Blues guitarist/singer Diana Rein comes to the House of Blues in Anaheim as part of her Queen of My Castle Tour. The new album, which dropped April 30, was produced for Gulf Coast Records by Michael Leasure, who also plays drums on the album. Michael is also the drummer for blues-rock giant Walter Trout and has been a longtime fixture in the music business. The album was mixed by Lincoln Clapp, who is known for mixing the blockbuster album Texas Flood with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Queen of My Castle includes includes 15 original songs, with one being a tribute to one of her biggest influences, Stevie Ray Vaughan. The House of Blues Anaheim show also serves as a CD release party, so it will be a very special night.
The Los Angeles Beat, who last talked to Diana about her role in the recent Divas of the Blues Festival, as well as some nuggets about Queen of My Castle, caught up with Diana to get a few questions answered about the upcoming show as well as the new album.
Q: Diana, how’s the response to your new Queen of My Castle album?
A: The response has been amazing and I have gotten a lot of support from the Blues community. People have been calling it my breakthrough album and that is so thrilling to get that recognition since a lot of energy, time and creativity was put into this album.
Q: House of Blues Anaheim has seen some monster shows over the years. Are you pleased to be taking the stage there as part of your Queen of My Castle Tour?
A: I am very excited to be performing there. It has a great history of performers and I am grateful that I have this awesome opportunity to share my new music with everyone there and become a part of that lineage.
Q:You must be very happy with who is playing with you at the House of Blues Anaheim?
A: I am! I found two great players from my area that love playing the Blues and are very well rounded players. I will have Mike Emory on Bass and Stephen Ortiz on the Drums! I hope that people will be able to come out and see us performing together for the first time!
Q: Any special treats musically you have planned for the House of Blues Show?
A: Other than the fact that we will be playing for the first time together, I will be mostly be playing songs from my new album and it will be one of two local shows that I will be treating as a cd release show!
Q: Tell me about a song that really hits with you off the Queen of My Castle album.
A: I would have to say that Zoeis truly a special song. I wrote it for my dog that passed in 2015. She was named after my Aunt that I lost when I was 16 years old. I miss them both so much and the melody of the song is truly healing for me as I hope it will be for others.
Q: Thanks Diana, we’ll see you on the Tour!
The fifteen songs on Queen of My Castle represent a powerful follow-up to her last album, the critically acclaimed Long Road. Right out of the gate, Yes I Sing the Blues establishes what Diana is all about. Her guitar work is tasteful, which is to be expected from Diana, who first love is blues guitar and wants to be known as a guitarist who can sing and write, but above all a blues guitarist. The Midnight Line showcases her guitar work, a testament to her skill at blues rock.
Coming to the US from Romania with her parents at the age of 3 and settling in Chicago, she grew up loving music, guitar and Chicago blues. By 8hyears old her parents had brought her to play at a Chicago blues club and she excelled in performing arts school. Later moving to Southern California, she has become a powerful blues artist and even made the cover story in Guitar Girl Magazine.
The title track, Queen of My Castle, shows an empowered woman asserting her right to be her own person and making her own rules and choices. She stressed previously that it is about empowerment no matter whether the person is male or female and it is important to be “Captain of your own ship and not let anybody bring you down and just lifted to stay in the light” (quote from previous interview in the LA Beat).
Pure Soul is Diana’s tribute to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. Besides a great tune and dynamic solo guitar work, the lyrics really show her love for both the artist and person that was SRV. It’s You, driven by Michael Leasure’s spirited drumming, will not allow you to sit still. Chill of the Night evokes timeless themes and music, bringing a slight country tinge to a marvelous blues ballad. This song deserves to be a slow-dance classic.
A steamy guitar lick and great rhythm backing define Heat as a rocker. Diana’s vocals match her guitar licks and provide some great singing on this tune. The ending guitar solo shows why she is first and foremost, a GUITARIST. Diana can shred with the best. Zoe, the tune Diana talked about in the interview, ends the album on a reflective, mellow tone. These and the other songs on the album help define who Diana is and present a view of a songwriteer who really knows her craft.
Diana Rein should have a powerful upcoming show at the House of Blues Anaheim. The same stage where BB King, George Thorogood, Etta James, the Foo Fighters, Willie Nelson and Imagine Dragon and many more have made the House of Blues Anaheim into one of the most popular venues in Southern California. When Diana Rein and her Queen of My Castle Tour take to the stage on Sunday, July 28, she’ll be more than up to the challenge of playing a stage where many legends have perfomed before.Queen of My Castle, indeed!
Other upcoming shows include another CD Release Party at The Merc in Temecula on Friday, August 16 and the Alvas Showroom in San Pedro on Sunday, September 29. She will also be performing at the HART Fund Fundraiser, on Wednesday September 4. This event, to support the Blues Foundation’s HART Fund, is part of one of the premiere events in the blues scene, the Big Blues Bender in Las Vegas. Diana will be playing as part of the Gulf Coast Records Revue at this prestigious event.
Diana Rein Queen of My Castle Tour
Sunday, July 28, 2019, 6:30pm
House of Blues Anaheim
Foundation Room
400 W. Disney Way #337
Anaheim, CA 92802
Tickets for the House of Blues Anaheim show available here
House of Blues Anaheim website
Diana Rein Website
Photos and video courtesy of Doug Deutsch PR
