Popular Female Singers Dilana Interview from 2010
Q) This album, Inside Out, has a very diverse feel to it, Dilana. I love all the songs on this album but I’m curious to know if we will hear more songs like “The Question”? Of all the songs on the album, “The Question” has to be my favorite. I LOVE that your voice is the central instrument more so than it was in many of the other tracks.
Thanks! It has to be my fave too! And the answer is yes! It’s fun to be free and I was on this track. Actually, that vocal track was just the guide track that I was singing along to when we were recording bass n drums. After I heard it, I didn’t wanna touch it. So that’s a 1 take. Many of the lyrics and even the ending rave part was a complete improv!
Q) Dilana, I get the feeling that you are a woman who likes to do things her way. By the way, I do admire this. Anyway, it is a pretty well-known fact that you have had issues with labels in the past. At this point in time do you see your next album being released independently?
HAHA! With age and experience comes wisdom. Yes, I like doing things my way but I have learned to open my mind and heart to suggestions too. So it just depends on the situation really. Labels and issues go hand in hand, especially these days as labels have changed drastically. It is no longer about the artist, it’s all about the sales (money!). I am planning on releasing some trax independently but there is some interest from a label in S Africa to do a deal so I’m taking a step at a time.
Q) In this world of 99 cent single song downloads, do you have a favorite album that you like to listen to all the way through from start to finish? What is your favorite way to listen to it (i.e. headphones, radio blasting in the car, at home on your comfy couch)?
There is Muse’s Absolution, Joan Jett’s Sinner, Plant/Krauss’s Raising Sand, Traveling Willbury’s Self Titled Record, Lucinda Williams’s Honey and many more. I love listening to them mostly in my car or on headphones as I’m always driving or flying. Comfy couch? That’s a luxury!
Q) Looking back on the past and at what has transpired since Rockstar Supernova, do you wish that you had won?
Absolutely not. The way things have happened and not happened is precisely how it was meant to be. I still had (have) a lot to learn, it just wasn’t my time.
Q) I have been a Beth Hart fan since ’93 when she was on Star Search. What was it like to open for her?
I have also been a fan of Beth’s for a long time. Saw her live twice in Holland while I was living there. I have introduced many of my friends and fans to her music here in the states. So, needless to say, opening for an artist whom I truly respect and admire, was a moment in my time never to be forgotten.
Q) So, Best Actress for your performance in Angel Camouflaged? Congratulations are definitely in order, Dilana. What a major accomplishment. It is very exciting. You were up against Kristen Celeste of The SafeHouse, Whitney Nielsen of Heaven Burns, Alexia Rasmussen of Listen to Your Heart, and Hiromi
Nagasaku of Wakiyaku Monogatari. Now that you have had a little time to absorb this, how do you feel about your win right now? Please, do tell, Dilana.
Thanks again! I now feel that I earned that honor as I really worked my butt off for that film. It has opened a whole new can of worms for me and for that I am grateful. I have always wanted to act. Seems music has been the path to this new venture all along as the writers for AC 1st saw me sing on RSSN!
Q) I have been able to find some information on your upcoming film, Silence, which was written by Jewels Satterfield with you in mind. Can you tell us anything
at all about the upcoming movie Here After?
Here After is based on a stunning novel written by a Canadian doctor, Sean Costello. It is an intense story and a psychological thriller about missing children and 4 parent’s undying love for their children. I’m excited about this film and I am also in charge of the music so my heart is all in!!
Q) It sounds as if you have found a pretty great partnership with Jewels Satterfield. How did that come about?
Jewels is my soul sistah! I met her on set for AC. She was the 1st Asst. Director. It was an instant chemistry and understanding of life and passion for our art that led us to one another. I foresee a great future for her and I as a team in music and film!
Q) Dilana, you have not hidden the fact that you are a survivor of domestic abuse. You have even written a song about it, “Dirty Little Secret”. I know that you are active in charity work such as Safe Passage, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Milagro Foundation, and the Lili Clair Foundation Would you like
to share anything regarding any of these charities or how you have managed to become and remain such a deeply compassionate person?
All I can say is, any charity foundation or person who gives and cares and shares about the unfortunates out there, is a hero in my book! When and if I can help or give, I do. I wish that I had more time to do more. At times I feel guilty for not being a lot more active. I’d love to have 1 on 1 times with some of the younger victims, I know I have a lot of healing powers that I could provide. Hopefully in time, I can get to that place.
Dilana, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this opportunity. I wish you the very best of everything that life has to offer, and I hope that you set the whole world on fire with your music.
Cindy Callinsky