|
Diane Micallef has become a familiar face to all those following Malta’s music scene. Diane is the front-woman of popular band Corkskrew who have established a name for themselves with their powerful mixture of rock and alternative styles. Diane sings songs that deal with snapshots of everyday life: love, loss of loved ones, insecurity, change…
 Like most rock artists in Malta she has to make ends meet and struggles to find a balance between the band, her full time job and home life.
Corkskrew have just released their second CD album entitled ‘No Ordinary Maybe’ and the album marks the band's departure from the electronic pop-rock feel of the previous release (‘Micromania’, 2002), with a focus on a back-to-basics approach to song-writing, playing and production.
Over the past years, Corkskrew acted as supporting bands for established international acts like Sir Elton John, Faithless and Kosheen. Feeding their appetite for a larger audience, Corkskrew have recently broadened their horizons and successfully managed to secure airtime in over 100 US college radio stations. They followed this up with speciality mix spins on commercial radio stations across America.
Diane has worked her way from being an under confident singer to an enthusiastic performer who shines on the stage.
What encouraged you to become a singer, any family influence?
Ever since I was very young I recall people around me saying that I have a good voice. I never thought much of it to be honest and I never thought about singing seriously until the opportunity to be part of a band came along. I’d be lying if I said that it was a childhood dream of mine. Now that I’m a singer I know I don’t wish to give it up, however.
The early months - and perhaps years - of a rock band tend to be eventful. What are your most vivid memories of those times?
I particularly remember our first gig… a very humble one admittedly. This was three months into my neo-singing life. I was so out of my depth and terrified, but I vividly remember a lot of people from other bands re-assuring me that it would be fine. I felt good entering this new world. Not so good was meeting Ms Sleep Deprivation... we are partners to this day.
Most people would dread getting up on stage and singing to an audience, what does live performing do to you?
What can I say, it’s a thrill. I am there to perform and I feel one with the audience. I give it my 100 per cent. I feel I really belong on stage. An appreciative audience always helps, and the bigger the crowd, the more focused I get.
Which of your recorded music are your favourite tracks?
This is hard to answer, because all songs have a story to them. From the new album, I like ‘I Do’ particularly, because it captures a moment in my life when I really took the plunge - thankfully, I am happier for it. I like ‘Curves’ both for melody and ‘irocastic’ (ironic/sarcastic) feel to it. Finally, ‘Cool Sunday’ is a special one, written after I managed to conquer the fear of my first big bike ride, courtesy of my better half!
There are certain myths that follow rock musicians especially singers: the starving artist, the eccentric, the sex-goddess, what can you tell us about your experiences?
How about a well-fed, run of the mill, sex-slave!... only kidding. To be fair, being in a band in Malta is a struggle. The audience doesn’t get to see the numerous weekly rehearsals and me juggling a household, a full-time job, and the singing. As to the starving artist myth I’d surely be one, if I didn’t have my full-time job to keep me going!
Do you tend to get attention – desired or unwanted – wherever you go?
I do get a lot of people saying that I have a familiar face, once I start up a conversation with them. I typically leave it at that. Not much more.
Corkskrew have been traveling quite a bit of late, what were your most memorable experiences?
Definitely, this one must be the time when we were playing in a club called Vienna - Unplugged and our mini-disk went bust after the second song! In spite of that, we managed to pull off a real good performance! Our Austria tour really gelled us together as a band and we realised we can overcome a couple of adversities and unexpected situations. Remember that long walk we had across Vienna with guitars and amplifiers at 2pm guys?
Future Plans?
We are working hard on launching the new album at the moment, and it’s really been intense and exhausting the past weeks. Our immediate future plans are to rest from gigs after the holidays and working on getting back to the garage and starting up on some new material. We’re obviously working at promoting the album abroad too.
If you could change three things about Malta what would they be?
I’d rather tell you the three things I’d keep!... the weather, honey rings, and of course my fans. To be fair, I think Malta is a pretty good place to be in.
|
