Artist Information
Biography
Diego Sandrin Biography
The first time Diego Sandrin realized he wanted to be a performer occurred at age 8, when he dressed up like a cowboy and sang Adriano Celentano songs—emulating the Italian singer, songwriter, comedian and actor.
That’s an unlikely starting point for this “son of sailors and bricklayers” who, as a teen, turned away from an offer of a professional soccer contract to pursue a passion for punk. His first success in the music business occurred at age 16, when his band Ice and the Iced scored a recording contract. Compulsory military service ended that portion of the dream, but he was undeterred.
He made his way to the States, landing first in Baton Rouge where he was taken with delta jazz and blues. Sandrin returned to Italy and formed Sentemo Records—a jazz label—before realizing that he was spending so much time on the business side of the recording studio glass that he was ignoring his creativity.
Sandrin sold Sentemo and once again returned to the U.S. for inspiration—this time landing in Los Angeles, where his first band included an all-female quarted. He got his big stateside break when Lisa Marie Presley literally grabbed him off a stage and co-wrote a song, “Gone,” which appeared on her To Whom It May Concern album, which would sell over 900,000 copies.
He’s clearly traveled the “road less taken.” as An almost-pure experiential songwriter, he not only writes what he observes—he lives it. “I have this strange technique for my writing; I observe something or imagine it from something I see and then I try to become that character.”
Sandrin has kept his eyes closed for a day to experience blindness, spent a week in a wheelchair to write about a person with a disability, and lived in a rented trailer in Vegas to effect a “white trash” experience. The result is lyrics that are poignant, deep and lodge in his listeners’ souls.
The result is songwriting that touches a wide range of universal themes: “45,000,000 and 1” is an anthem to everlasting love; “Aged 14 Years” tells the story of a boy on trial for killing his abusive father; and “My American Friends,” a commentary on the consequences of shallow friendship.
“I want them to feel like they want to have the CD and be alone in their cars so they can listen to the stories and imagine it’s them singing; that the songs are about them and their life,” he says.
His listeners will experience that with a new CD, A Fine Day Between Addictions, which was recorded at Acustic Studio in Treviso near Venice and will be released at the end of July. He veered away from convention here, too, by having Romeo Toffanetti produce the album. Toffanetti, a movie director, had never stepped into a recording studio before working on the album.
“I thought he would give the songs a fresh slant because they’d be driven by the world of storytelling and image synching,” Sandrin says. “He always kept the connection between my word-pictures and the images on film in mind.” In the song "45.000.000 and one,” the drummer used roses instead of drumsticks—an arresting visual in itself, but even more striking when the sound is actually captured as part of the recording.”
He is an indie Renaissance man, a collector of scotch; sailor; painter; and regular in L.A. rooms such as HOB, Viper Room, Troubadour, Gig, Dragonfly and Luna Park. His regular following includes Lisa Marie Presley, Juliette Lewis, Daryl Hannah, Giovanni Ribisi, Jason Lee, and Danny Masterson. He has written for Brooklyn South and indie movies.
Through it all, Diego Sandrin has managed to maintain a very practical, level-headed view of the industry and the challenges he’ll face as a recording artist. “The biggest challenge is to get someone to listen to your CD not once, but twice,” he says. “That will bring a deal with a label that can offer me financial security while I write and play.”
Maybe he’ll take an unusual path to achieve that, maybe he won’t. One thing is certain: once A Fine Day Between Addictions is released, this multi-talented artist will see his popularity grow exponentially.
For more information about the experience that is Diego Sandrin, check out his website at www.diegosandrin.com.
Buy his new CD here:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/diegosandrin
Instrumentation
The musicians change depending on the Country I play in but the line up for a full show is:
Ac Guitar
Elec Guitar
Drums/Percs
Bass
Strings Quartet or Just Cello
Piano or Keys
Discography
New CD release in July " A fine day between addictions"
buy it here:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/diegosandrin
Official Website
Audio
Lyrics
Video
Press
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Billboard Magazine
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Number 5 of Top Ten Picks of 2004 -Diego Sandrin, New talent. Brilliant results. --Thom Duffy, Billb...
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(Rolling Stones, Paste)
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And it's important in a world where just a rhythm and a hook can validate a song, that Diego Sandrin...
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(Virgin Online Oct 14)
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Singer/Songwriter Diego Sandrin pulled another all celebrity crowd at his show in Hollywood Tuesda...
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HOUSE OF BLUES Emerging artist of the month
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He sang in a church choir (a boy soprano if you can believe it!), learned a few flamenco guitar lick...
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(MP3.com)
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After only a year at the game DS has quickly made a name for himself in Hollywood. Strong songwritin...
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Industry reSource Sept 7
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D.S. has been the topic of discussion for some time in the Los Angeles circuit, and it seems that he...
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(BMI)
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It was a very touching moment when the smokey-whiskey balladeeer DS delivered his song about growing...
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(say what! edition 7)
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At the Troubadour I realized that I was privileged to see one of the few artists of my generation th...
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(Lava nov 9)
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It was a delight to hear Diego's songs. The show was actually quite a production a combination of ac...
Setlist
I usually play a set of the songs which can stand out acoustically and if I'm with the whole band I include others:
BLANKET
FROM MUSIC TO NOTHING
NOT A CHANCE
OH MY GOD
VIC
SAFFY
BAD GRACES
MY AMERICAN FRIENDS
SATELLITING
PIGEONS
FAULTY MIND
I'M NOT HAPPY AT ALL
BLIND
SONIC REDUCER
COME SEE THE CHILD
HEAVEN
