Embracing Authenticity and Growth with Diamante at Louder Than Life Festival

0:04 Hey, you're listening to The Adventure of Spiderman on W4CY Radio. This is Spiderman here on The Adventure of Spiderman W4CY Radio and I'm here with. Diamante! Nice. I can't believe, like, last time we talked we both had blue hair and now we're almost normal. We did. We both had that. Well, you're rocking the blue sunglasses now. Yeah, exactly. I had to save some part of it, you know. But yeah, we were talking to like how much work that is. It's like, you know, I just put red in my hair recently, but I've done like the last year with none of that stuff. And it was so relaxing to not do that all the time.

0:55 Oh, my gosh. I mean, I get so many, which understandably, because it was a really cool look. I get so many people telling me, like, we missed the blue hair. Bring the blue hair back. And I just got my hair to be healthy again after seven years of bleaching and dyeing. How long was mine blue? Like, probably about the same or longer. No way. Yeah. It's on my logo. It was my trademark, just like you. I branded too close to the sun with that one. It worked too well. I know, right? But more importantly, forget blue hair. You are a most amazing artist with such great talent.

1:36 Thank you. That you don't need blue hair. Thank you. But you're here at Louder Than Life that I've now changed to call Hotter Than Life. Hotter Than Life. That's the new festival. That's amazing. What do you think? When's the last time you've been at Louder Than Life? So the last time I played Louder was 2021. So it's been a minute. It's changed. We're in a completely new area, right? Oh, Champions Park was the last time? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Like, this is totally different. And huge. Massive. I had to get on an artist shuttle from the stage just to get here. It lasted like, it was a good 10-minute ride just to get from there to here.

2:19 Right? Somebody else I was interviewing were like, I think it was like four miles. And they were just guessing because how long the ride was. Wow. But, you know, it's still just as exciting as it was when I first played it. I'm just so happy to be back here. I love doing these festivals, even if it's ridiculously hot. I love the energy. I love getting to be back here and running into friends or just people that I know in passing and getting to watch all these bands all in the same day. It's like summer camp. Exactly. That's why, like, my youngest daughter, sometimes I'll bring her to a festival and she'll be like, Dad, halfway through the first day, I'm already done. I don't know how you do this every weekend. And I'm like, I don't know how I wouldn't. You know, I'd be bored.

3:08 When I go home, I'm like, bored. And I go into seclusion. I know, I go into, like, seclusion. Like, I talk to nobody. I don't even leave the house. And then, okay, a few days later, I'm off and I'm, like, then when I'm here... First one here, last one to leave because it is so much fun. Yeah. You know? And you're right. Like, I go to festivals and I see all my friends. I have a brother that says to me, like, you know, you're not going to have any friends. You're not going to meet anybody. I'm like, no, you don't get it. That's why I have at home. Exactly. You know? Exactly. When I'm out, it's like... A reunion all the time, you know? And like some of my favorite people. And that's because of the community we have here. You know, if the rest of the world could learn from this community, that would solve the world's problems.

4:05 You nailed it. You nailed it on the head. Right? Yeah. You know, and we're just a big family. There's no outsiders. There's no races. There's no nothing. No. It's just all of us together. And everybody is as cool as can be. Yeah. And I think that's why I love it so much, because of all those reasons. Exactly. So how did it feel playing now at Louder Than Life compared to the last time at Louder Than Life? Hmm. So the first time I played, I was 23, 24, and now I've just turned 30. Oh, happy birthday. Thank you.

4:47 And I've done just so much touring since then, so I feel like my show is just on a completely other level. As a performer, I was actually thinking on stage, like, wow, if I didn't have the endurance that I have today, I don't know how I would have gotten through this set a couple of years ago, because it was It was one of the more physically challenging sets I've done, but it was, like, home for me at that point. It's, like, ingrained in my bones. Well, like, you go in the zone, too. Yeah. I'm always asking artists, how are you performing this heat? And I know the answer. It's, like, you don't give your permission to feel like shit until after you get off stage. It's so true. You just push through.

5:28 Exactly. And you have the crowd feeding you all this incredible energy, so you're not even... You get lost in it. You're not even thinking for most of it that you're actually suffering. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. So how do you feel you've changed as an artist from then or even the beginning till now? I feel that I now really trust myself and my skill set and my talents. Whereas at the beginning, I wasn't entirely sure I would rely a lot on outside opinion. And I've learned, and I think especially through the creative process, to really trust my instinct and to really trust my gut and go with that first idea and really believe.

6:15 I've done the work to be at a point where I know how to write a good song. I know how to write a song from the heart. I know how to tap into that vulnerability, which I didn't really do at the beginning. And that's now such a cornerstone of what I. Do in my music. And important. And important because that's how people relate to the songs. And it took a lot of playing shows and people coming up to me afterwards and saying, hey, this song really impacted me. This song saved my life. This song helped me get through this. And I took all that with me. And I still do every time I go into the studio and create. I love that because, you know, I think without the emotion and the vulnerability... you're like a shell of an artist, not you specifically, just anybody. And to your point, like, listen, I think music is a transfer of emotion. So if you're not exhibiting emotion, how are the audience receiving emotion?

7:13 Absolutely. You know, and that's where that real connection comes from because they just identify and the meanings to your lyrics don't have to have the same meanings to them. But there is a meaning. Even if you have your own, you put meaning into it. Yeah. And then they put their own meaning to it. Exactly. Because as a music fan myself, my favorite songs are the ones that make me feel something. Yeah. That I can relate to. So it absolutely makes sense that I should be doing the same in my own music. Exactly. A hundred percent. Yeah. What is your feeling about being able to handle the business now compared to when you were young? Wow. I mean, you're still young, but young, young.

8:03 I feel like I could write a book. Right? I've learned a lot. I have really become a businesswoman in my own regard. Nice. I used to really think all I had to focus on was just singing and that was it. But now I really do know the ins and outs of my own business. Right. I'm a lot wiser. I'm a lot more, how do you say, not closed off, but not so naive, if that makes sense. It makes a lot of sense because when you first come in, You are naive. Yeah. And there's people in this business that could take advantage of that naivety. Yeah. So.

8:48 And I really started in this circuit when I was 18 years old. Yeah. So that's like prime. That's when... Exactly. Listen, back in the 80s or the Sunset Strip days, I saw what record labels did to these 16, 17, 18-year-olds. And like... it's terrible that they don't have that knowledge to not get taken advantage. Cause some of it lasted a lifetime for some of them. Some of them weren't as lucky as you to kind of figure it out. Yeah. You know, it's true. What now? What's next? What's the next plateau?

9:29 So I, I signed with a new label, Sumerian records, and I love that releasing singles for my upcoming third album. Nice. Coming very soon. I have the date, I just can't say the date. But I got a date. What they have to do is they have to go to your socials or your website to find out. Yes, of course. Website, thisisdiamante.com. All the handles, thisisdiamante. So, one story, good or bad, now that you're at... this level in the industry, in your whole musical journey, what's the one that sticks out in your mind most? Ooh, good or bad. I have a really, well, it was bad in the moment, but in hindsight, it's a very heartwarming story.

10:15 See, I love that. I was opening for Shinedown back in 2022. And I got really sick. I lost my voice. I was struggling. And I really don't like to cancel shows. I don't think I've ever canceled a show. So I really wanted to push through the set. And three songs into the set, my voice absolutely gives out. There's just nothing coming out. I'm basically mute at this point. And it's like a living nightmare. I'm in this arena full of people and nothing's coming out. And I still have to do like six, seven more songs. So I freeze. Like, I don't know what to do. And I get off stage and I was so hard on myself. I remember I was like crying in the green room. I was so down about it.

10:59 Brent from shine down comes into my green room and gives me the most heartwarming talk about how we as artists can be our biggest critics and be so hard on ourselves. So, but we're just human beings. Sometimes we're going to have bad nights. Sometimes our voices are going to give out and to not be so critical. And it really helped me in that moment. It is so true though. Like, Any artist is their most worst critic. Yeah. And, like, a lot of times you're up on stage and you're like, man, I screwed up. I did this. And somebody comes up to you that was in the crowd and, oh, you were so great. Right. Because most of them don't even know it. Even in interviews. Like, sometimes I'll get off an interview and I'm like, oh, man, I sucked. And the band's like, that was so much fun.

11:46 That was great. And I'm like, okay. And there's this disconnect. What you thought was happening and what someone else actually experienced. Exactly. Right. You know, and so that was great advice that was given to you because it is really needed. That type of advice is what's really needed. I say it all the time, too. Even like when I talk to people and they're like, oh, blah, blah, blah. They're just regular people. Yeah. You know, like that happened to play music. It's so true. And I have found that the bands who are the most successful are the nicest. Yeah. They are just the nicest. You know what's so funny about you saying that? I say it all the time. I always say the icons have no clue they're an icon or a rock star, and they are super nice. No attitude at all whatsoever. Humble.

12:41 A hundred percent. And if you try to tell them stuff and they're like, yeah, no, like they don't even buy into it. You know, they have no clue about it because they just want to make music. I think that's the difference. There's artists that want to be a rock star and there's artists that just want to play music. That's a great, yeah, that's a great view because I've, I've seen both sides. And the ones that want, their goal is to be a rock star. They're the ones with the attitudes. And they're the ones that think they're better than everybody else, and they're usually not. Yeah. I've been fortunate, though, because the majority of the bands that I've toured with have been very nice. That's great. I'd say top two, Shinedown and Breaking Bad.

13:22 Nice. Nice. See, that's good to hear, too. Because it's good to hear that when you go on tour with a band, that they're cool as shit. Yeah. Because you're really nervous at first. Yeah. You know? Especially because for me, I'm like, wow, I grew up listening to these bands when I was in high school. Yeah, exactly. To be on a tour with them. It's a trip, right? Yeah. You know, but even out here, I'll like meet people. It's like some of the people that maybe back when I was fanboyed out on. They're just like, I just deem them as normal people. Some of them I'll go out into GA and watch a set. Oh, I love doing that. Right? You know, like people don't realize sometimes you guys are just wandering out with the crowd and people don't even notice. It's so funny. Because they're so unassuming.

14:07 They're just there to take in the music. Exactly. And you want, you're a fan. If you're a musician, you're a fan. If you're not a fan, you're doing the wrong business. You know? I will be watching Nothing More later today. Nice. Who else? I wanted to see Papa Roach, but they're not here today. Man. They're so good, too, Papa Roach. Otherwise, they're my friends. I want to see them. Yeah. Jacoby brought me and a couple people on stage at Rock, Oklahoma a couple weeks ago. Nobody was allowed on stage. And like, you know, outside stages, we weren't side stage. It's kind of, it's not that great. You can't hear anything. Oh, except the drums.

14:48 Right. But he brought us up to the very front side so we could hear everything. That's so cool. And then I was watching Jacoby's son getting prepped to go out there to sing with his dad. And it was such a cool moment, you know, and then when he came back, I was like, dude, You killed it. And he was, like, so appreciative. He's, like, holding his heart. Jacoby's also one of my favorite people. He's the nicest dude. Everybody says that. He's, like, one of the nicest down-to-earth people. He's just cool. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And I remember the first time I interviewed him, he was out in Europe at a festival. And I was asking him about the festival, and he's like, It's the coolest thing when Papa Roach is playing on the same stage as Earth, Wind and Fire. You know, like he goes, that's a European festival, you know? And it is like that.

15:43 Cause I do the Europeans like, but we're getting like that. Wimmer's game like that. There's such a mixture here. Yeah. And like, I was just at Rock, Oklahoma, and I saw Paris Jackson, Michael's daughter. Oh, that's cool. How was that? She was so good. I want to see her. She's, like, grungy, you know? That's awesome. But you could tell she was just so into it. It wasn't like somebody that was trying to be like her dad or trying to be what people want her to live up to. She's just doing her own thing, having a good time. And I think that's like you. Thank you. You know? I think that ties back to, like, What artists are you today? And I think I'm fully in my, I'm doing me era. This is fully me.

16:26 That's the only way to do it, right? Because otherwise, people can see right through it. The audience can see right through it. And I've been saying a lot with artists that it's like when you finally figure out to do you, you'll attract your tribe. Yeah. Oh, God, so true. Because the artists, I'm sorry, the fans, they're very, very smart. They're very smart. They can totally tell when you're dialing it in or if you're being real. Oh, yeah. Especially nowadays. People want real. You know? That's why even I do interviews the way I do. Like, what artist wants to come in like, so how'd you come up with doing this and blah blah? And nobody gives a fuck to listen to that either, you know?

17:11 It's so true. They just want to hear that you're a real person and just a normal human being just like them. Yes. Yes. And that you are. Thank you. You just happen to be a great artist. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Is there anything else we haven't covered that you want the listeners to know about? Well, I guess, when would this air? It'll probably air in the beginning of the week. Beginning of the week. Okay, well, in that case, my newest song, Cooldown, just came out. So make sure to go check it out. Yes. And I also have to say, they have to go and buy your merch or they can't listen to my show. That what? They have to go buy your merch or they can't listen to my show.

17:53 Yeah, that's a prerequisite. Mandatory. That's how you get to another show. You know? It's true. Thank you very much for being here at Louder Than Life and thanks for being on the Adventures of Pipe Man once again. Thank you so much for having me. You got it. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipe Man on W4CY Radio.