It’s
all there in Diane Ward’s
latest album, “Wonderlight.” There’s the impeccable
production team of Diane and Jack Shawde, the great musicianship of
the band and featured guests, as well as the superstar credentials
of mixologist John Merchant (Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion) and legendary
mastering guru Bob Ludwig (Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin). Since it's release
'Wonderlight' has received airplay on AAA radio nationally. 'Trampoline
Hero' was the #1 Single on Sirius OUT Q channel 109. 'Unloving Game'
was a top 10 single on Sirius OUT Q channel 109.
With “Wonderlight,” Ward’s
celebrated vocals have developed more depth and purpose, and the melodies
settle in the cortex and cannot be shaken. But above all it is the
songwriting, the majesty of the lyrics, and the passion for life’s
truths that take hold of our spirits as we bathe in the “Wonderlight.”
The mood has shifted here from Diane’s previous album, the critically
acclaimed, “The Great Impossible.” While Impossible speaks
of the restless spirit fighting to maintain its purpose, in “Wonderlight” we
discover the seeds of hope and the emergence of redemption. As Diane
explains, “There is the sense that society has not completely
drained us of our innocence... not completely numbed us to those things
that get us up in the morning and bring meaning to our lives.” |
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No Diane Ward album is complete without
love songs peopled by characters that careen in and out of relationships.
From “This Love is Hard” where
the main character laments, “And there’s no avoiding feeling
the crush when you’re laid out under the wheel”, to the exquisite “Passion
Field” where “The bar’s all sticky and damp with hearts
hanging on the edge of a worn out jukebox ...”, Diane takes us through
the myriad of feelings that surround this elusive emotion.
Finally, there is the matter of her exceptional voice.
Music journalist Greg Baker recounts his visit to a recording session of
Diane’s previous
album, “The Great Impossible” ... “the sounds coming from
the (recording) booth on this summer night – ghostly, pitch perfect,
tough and fragile at once – boggle.” Numerous “Best Female
Vocalist” awards attest to the special gift that has helped catapult
Diane’s career into the national spotlight.
Such accomplished talent did not appear suddenly without
hard work and the contributions of many other gifted people. Born and bred
in Miami, Diane's talents were nurtured by some of the finest musicians in
the area. In 1995, pursuing more of an acoustic sound, she went solo, teaming
with Jack Shawde, whose eloquent guitar work helped bring her songs and characters
to life. Jack's career has encompassed projects and tours with such notables
as Bob Dylan, Dr. John, John Mayall, Al Kooper, and Stan Lynch of the Heartbreakers.
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That same year Diane
released her debut CD, “Mirror,” which was acclaimed by
Album Network for its “acoustic based rock with rich, full arrangements
that highlight her singular vocal style and accomplished songwriting.” Billboard
Magazine called it “a stunning collection of husky emotional
songs with Ward’s powerhouse vocals front and center.” “Mirror” landed
in Gavin’s very competitive AAA chart, receiving airplay at 140
commercial and non-commercial stations with selected cuts charting
on several stations’ top 10 lists
Building on the success
of it's predecessor, Diane released her sophomore album, “Move” which
received acclaim as "a masterful collection of pop songwriting," and
was awarded "Best Rock CD" in the April "Best of 2000" issue
of South Florida's City Link Magazine.
In 2003, Diane released her tour de
force album 'The Great Impossible.' 'The Great Impossible' was another
co-produced project by Diane & Jack Shawde. It was mastered by
Greg Calbi (Bruce Springsteen, Aimee Mann), the album received play
on AAA radio nationally, and the band toured the West and Northeast
in support of the record. MTV took notice of the album and licensed
it in its entirety. In July 2006, the producers of the Academy Award
nominated film “Crash” featured one of Diane’s songs
on the premier episode of their TV series, 'Angela's Eyes' broadcast
on the Lifetime Channel. Several songs were also featured in the Award-winning
documentary "Blindsided" which aired on HBO in 2008. |
The Beginnings - Our Own Local Treasure
When still in middle school Diane's
sisters boyfriend would have his band rehearse in her Mom’s garage
and this began her was fascination with the drums. Music runs deep in her
family. Her grandmother was a popular singer/radio host back in the day.
She would bring Diane's Mom and Aunt to sing with her on her radio show
when they were kids. Her mom loved that she showed musical interest so
Mom made it possible for her to study the drums and encouraged her to have
fun with it.
Immediately after high school, Diane and her best friend joined a cover band
called Bootleg... friend on lead vocals and Diane playing the drums. The
best friend fell in love, and one day on an excited whim, ran off to be with
him. Unfortunately the day she left day they had a gig so Diane had to cover
lead vocal duties. She was terrified... But, ironically, that’s how
she started her lead singing career.
She than began writing music with the bass player in the cover band, Lois Lowy,
who was also a lyricist. Eventually they stopped doing covers and started playing
their own tunes and she switched from playing the drums to keyboards. Members
came and went and they eventually changed the name of the band to The Wait. Through
the years the band achieved modest success but it became painfully clear that
Diane was changing musically and spiritually in an entirely different direction,
so she soon left.
Diane began writing her own lyrics as one way to try and
find her own voice and point of view as a singer. After puting down the piano
and picking up the acoustic guitar, she spent 2-4 nights a week for a couple
of years working her ass off playing open mics. During that time she met
and played acoustically with some really talented people. One of them was
an incredible guitarist by the name of Sturgis Nikides. Sturgis and Diane
formed a band called VOIDVILLE, a band that she loved and alot of people
responded too... They got overwhelming attention but alas, being young and
none of them had it enough together emotionally to keep it going so it blew
up.
After VOIDVILLE Diane dove back into a solo career
and one night at a Songwriters in the Round show, she met her current guitarist/musical
partner and great friend, Jack Shawde. He’s been with her ever since
and they currently have 4 albums with lots of road time under their belts.
One of her biggest influences during all
of those growing years was her day job working at Specs Music. In high school
she had always been into pop music and horn derivative bands like Earth Wind & Fire,
but working at Specs Music for all those years exposed her to TONS of music,
multiple genres, that she fell in love with... an invaluable experience.
New Music...
Jack Shawde and Diane are co-producing her 5th album
which is almost done and she is very excited about it! The band (Jack
on guitars & Debbie Duke on bass, John Yarling on drums) are playing
out a bit locally to scratch that itch while they finish up the new
album. February, 18th at the Luna Star Cafe in North Miami is their
next gig.
Diane has always been connected to melody so most of
her songs are written starting with melody/chords. Lyrics come later
for the most part. The songs currently being recorded for the new album
were mostly written on the keyboard and the vibe of the tunes have
a bit of throwback to the 70’s singer/songwriter era. Lyrically
they are probably her most introspective and personal, although she
admits she says that for every album... LOL. Anyway, this time they
recorded the basic tracks at AudioVisual in North Miami and the rest
of the production is being done at Jack Shawde’s private recording
studio. The songwriting demos Diane did ended up dictating alot of
the direction of the production. Before any recording project Jack
and her sit down and discuss each of the songs possible elements and
then map out a production outline with overdubs, building from the
bottom up. |
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Pushing The Dream Of Success
When asked about changes Diane would like to see the
current music industry she replied, "The industry is pushing the dream
of “success” and
having “talent” like lotto ticket themes called American Idol
or America’s Got Talent. As wonderful as Carrie Underwood is... she
is the exception. It’s not real. I’d like for the old record
industry model and mind-set to finally blow up and get it over with. Make
room in this cluttered "in between" and get back to real artist
substance. The music I connect with comes from artists who knew what it's
like to be on the road and in the recording studio long before some suit
decided that they were “it” or people called in and texted their
approval.
The internet has changed the music marketing business
model almost completely. One of the positives is that there is no shortage
of finding new music out there. DIY artists have alot more opportunity
and empowerment because of the internet. It has given artists the ability
to sell their music online, create niches/worlds for themselves where they
can build and nurture fan bases. That’s great stuff. One of the negatives
is that because so much music is out there and accessible, the cream does
not necessarily rise to the top."
It Is The Time Of The Diy Artist
The suits will eventually find a way to tap into it and exploit
it but for now, it's a pretty cool time for all of us. As far as where Diane
sees music moving to, she I kind of likes to compare it to how people are
now peeling away from processed foods and hormone injected meat and switching
to simple organic foods of nutrition and healthy substance.
Diane truly loves what she does and the fact that she
still gets excited and buzzed from playing with others. "I love the
GRATITUDE that overwhelms me when I look out into an audience and connect
with another soul. I love that I can PASSIONATELY spend hours upon hours
writing and zoning in on a production or a new song. It’s a JOYFUL
noise every day that I wake up with a song in my head. The fact that I
have health enough to be able to bash on a guitar, beat a drum, plunk on
a keyboard, or croak out a song makes me the LUCKIEST girl in the world.
Music is so ingrained in my soul and expression that no matter what’s
going on in my life, I will always have a reason to get out of bed in the
morning. The long relationships I’ve
had the privilege of having with fans, friends and my peers. They have made
the journey really awesome."