 Courtesy xo publicity
Diamonds and Whiskey travel the country stomping and storming a sweet strong molasses of "Dark Country Voodoo," which is also the name of their upcoming debut album. A combination of barroom beauty and backwoods danger, Dark Country Voodoo is "a true-blood kind of sound," brought forth by Von Bury's finely chopped and grinding guitar riffs, Jennifer Lauren's swamp-siren vocals, and Christopher McKinney's beats and brushes. Here, Diamonds and Whiskey answer their Essential 8 and share the story behind their album's title, talk road life (playing DJ!), and more.
Is there a story behind your album's title? Yeeesss. Von Bury and I started this band together over a year ago. He is a New Orleans boy who brings that swampy vibe to our sound. When we went to Seattle to record our album at the Recovery Room with Graig Markel, we were going to dinner when we saw a tarot card reader. We decided it would be fun to stop in. So, individually, we went into her back room with candles and this voodoo vibe, and she read our pasts and futures. It was a crazy experience that left us amazed, as she hit the nail on the head with both of us. We left with chills and I left in tears. It was profound, and much of what she told us has come true. On the plane home, I started writing a song about it. While I was writing, someone asked Von how we would describe our sound, and being inspired by our visit and his New Orleans upbringing, he said hmmmm.... 'Dark Country Voodoo'. I titled the song I was working on just that, and we decided it was a fitting title for the album, though that song will be on the next album. It definitely fits our vibe. Our music is not the new style of country on the radio. It combines the old with the new, and incorporates rock and blues. It is catchy enough to be mainstream, but leaves the pandering cliché behind. It is good ol' story telling at its best with a new twist that hopefully will be found irresistible. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? Our songs are definitely based on life experience. Every song tells a story or comes from a place in life. This is super important to us, as I feel that the art of story telling has been lost in much of the mainstream music we hear. Von and I write the music together for the most part, but I write the lyrics, and I can only write from truth and emotion. It's funny, Von always says 'When you're comfortable in life, it's harder to write'. This is so true. I write best when things aren't going so smoothly, or when true emotion has taken me over. For me, that is normally, anger, sadness, or excitement. You'll find all of that in 'Dark Country Voodoo'. Each song takes you to a different place. We want you to take that journey with us. Do you have any touring tips? Ah yes....be patient!!! People always think being on the road is so fun. But what they don't understand, is that it is a long and difficult ride between venues and shows. And you are stuck with your band for almost 100% of that. While you may love them, it will really show you how compatible you are. Lucky for us, we are a tight group of musicians who are thoughtful of each other!
How do you kill hours in the van?
We take turns playing DJ! We all have different musical tastes. Completely different actually, which lends to our writing. On the road, it makes it interesting to see what each of us actually spends our time listening to. What do you love most about being on the road? Meeting new people. We toured from east to west coast last year, and met the most amazing people along the way. Sometimes, I believe we can get so caught up in the negativity of the media and what's going on around us, but if we could all get out and meet the people of this country, I think it tells a different story. We've made some terrific friends for life while out on the road. Is drinking at gigs a positive or a negative? For us, it's something none of us really do. After the gig, the band may have a drink, but we take our show seriously and we care tremendously about being the best we can be. So, it's typically just water for us! What is the best advice to give a musician just starting out? Work hard. When you feel like you aren't getting anywhere, work even harder. It is a long, difficult road to whatever success you are seeking. Luck is where opportunity meets hard work. We truly believe that. Which of your songs gets the best crowd response? This is actually hard to answer, as our music really packs a punch, and the response to each song has been overwhelming. When we made this album, we really wanted it to be all killer, no filler. And I can truly say that it is. As far as getting the crowd going, 'Heartbreak Queen' is what we start our set with, and it usually blows people away from the beginning. As far as memorable, 'Hands Down' seems to be the crowd favorite, as they really remember the lyrics. www.diamondsandwhiskey.com www.facebook.com/diamondsandwhiskey www.reverbnation.com/diamondswhiskey
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