When Kristin Diable says she plays "roots music," she is as much describing an approach as a genre. Her stripped down brand of songwriting has been compared to that of Lucinda Williams, Neil Young and Janis Joplin. Since uprooting from her hometown, Baton Rouge, LA to relocate to Manhattan's East Village in 2003, Kristin Diable has taken on life with a truly troubadour spirit. Kristin has toured extensively, cris-crossing the country, often sleeping in the back of a mini-van with her pet Chihuahua, Cash, named for the man in black. In her time on the road, Kristin has developed not only the ability to write memorable songs, but a reason for doing so. "Music turns on something that doesn't usually get turned on. 98 percent of life is so mundane. It's 'Hi, how are you? Thanks. Yes. No. Would you like bottled or tap? Pay the bills, take out the garbage, call your mother.' But with music, you get to a place where you are so in the moment that everyday concerns don't really matter anymore. You remember there are bigger things happening. The music is more brilliant than what we perceive on an average day." Her talents have not gone unrecognized. In February of 2004 George Stein (Jeff Buckley, Lou Reed, the B-52s) signed on as her manager. Kristin decided has released Shelter (October 2005) on her own independent label, Speakeasy Records. "I could have waited for a label to sign me up to put out my first full length record, but the songs were there and it was time for this to happen now. If you don't work with the musical muse, she gets fickle. It was a huge undertaking for one person to make a record from finding the musicians, booking the studio, scheduling flights, to working with the artist on the album cover, to pressing the discs. There were plenty of points where I tried to wean myself off of music entirely; exhausted by the tedious tasks to get the record in the nice-shiny-shrink-wrapped format it's in now. But I've always learned best by just doing things. I don't work well with instructions, so this really was the best possible way for me to really learn all the ins and outs of the process of making a real record. And for me to be able to do it on my own terms, and learn from my own mistakes. It's all about learning." Shelter is a departure from the solo-acoustic sound that had characterized Diable's previous efforts. "I've been playing with a lot of other musicians. Before, I wrote more in a singer/songwriter vein because there was no band to play with. Working with other musicians has opened up the door to being able to write a song with more space to be fleshed out in a band dynamic." The record features Stephen Chopek (John Mayer, Norah Jones) and Tracy Civello (ex. Civello, Sony) as well as fellow Baton Rouge ex patriots Poor Harvey. The result is a punchier sound that's closer to rock and blues than folk ballads. "I knew I wanted it to be a great record when we went in, but I didn't know what kind of record it will be. It's not singer songwriter folksy, there's a lot of rock in this record. I mean the song, Black Plague for example, it hits you as a pretty straight ahead rock-pop song, but listen to that electric guitar riff, that's some fucking rock n' roll." 'Shelter' was co-produced by Paul Johnson (Poor Harvey), Tracy Civello, and Diable, and was mastered by Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, Sheryl Crow, Whites Stripes) at Masterdisk, NYC. Diable's current live show features many the songs from the 'Shelter' record, in addition to newer material that hints at her continued development as a great songwriter, mature beyond her twenty-two years. Able to make social and political statements in songs such as "Dear America" "Just Know That My Soul Will be Free" and "Handsome Young Men," she has grasped the ability to make stories of other people's lives feel personal and compelling- her audiences, hanging on to every rise and fall, waiting for their resolution. These performances often transcend the mundane of the characters in the song, the audience, and even the artist herself. There are absolutely 'bigger things happening' and Diable delivers this sentiment with fervor. Currently Kristin Diable is on tour with her Mid-City Militia band and solo, promoting the 'Shelter' LP. Diable has toured regularly over the past three years, playing venues up and down the east coast including The House of Blues (New Orleans), Webster Theatre (Hartford, CT), The Varsity Theatre (Baton Rouge, LA), Smith's Olde Bar (Atlanta), The Nick (Birmingham), State Theatre (Falls Church, VA), The Living Room (NYC), The Knitting Factory (NYC), Harper's Ferry (Boston), The Middle East (Boston), The Evening Muse (Charlotte), in addition to dozens of college and university shows throughout the east coast. In addition, she has recently showcased at multiple music conferences including: South by Southwest (Austin), CMJ Music Marathon (NYC), and Dewey Beach Music Festival. Diable has shared bills with acts such as Norah Jones, Ray Lamontagne, Stephen Kellogg, Ari Hest, John Mayer, Granian, Jesse Harris, and others. Kristin currently lives in a basement in Brooklyn, NY. Additional information and current tour dates can be found at: http://www.myspace.com/kristindiable | |||
Buy Kristin Diable CDs:
| |||
Visit the Kristin Diable web-site | |||
| Email Kristin Diable | |||
Other artists from NY Damon Daunno Porter Block Sonya Heller | |||
Uncommon Ground Past Show Dates | |||
| 2002-06-13 (2307 days) | Kristin Diable | ||
| Larry O. Dean | |||
