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| Diemonds (Photo Steve Haining) |
CONTEST ALERT: We also the upcoming The Bad Pack CD autographed by all members of Diemonds!! – email us here and put “DIEMONDS” in the subject line, bonus entry if you like our Facebook page – winner notified October 5th. Check out all our other open contests here
September 16 2012 – We run an Emerging Artist Spotlight Series here at T-Mak World and through it we get to discover artists that play music we like. Sometimes the bands we interview really get us excited and today we chat up one of those bands. The Spotlight puts the focus on a band from Toronto named The Diemonds. All artists we talked to are asked similar questions to each other so we can get to know them better. The description on Diemond’s website reads:
Toronto is the setting for the most molten rock and metal scene in the western hemisphere. Meet Diemonds: the city’s hungriest band, clawing their way out of the underground with their saccharine-and-daggers hard rock. Fronted by rock’s most dangerous deity Priya Panda, the band shines on stage, commanding an audience all night long. Diemonds aren’t through until every single crowd member has had a real rock n’ roll experience.
With “In the Rough,” a CD/cassette release that’s already in the hands of every headbanger in the know, buzz on the upcoming release is at a fever pitch. On the cusp of releasing the hotly anticipated ‘The Bad Pack,” Diemonds will take their mean, tough and infectious sound on the road in 2012. You can expect big things from the young band who have a music video in rotation across Canada called “Take on the Night, and already toured extensively in the US, Canada and India, without the backing of a record label.
We were honored to have the opportunity to ask the band our usual Emerging Artist Spotlight questions and here is what they told us:
T-MAK World: Hey DIEMONDS, thanks for taking the time out to talk to us. Let’s start off with the obligatory introductions. Who’s in the band and what instrument does everyone rock?
DIEMONDS: Thanks dude, totally. The band is our singer Priya Panda, C.C. Diemond and Daniel Dekay both shredding leads, Tommy “Timbit” Cee on bass and the badass Aiden Tranquada is our resident thunder.
T-MAK World: How about the history of the band, when did you get started and how did it happen?
DIEMONDS: Diemonds has been together over five years. The first live show was in January 2007, which seems crazy to think about now. Priya and C.C. met in NYC on a tourbus, not knowing that they’d reconnect in Toronto a year later, by accident, when both were on the lookout for band members. Diemonds really solidified when C.C. joined the lineup. There’s been a lot of ups and downs and we’ve dealt with everything from addiction, to health problems, to relationship issues and of course massive egos in our history as a band. So, when Dekay joined, it was a welcome relief to just have a badass headbanger be a part of The Bad Pack. We met Dekay because he’s a huge supporter of the local music scene and through our mutual love of KISS eventually ended up playing music together. Tommy and Aiden were a natural fit when our personalities all gelled. We truly get along and we love ripping stages all across the continent with one another. Since then in 2008 we released our first EP “In the Rough” and have toured Canada multiple times, coast to coast in the US, India in 2009 and rocked stages big and small. We’re currently gearing up for the release of our full length album “The Bad Pack” on Underground Operations worldwide on Oct 2, 2012. We’re super, super stoked to have a home for our album and our band with like-minded people and to finally share this album with the planet!
T-MAK World: Who are some of your musical influences?
DIEMONDS:
Priya: Axl Rose, Stephen Pearcy (RATT), Wendy O. Williams
C.C.: Randy Rhoads, Tony Iommi, Joe Perry, KISS
Daniel Dekay: Megadeth, KISS
Tommy: Black Flag, Motorhead
Aiden: Snoop Dogg
T-MAK World: So based on the above how would you describe your music to someone that has never heard it?
DIEMONDS: It’s only party rock n’ roll, baby, but we like it! It’s booze-soaked, dirty, flirty, classic hard rock. Once, someone wrote about us, “If you hate Diemonds, you probably hate fun.” I think that just about sums us up to a tee.
T-MAK World: Why should a music fan come and see your show instead of all the other choices available to them on any given night?
DIEMONDS: Diemonds are a good fuckin’ time. We’ve made it our mission to make every night the most exciting thing to do in your city, and you’re invited. Party down in another town, baby!
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| Diemonds (Photo by 1369 Photos) |
T-MAK World: What is your favorite single line of lyrics the band has written and why?
DIEMONDS: We like the line “Only gonna do what comes naturally” from our new video/single Livin’ Tonight. I just think it really speaks about who we are as a band. Our music, our lifestyle, and our look is kind of all one and the same. We do what we know and we are who we are. And the band gives us an outlet to just be rock n’ roll maniacs all day and all night. It’s pretty fuckin’ great.
T-MAK World: What does the rest of 2012 and 2013 hold for you
DIEMONDS: Our new record “The Bad Pack” comes out on October 2nd on Underground Operations in Canada. We literally couldn’t be more excited to share our music officially, and UO has been perfect for us. They let us kind of do what we already have been doing for so long but help us out with distributing the record and some guidancee. All we wanna do, put our music in the hearts and ears of anyone who wants to bang their heads. We toured all over North America this summer coast to coast and that was a proud moment for us. We’re hitting the East Coast of Canada at the end of October and that’ll basically be it for 2012 for the road. Then we’re heading into the studio to focus on writing and recording our next album. We have a lot of ideas inspired by touring and living the insane life we do. Hopefully we have the opportunity to hit Europe and Japan in 2013 as well as back through Canada and the US in support of a new release. A lot of the goals we’d set for ourselves when we initially started the band are in our sights now. It’s a really fun time to be a Diemond!
T-MAK World: Imagine that you were asked to be the opener for any band’s world tour (both current and historical). Which band and tour would be your dream opening gig.
DIEMONDS: I can’t pick one. Let’s go with two tours. Guns n’ Roses & Metallica wouldve been AMAZING to be a part of. Or KISS and Aerosmith. Fuck! We’re lucky that we’ve gotten to open for a lot of bands we grew up listening to like Slash and Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks. It’s a huge rush knowing that a band we admire and respect is gonna be raging the same stage we are!
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| Diemonds (Photo Eddie Pedroza) |
T-MAK World: What is the future of the music industry? With the concept of the album and physical CD’s facing extinction, how will we be consuming music in 10 years? Are the economics feasible for emerging artists?
DIEMONDS: CDs, are facing extinction maybe because of the digital distance that you feel between you and the music, but vinyl can never be replaced! I think it’ll absolutely make a resurgence because it’s just so warm and comforting and we definitely think it’s the holy grail of music formats. And all the Youtube videos in the world can’t replace the live experience. I truly believe that live music garners the respect that it deserves from fans. The festival experience in North America is still making it’s way into music culture, in the way that its been so integral in Europe for years. We had the awesome opportunity to play Heavy MTL in Montreal, which is a part of the Heavy series, and is the biggest metal festival in Canada. Being a part of that is such a moving experience, I think that at least in North America it’ll reignite the excitement that we love to feel on stage.
T-MAK World: At the end of 2011 we did our picks for top 10 albums of 2011. What album do you think we should include in our top 10 albums of 2012 article?
DIEMONDS: Our record, The Bad Pack! Haha, maybe that’s not what you meant. We really are digging The Treatment record ‘This Might Hurt” and the new Slash album is awesome too.
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| Diemonds (Webster Hall Photo Nicole Crainie) |
T-MAK World: Any closing remarks for our readers?
DIEMONDS: See you on the road, headbangers!
Thanks so much to Diemonds. We hope that you can see them live at one of their upcoming gigs:
TOUR DATES:
9/28/2012 Toronto @ Lee’s Palace
9/29/2012 Oshawa, ON @ The Roi w/Sebastian Bach
9/30/2012 Collingwood, ON @ Casbah
10/16/2012 Quebec City, QC @ L’AgitéE
10/17/2012 Saint John, NB @ Cougars Lounge
10/18/2012 Halifax, NS @ Michael’s Bar & Grill
10/19/2012 Moncton, NB @ Esquire Tavern
10/20/2012 Fredericton, NB @ Fusion Nightlife
10/21/2012 Montreal, QC @ Piranha Bar
10/25/2012 Oshawa, ON @ The Atria
10/26/2012 Ottawa, ON @ The Brass Monkey
10/27/2012 Pembroke, ON @ The Lasso Saloon
The band’s website is here and as you would expect they are on Twitter and Facebook. In the meantime check out their video below from YouTube.
