimes you write the third verse first and the second verse second and the first verse last. You don’t know it until (it’s finished). That’s how I do it, anyway.

Q: What’s the story inside this song — what’s it about?

A: This song is actually about my current sweetheart (Candace Carter). It was written about her when we first started — not seeing each other, but seeing each other around. The first time she really caught my eye, she was wearing this little black dress, and I went, there’s a song right there. So I worked on the song “Little Black Dress.” We just celebrated our third year together.

— Brian McElhiney, The Bulletin