Present yourself to the readers
Hi there, My name is Diana Rein and I am a former actress and now blues guitar player, singer and songwriter. I have just released my second album called “Long Road” and I am having a great time being a musician, being creative and having fun playing music.
Who composes ?...How does it work with the band ?
For my album Long Road, I wrote all of the music and recorded all of the instruments for it. I got a lot of satisfaction out of taking to the time to learn how to record and seeing a song come to life layer by layer. Having the finished product finally is just amazing to know that I made something and it was what I was creatively feeling at the moment. I did not have a band at the time of recording this album. But now I have merged with Kenny “Big Daddy” Williams of Papermoon Gypsys and we will be doing a new album together.
Your texts ?..What are they talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?
I always start with my guitar and get a groove going and then I just start singing along...words will randomly and spontaneosly come out and I love keeping those because I feel like that is my subconscious at work. Then when I see what words came out I try to figure out the puzzle about what my subconscious is trying to say and I go from there to keep building the song. Sometimes I will have a specific topic that I would like to write about that is really affecting me though, so it all depends on the day or situation.
Are you day or night ?
I create music whenever I can because I have a son and I grab any moment that I can when I am not in Mom mode. It helps to have my family helping me out. But I would have to say that the easiest time with my circumstances to do music is at night. But that’s not enough hours for me so I always try to carve out time during the day to work on things.
What are your personal musical tastes and your influences ?
I am heavily influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Tom Keifer, Prince, Philip Sayce, Jonny Lang, BB King, Freddie King, Albert King and Bonnie Raitt. I love listening to Blues Rock and Blues. I also like to listen to World music as well when I want to hear something different or decompress and feel like I am at a spa or hotel laying out by a pool.
Generally, what's the reaction of the public during your concerts ?
I have my first full band concert Diana Rein & the Papermoon Gypsys in a few days where we will be performing my new music, Papermoon Gypsy music and blues covers so we shall have to see what the reaction is. I hope to give my best and I hope the audience can feel it. I definitely plan on having a good time so it should be a great night!
What's your best live memory ? And why ?
My best live memory was playing a Chicago yearly festival called The Taste of Chicago on a stage right before Bonnie Raitt played the mainstage. So I got to enjoy playing my music outside which I always love doing and when I was finished, I was able to go and see Bonnie do her thing and rule the stage. She is amazing and performs with such ease. I love that about her.
What are your future dates ?
July 7th Diana Rein & Papermoon Gypsys will be at The Blue Beet in Newport Beach, CA. And on July 22nd we will be playing the Orange County Fair. We will also be playing the Real Blues Festival August 14th in Costa Mesa and the New Blues Festival in Long Beach on September 3rd!
In studio, what was the ambiance for the album LONG ROAD ?...etc.…
I recorded the Long Road Album at home so it was nice being able to record whenever I would like. I was learning a lot as I was recording as well, so there were days that I took off of recording to just learn about what I needed to do in order to keep going. But when it came time to record the instruments, those were my most treasured moments. I loved that part of the whole process. To just hear what I was playing and what it was creating. I loved being my own Producer and knowing when it was right or when I had to go and do it again.
How does it work for the design of the CD ?and why this title ?
I had my husband Steve who is a graphic designer do the album artwork. I love the idea of making the guitar neck look a road for “Long Road” and me being at the intersection of that road. It was a long road for me because I loved music my whole life but I finally made the decision after I had my son that I was going to put all of my energy into being the musician I could possibly be and I had a tough road to get there because I went through many challenges from having throat surgery, to giving music up because I wasn’t playing guitar the way I wanted to in order to write the type of music I always wanted to write which was lead guitar based. I finally reached the moment of truth where I had to make a decision about which direction I wanted my life to go in and looking back….yes, it was a Long Road coming to that conclusion.
With Management and booking, how do you work ? And with whom ?
So far, Diana Rein & the Papermoon Gypsys don’t have a formal Manager or Booking Agent. So we are doing what we can on our own as well as having help from our wonderful and hardworking publicist Doug Deutsch. I met Kenny “Big Daddy” Williams because he and I shared Doug as a publicist so if it wasn’t for Doug, we would not have connected. The three of us share the same work values. We are pretty relentless and wewant to succeed so we work hard and have a lot of fun doing it.
What are your projects ?
Kenny “Big Daddy” Williams and I will be getting together to work on music for a new album when we are not playing live shows.
What do you expect from the future ?
I look forward to keep playing live and getting better and better at my craft. I am excited about growing with my music, creating more music, playing with amazing musicians and doing what I love to do.
What's your motto ?
Live life by feeling your way through it rather than thinking your way through it. Use your mind wisely, don’t waste it on negativity and fear. Keep positivity and love in the driver’s seat.
Website to remember
My website is www.dianarein.com
What would you like to say to the readers ?
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for listening to my music. I hope I get to play live for your one day soon but until then please connect with my on facebook at facebook.com/dianareinmusic. I do Live videos on there now and you can ask me questions in real time. It’s a fun new way to connect with fans. So I hope to see you there.
And to young peoples who begin in the music world ?
Keep practicing and pick your instrument up everyday, even if it’s just for 5 minutes. Make contact with it everyday because you will get better and then a few years in the future you will look back and be amazed at all you have learned. But have your big goals figured out on where you want your playing to go and work little by little each day to get there.
