Diana Pops grew up in a musical household on the Winnipeg prairie. Well, musical, if you count her mother singing Credence Clearwater Revival tunes while folding the laundry, or her father playing the one Irish folk song he knew on the banjo, “Boil Them Cabbage Down.” But, like all parents who dream of seeing their offspring do better, they filled their living room with a weather-beaten upright piano – an old soul with whom Diana was instantly smitten.
Her parents tried their best to diversify Diana’s musical interests by placing her in the children’s choir at the tender age of eight; but, the first cut was the deepest. The piano continued to be the weapon of choice for the fledgling troubadour, who also soon began enduring the universal pain of adolescence. “By the time I hit my teens, I was also hit by the ugly stick,” Diana laughs. “But I figured – if I wasn’t going to be the ‘pretty girl’ – damned if I wasn’t going to be the ‘talented girl.’ It was like an obsession. My real life became the stories I told in my songs.”
This musical obsession paid quick dividends. By 17, Diana had a song recorded by nationally acclaimed Canadian folk singer Steve Bell. She went on to sign with a small independent label, do a national tour, and eventually cross paths with another musical soul-mate, Juno Award-winning producer Adrian Bradford. Before she knew it, she was in Nashville; and soon after, in Los Angeles making demos for Aware Records. “I was thrown right in,” Diana muses. “From the prairie to L.A. – that’s quite a jump.”
During this soul-searching sojourn, Diana churned out some of her most emotionally threadbare work to date, including “Light My Cigarette,” a shell-shocked goodbye to the seclusion of Winnipeg, disguised as a love song. Other notable works from this period include “Silver Ship” and “The End Begins.” It was a time of exploration, as well as a time of building alliances with early fans like mixer Bryan Cook and legendary songwriter Walter Afanasieff.
But, after a year, Diana returned to Winnipeg, fretful that she had left something crucial behind. “I threw myself into the mindset of ‘a day’s work for a day’s pay,’’ she says, describing her forays into painting, remodeling – even welding. “But in the back of my mind was always the question, ‘How long ‘til I’m doing music again?’”
What Diana discovered is that she exists somewhere between the prairies of Canada and the streets of L.A. And, this newfound harmony can be found on her EP, For Bright Minds In Dark Corners. “It’s a simple phrase, but it says so much about me,” Diana confides. “I’m the girl who is more than happy to lock herself away with a piano and a notebook and hide from the world.” But, luckily for us, every now and then, Diana Pops comes out to play.
