Hi everyone! The Taste show was a freakin' blast!! I had such a great band and the sound was amazing. The weather was unbelievably beautiful and the crowd was enthusiastic and totally present......I couldn't have asked for a more memorable show!! Afterwards, I heard a few comments from people that I reminded them of Bonnie Raitt which is a huge compliment. I have adored her ever since I was in high school. I would always listen to her and sing her tunes. Now I guess you could say that my sound is a bit of mix between Bonnie Raitt and Jack Johnson. My family and friends all mentioned that they could hear passers by and their great comments upon hearing my music. I intentionally didn't play any covers at my show at The Taste. I have so many songs that I have written that I coudln't wait to expose in this awesome setting with my awesome band that I just wanted to keep it focused on originals. I am happy that I did!! Even though people may not have known all of my tunes, they were still getting into it and enjoying it which tells me a great deal about the fact that my music actually touches people. It was really cool for me to experience this. Afterwards, I found out that Bonnie Raitt was playing the main stage at The Taste that night!! I was sooooo excited! I had to pinch myself!! We were able to get into the seating area in the 7th row! Can you believe it????! It was such an awesome night, other than my birthday present this year which was fifth row center at Alpine Valley to see Jack Johnson. That show was just unreal, the amount of people that were there. It is such a great arena to play I bet. Anyway, Bonnie kicked some serious butt. The amount of soul in that woman is so palpable and what a guitar player! She is such a major inspiration. I am very happy that I was able to hear her and see her play live!!! That is about all for now. I am looking forward to writing some new material and getting some video of the show at The Taste up on the site as well. Hope everyone is having a great summer!!! ~Diana
 Hi! The Taste of Chicago show is coming up so soon!! I am really looking forward to it! Being outside in the sun and playing my acoustic guitar and having a band back me up too. The date will be Saturday,July 5th at 1:30pm. The stage will be on Columbus North Of Balboa. I haven't kept up my blog here so much because I have started a blog on NirvanaIsland.com. ] It might seem completely unrelated but it has actually been my salvation. I am not going to lie, I have needed to take a step back, I got pretty burned out. My music was suffering, I was not having fun and I was not finding enough time to create. I started doing yoga daily and things are beginning to fall into place. My creative vision has become more focused and the whole grandeur of the Industry has lost its appeal. I have had to ask myself: "who do I play music for?" I play it and create it in order to soothe my soul. I would also like for my music to spread positivity, love, gratitude and good vibes! So taking this step back is helping me to form my new round of material. I don't know if I will record it, or if I do, it will be really basic, maybe I will just do it on my own, without any fancy equipment or studios and just have it find it's way to my fans. Finding it's way=Free because I want it to be! That will make me the happiest. I am sick and tired of people telling me that if I don't put a price on my music that nobody will respect it. You know what? In this day and age, people get their music for free anyway and I would rather let you have it than be buried under mounds of cd's sitting in my house just waiting to be coasters! I can acknowledge now that I was doing my music all for the wrong reasons. In doing yoga, a shift occured that changed my whole way of being. It wasn't an accident, it was in the making for so many years and I finally saw how it was all connected and how it all made sense to me. In any case, I would rather you hear my songs as they sound when I write them, as they sound when I am playing them in my room, when I am alone. I don't need all of the bells and whistles. That is not important when sending out a message. If you can understand my music in its simplest form, then I have done right with the Universe. Then maybe if I feel like it, I will get some songs together and add some instruments and record live, really basic. I am also going to simplify my website as well. I just want to break down all of the smoke and mirrors and let it be. I had all of these perceptions of what I was supposed to be, how I was supposed to sound, how I was supposed to dress and it's all a bunch of horse sh*t. This pretense goes completely against everything that I am. Who am I you may ask? I am just a person, who has a creative outlet and who wants to share it once in awhile. Who needs time to nurture the art and not get weighed down by rules and the "industry". I am modest, humble, am super grateful for everything that I have and do not have. I have many interests such as writing, photography, singing, playing guitar, piano, acting, health, wellness, reading a ton, yoga, helping animals, being with family, friends, my darling pets, sharing goodness, love and enjoying life. I have been playing the game for too long under someone else's rules. It's time for me to do things the way "I" think is best. I am grateful for my shift and all of the truth that it will continue to offer me. I will probably keep this blog up for awhile. I think it can help others as well, or at least I hope that it does. The new website will probably take some time to build even if it is going to be basic, so bear with me. Nothing comes easy and I don't ask it to either. Everything is the way it should be.......now and always. Peace and love, Diana
Hi everyone! I just started working on a new blog about Inspiration and all that is great, which is one of my passions. Passing on good information to you and good news that will lift you up. Everyday, other than weekends, I will be including a daily inspirational photo, a daily quote, a daily meditation, dailys musings and universe happenings and my own personal yoga journal! Have fun reading it everyday and allowing it to relax you! The link is http://www.nirvanaisland.comSee you on Nirvana Island!! Diana
I went to the beach yesterday.....the first time this year! I was wearing a coat and a scarf and boots.....but once I got there I took my coat off and pretended that it was 80 degrees. The day before, I bought this awesome countertop clay vase...the thing is huge! I filled it with sand pebbles, seashells and polished rocks and candles. It's like a little beach oasis indoors! Coupled with the sound of water splashing from my little homedics fountain and I am a happy girl! If I have grass, a body of water, some sand, I am the happiest girl alive. Going to the Lake yesterday was the best therapy for me. The fact that I can have my window open today is the best gift in the world too. I know I sound like a cheese ball, but I am so appreciative of the time that the Green comes around in Chicago since we live for so many months in the cold. Some people really appreciate the winter, it makes them feel alive. I feel most alive when I can smell Spring in the air, when I can take long walks with my dog and I can see her smiling face as she prances next to me, when the breeze is blowing my hair in my face and it's warmth wraps itself around me. I am in a beach state of mind always. That makes me happiest. I have some exciting shows coming up! My friend Aaron Weistrop is going to be joining me at Lucille's this Saturday night. I am also still doing my weekly gigs at Suite Lounge and Cortland Garage. Recording is still in the works for next month, I am working on pre-production right now. This weather is definitely inspiring me! My mind is all over the place right now.....maybe I should straighten out my messy desk area to get my thoughts in order too. It really works! See you soon! Diana
6am alarm the sun flirty, transparent curtains billow the breeze brings in ocean air caffeine? no, oxygen. pure. eyes half open, sand under toes, stretch to the blue blue sky and twirl in circles through the warmth. gym? no. nature. run through the water. swim through the sand. swing on the trees. tv? no. space. space to not think. space to be. space to create. internet? no. time. time to read. time to understand. time to live. money? no. happiness. happiness in smiles. happiness in stillness. happiness in unity...love. simple. things. in. life. freedom.
I have become a night owl. Getting to bed at 3/4am. Crazy. It's so hard to wind down after shows. I am so "on" when I am singing and playing for 2-3 hours at a time, how can I possibly shut down? Not a robot. I have been reading the book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle to try to get my mind to slow down a bit which had been helping. My weekly shows have been awesome. I performed for a benefit presented by Artists for Harmony to raise money for Chicago Public Schools last Friday. The turnout was amazing. I shared the stage with the bands: Danger is My Middle Name, State and Madison and the Urbanites and Lukas From Lift Point. All acoustic, we had a great time. Suite Lounge was completely packed, we had to turn people away because we were at capacity! Other than that, I have been gathering material to start recording songs...in a new way....more on that later, can't divulge my plans yet! But it'll be fun, exciting and always fresh AND intimate. Internet Intimate. Just takes a lot of work to get all of the pieces of the puzzle in order. Being an Independent Musician Rocks!!! So thankful that I have this forum to bring my music directly to you. Peace, Diana Labels: Danger is my middle name, Independent Musician, Lift Point, State and Madison, Suite Lounge, Urbanites
The Red Eye has written an article about me in their issue for 2/21/08. It's really awesome and I wanted to share it with you! You can either go to the link below that will take you to their site or click on the pic below to see it in a new window. http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-chitunes-dianarein,0,793309.htmlstoryOtherwise, things have been going really well. I just got back from Nashville where I did a songwriter night for Livin' the Music. Had a great time participating in that event and look forward to contributing to that more this year. I am really enjoying my weekly gigs at Suite Lounge and Cortland Garage too, it has been hard with the weather to carry all of my gear, but it's totally worth it!!! Talk to you soon! Diana  Labels: Cortland Garage, diana rein, Nashville, Red Eye, Suite Lounge
|
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Recent Posts
Archives
| |