Audioholic Media

As with most musicians, it’s easy to compare Diane Birch to the legendary female musicians who’ve come before her. With a sound influenced more by Motown and less by, say, the Pussycat Dolls, Birch is right on track to become one of music’s most prized possessions. Her debut album, Bible Belt, is romantic without being sex-driven. Maybe not the best news for pervy old men, but there is still hope for you yet, young America– you just have to know where to look for it…

AM: I’ve read a lot about certain aspects of your childhood, but can you tell us about your background in music?

Diane Birch: I grew up in South Africa, I lived in Australia… My dad was a preacher so we traveled around quite a bit. Then I moved to Oregon. I started playing piano when I was seven and started playing classical piano. I studied an ear-training method, so I played music by ear, and I just started picking up stuff by ear.

AM: You’ve been playing since you were seven, so you’ve been playing for–

DB: About 20 years.

AM: OK, because I was wondering how old you are. A lot of people make mention of how mature your sound is.

DB: I have an old soul. I used to be convinced I was from the 18th century, so I’m then 300-and-something [years old]. [laughs]

AM: So this is your first full tour?

DB: This is my first tour ever. I’ve never been on tour, so it’s like a whole new thing.

AM: Everything pretty much began with the SXSW shows, then.

DB: Yeah. We started in SXSW. We did everything from interactive media stuff to– we played Austin TV, which was cool. We probably, all-in-all, did about nine or ten shows, so it was busy.

AM: I saw your schedule for that run and it seemed like you were doing about two shows each day.

DB: I know, it was crazy. But it’s almost like, once you get in that flow, it’s nice. When we’re driving and we don’t have a show the next night, I’m always kind of bummed. I’m like, “Oh, we don’t have a show tomorrow?”

AM: So you wrote Bible Belt entirely on your own. How long did it take for you to write the whole album? Because it’s your first, did it take you years to compile songs?

DB: Well, I think what really took the most amount of time was just sort of finding myself and developing myself as a songwriter. I didn’t really know what I was doing, I just sort of stumbled into it. I did write all the songs on my own. I think that the songs are really taken from the last few years; the oldest song on there is probably about three-and-a-half years old now.

AM: I’ve always wondered if it’s weird to share your songs with people for the first time as a songwriter. I know that, as a writer, you have to really get into your head and reach deep, so is it difficult to turn yourself inside-out for an audience?

DB: It’s actually great. I just never am sure why people are into it. I’m like, “You mean you like that?” [laughs] It’s kind of a weird thing that people actually like it, because I’m just always like, “Oh, yeah, I’m sure it sucks.” Then people respond to it, and it’s really worth it.

AM: How did you come to be involved with S-Curve Records?

DB: Steve [Greenberg] found me through Betty Wright. I was doing some writing sessions with her when I signed a publishing deal with EMI Publishing. She called him or he called her, and I sang over the phone for him, then he flew me to New York.

AM: As a solo artist, is it difficult for you to create a band who can interpret your music as you hear it in your mind?

DB: No, I think maybe it could be difficult, but I’m really fortunate, and my band is amazing. I feel like they all have an old soul, too. They’re just incredible players, and they’re really great at interpreting what the music needs. I think that I really lucked-out finding them.

AM: Over the past few years, music went through a very provocative, “sexy” phase when it came to female musicians, where there were a lot of midriffs and suggestive lyrics. Do you think there’s been a recent shift in the industry which has allowed people to reacquaint themselves with women who take more of romantic approach to their music?

DB: I don’t really know if it’s the industry, I feel like it’s people in general. I feel like the time and the era that we live in is kind of like, “It’s OK to just be real and be honest.” I think that that my records conveys a lot of strength. It also conveys weakness, and I’m not afraid to say that I’m weak in a certain moment. I think it’s about honesty. I think honesty is really current and trendy. I think… [laughs] honesty is the new punk. [laughs] Just say it how it is sometimes.

AM: A lot of musicians have discussed wanting to make more upbeat music to reflect that the current time is a time of hope and that we seem to be on more of an upswing. Even the ballads on Bible Belt seem to reflect that in their lyrics or in their tone. Is that purposeful?

DB: I mean, I think there’s always this element of hope with everything, but at the same time I really gravitate towards rhythmical elements. I think the chord changes are often times quite uplifting, and I think lyrically, often times they’re pretty sad. I think there’s a juxtaposition in the musical aspects of it. It’s kind of uplifting. I never planned it, but it seems like it just speaks to a lot of people and maybe even current times. We’re in a recession and people gravitate toward things that sort of identify with their pain, you know? So maybe it happened at the right time, I don’t know. [laughs]

AM: You’ve referenced your goth days and how “Valentino” was a product of that chapter in your life.

DB: Basically it all stemmed from my classical background. I was really obsessed with classical music and that was the only music I was exposed to as a kid. I didn’t hear any pop music or anything. So I sort of gravitated to the whole goth phase because I, a) I loved the goth movement. I loved a lot of the goth bands and bands that are associated with goth, and I sort of was obsessed with the 18th century. In my boredom I created this imaginary friend, Valentino, who kind of resembled Mozart. I used to wear huge wedding dresses and dance around and think about the days when Valentino was… whatever. [laughs] But maybe he was a love in, like, a life past or something like that. And in a way the song actually represents sort of saying goodbye to that childlike innocence, where your imagination is so vivid and clear, and it’s not censored by media, or society, or whatever. It’s just really, really free. Essentially that song represents that kind of purity of imagination.

AM: It seems that people are desperate to try to classify your sound. I see such a wide array of genres attached to your music, from jazz, to soul, to pop, and I even saw something that said you’re a gospel musician. I think calling what you do “gospel music” speaks more to your background than to your sound.

DB: I do have to say, I’ve invited everything. I kind of think it’s everything and nothing all at the same time. I think there’s definitely a huge gospel influence, but not “gospel” in a Motown kind of a way; not really in a Christian type of way, necessarily. I think that there’s a huge sort of soul influence. I think it sounds– I don’t really know. I have no perspective. But a lot of people make references to early ’70s singer-songwriters, you know, like Carole King. I get that a lot, the whole Carole King thing, and she was very gospel-y. That’s what I tend to gravitate towards.

AM: It seems as if “soul” has taken on a completely new meaning now. When I saw it in reference to your music, it made sense, but not in terms of the modern definition of soul music.

DB: Yeah. I identify with a lot of the music that was happening in the late ’60s/early ’70s, so I think that kind of soul– I think now it’s defined by something like an Amy Winehouse or a Duffy. I think that’s a modern interpretation of soul, you know, and I probably stick to the older references.

AM: Have you had the time to put any thought into your next album yet?

DB: I love so many different kinds of music. I love disco, you know, the house music, the electronic stuff. I wouldn’t really want to do something like that necessarily for me, but I’d love to do, like, side projects. I’d love to play on peoples’ albums. I probably want to do another record, but I don’t think I’m done with this record yet. There’s a lot of songs that I feel like didn’t make this record that I still feel, like, need to probably have a home on another record. I just have so many songs at this point that we didn’t want to shove it all onto an album. I think there’s a lot of songs that speak to another side of myself that I’ll definitely be putting on another record.

AM: It’ll be fun to see because Bible Belt is brand new, so who knows what will happen next?

DB: [laughs] I know, I’m getting ahead of myself. [laughs] Well, on the fourth record, I’ll be doing, you know, disco beats. Or I’ll be going through my rap phase.

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Bible Belt is currently available on iTunes.
For more information on Diane Birch, visit myspace.com/dianebirch.