Q&A: Vanessa Silberman and The Love Dimension

http://www.whatsuppub.com/arts_culture/stage/article_fd25a960-1a25-11e7-a1c3-1fc2dab989a7.html

By Andrea Sandoval

Coming from the Golden State to rock out the Lowbrow Palace on April 16 are Vanessa Silberman and The Love Dimension. 

An L.A.-based singer-songwriter and guitarist, Silberman has her own independent label, A Diamond Heart Production, and has been compared to bands ranging from Nirvana to Patti Smith. The Love Dimension hails from San Francisco, a perfect setting to match their psychedelic sound that blends the musical essence of the ’60s and ’90s. 

Cool plot twist – what initially started off as an interview with Silberman and The Love Dimension’s Jimmy Dias turned into an opportunity for me to play bass for them at their upcoming Lowbrow show. I was over the moon, to be honest!

I got to know them a little over the phone before their trip to the Sun City. We talked about going solo, some of their songs and what it’s like to perform together. 

Q. Vanessa, what pushed you to leave your former band, Diamonds under Fire? 

Vanessa: Diamonds under Fire was essentially my band and I had different players over the years. I had been using the band’s name and identity for about 12 or 13 years and so much had developed over time. 

When I was recording the last EP, I felt like I was never going to get that “perfect” band and I decided that I just wanted to go solo, look at things completely different, and collaborate with different people. 

Q. What’s the story behind your recent single, “Hide Your Love Away”? 

Vanessa: When I wrote this song, I was wanting to record it in a very organic, raw way, but with a pop, ’60s kind of feel. Almost like Sonny and Cher or The Mamas and The Papas. It’s kind of a love song about being in a relationship but not being able to express what you want. 

I just wanted to try something extremely different from Diamonds under Fire, which was more alternative/grunge. 

Q. Jimmy, what is your debut single, “When Soul Love Begins,” about? 

Jimmy: That song is about connecting at a soul level or deeper level than where we are as humans … to see the bigger picture instead of being divided by different egos or deeming what’s bad or good. 

Q. Has any of your music been featured in any movies or TV shows? 

Jimmy: We had a song (“Had Enough”) that was recently featured in David Duchovny’s “Aquarius,” a show that was set in the ’60s. 

Vanessa: Diamonds under Fire had songs featured on some MTV kind of shows and some indie films. It’s my dream to be in a movie theater and hear a song in a big blockbuster movie. 

Q. How has it been performing together? 

Vanessa: It’s really cool! It’s such an amazing thing when you’re able to get people on the same page. My hope is that other artists can see this as an example to build community and help others during their performances. 

Jimmy: It’s interesting playing with different musicians and seeing how the sound changes, whether it’s playing with Vanessa, playing with people in The Love Dimension, or other musicians. I have to kind of calibrate myself to work with the other’s style. 

It’s been good, especially for the older material that I was starting to get kind of bored with. Playing with different people, I’m like, “Oh, that sounds cool that way.”

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