PropertyOfZack had the chance to chat with Justin from Diamond a few weeks ago for a great interview. Justin and I discussed Diamond’s recent spark in popularity, how the band came together, writing for their last EP, future touring, and more. Read up and enjoy!

For the record, could you state your name and role in Diamond?
I’m Justin, and I do lead vocals and guitar.
 
Diamond is a band that has had buzz building around it heavily over the past few months. It really seems like the band popped out of thin air though. Can you describe the coming together of the band?
I worked at a design firm and went to a design school in Baltimore. I live in Chicago now though. Sam and I joked about starting a band. I was in a kind of Radiohead-indie band. Sam was doing Trapped Under Ice and a few other hardcore bands with Brendan, and he also new Dave from tour. He knew them, and we decided to get together for real and to write some old school rock songs. We wanted to play stuff that we grew up listening to like Foo Fighters, Weezer, and Bush. Good, catchy, simple rock music that wasn’t a part of any particular scene. 
 
Some were probably expecting more of a hardcore feel at first…
Yeah, especially because of Sam. Brendan and Dave are also sort of into hardcore too. I’m sure a lot of people were expecting that.
 
Was writing music fluid from the start for you guys?
Yeah, I think we all needed a refresher to get back to our roots. There were too many gadgets to buy in electronic music, and I just wanted to keep it simple. We said screw it and started a rock band. We just wanted to do straight up rock and bring our influences together. We wanted to bring together our experiences with a 90’s influence at the same time.
 
Can you talk about the recording process for the EP?
When we first started jamming, I was living in Baltimore and it was easy. Sam and I would get together and just riff. When I moved to Chicago, Garageband and video chatting came into play. It was the only way we could write. We’d email music back and forth and add layers and cut it up. That was kind of cool. It was a cool experiment and something none of us had done. It made it happen though, and it worked. 
POZ: Was it fun to do it that way?
Justin: Yeah, I think it was a good challenge for all of us. We’re all pretty driven, so there was no way it wasn’t going to work. It was our only choice. 
 
The band did pop up out of nowhere, but you guys had a cool idea of having friends in other bands promote Diamond. That can only go so far before fans have to decide whether or not they like the music. Has the reaction to the EP been solid?
Oh yeah. We have like 10 year olds that love us, bands that love us, friends that love us, and family that love us. It seems like everyone across the board is into it, which is cool. We wanted to appeal to the masses and write simple rock songs that aren’t too aggressive and are accessible. I think the majority of people are into it. Even my extreme hipster friends in Chicago are into it. 
 
You’re doing a tour with Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals, Balance & Composure, and Transit. Are you looking forward to touring on that material?
Definitely. I’m so pumped to jam on the new stuff for sure. We’ve grown since the last EP. We wrote with shows in mind with more energy. I can’t wait to sing these new songs.
 
The band is definitely picking up steam, but you all have other jobs and projects. How does Diamond continue in 2012 with all other priorities?
I think Diamond is going to become a or the main focus for all of us. We are starting to see the potential in the band. It’s exploded in the last year and the response has been so great. We didn’t set out to make it a side-project that died; we wanted this to succeed. We’re just going to keep cranking stuff out. I’m planning on going to Baltimore to write more stuff. Sam’s job allows for it too. I own a design company on my own, so I’m free to come out. We’re going to keep pushing this year to tour and release more music.
 
Have any other tours been booked?
Not yet, but we’re talking to everyone we possibly can to make as many friends as we can.
 
When would you like to release new music?
We’re thinking about an EP or LP next year. We’re taking it one step at a time and are just writing. We want to keep cranking things out. 
 
Were fans into that little Christmas EP you released?
Definitely. I’m sure people were surprised too. The EP was pretty and Christmas-y. The response has been great for that too. People have been sharing that a lot. We want to keep cranking out web content whether it be videos or covers or other kinds of stuff.