Diable finds new inspiration after move to N.O.

• By JOHN WIRT
• Music writer
• Published: Jun 26, 2009

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Kristin Diable followed her musical muse from Baton Rouge to New York to New Orleans. The singer-songwriter’s five years in New York were good for her career but she sees her recent move to New Orleans as a career builder, too.

“It’s the best decision I ever made and I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner,” Diable said this week during a drive home to New Orleans from another music city, Nashville.

Any night of the week in New Orleans, Diable said, she can attend an inspiring performance by local musicians.

“The caliber of the musicianship and spirit in the playing are really amazing,” she said. “Obviously, there are a lot of brass bands, which I’ve come to really love.”

Many musicians in New York, Diable said, are less engaged in their art.

“They’re more worried about paying rent than being in the moment of playing the show,” she said. “New Orleans really reminded me why I love music. That’s gotten me back into the heart of it, really.”

Diable — one of four singer-songwriters performing for a night of Louisiana songwriters Thursday, July 2 at the Manship Theatre — initially planned to spend a two-month songwriting sabbatical in New Orleans. She decided to stay after finding gigs to play and a place to live.

“It made sense, so I went back to New York, packed up all my stuff and set up shop in New Orleans.”

Even though the city’s more of a musician’s town than a songwriter’s town, Diable said she’s learning how to be a better performer. Moving away from a strictly intimate singer-songwriter aesthetic, she’s not above wanting audiences to appreciate her lyrics and dance to the music.

Being in New Orleans has influenced the already rootsy Diable to take an even more soul, rhythm-and-blues direction. She hopes to add a small horn section to her performances at some point.

Ironically, Diable’s years in New York helped solidify her Southern-songwriter identity.

“The longer I was in New York the more Southern the music got,” she said. “I guess I had to write myself back home.”

In her biggest professional coup yet, Diable can be heard singing a national — soon-to-be international — TV commercial for Jeep Grand Cherokee. Her demo was picked for the spot from about a dozen demos submitted for consideration. She completed the song with only 20 hours notice.