{"id":144847,"date":"2024-06-05T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=144847"},"modified":"2024-06-04T09:18:42","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T16:18:42","slug":"madi-diaz-guitar-talk-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/madi-diaz-guitar-talk-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Madi Diaz Brings Her Intensely Personal Songwriting to the Big Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cWhat the fuck do you want?\u201d is the brazen opening line of Madi Diaz\u2019s new record, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4c23Scc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Weird Faith<\/a> <\/em>(Anti-), sung softly over the strum of her acoustic guitar. With that moment, Diaz sets the tone for the unapologetic examination of love, bravery, trust, faith, God, dreams, and even therapy that the songs offer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the album\u2019s credits, the singer-songwriter explains that these songs are \u201clittle representations of this weird faith that we are always living by, moving each other every day, never ever knowing what is ahead, but aiming as true as we ever can.\u201d And with her newest release, Diaz\u2019s aim is as true as her opening line is direct. She hits the mark every time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diaz\u2019s blend of pop, country, and folk elements in her songwriting has garnered widespread acclaim since she made her recording debut back in 2007, but her career has been on a remarkable trajectory in recent years. After hearing her 2021 album, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ku17od\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">History of a Feeling<\/a><\/em>, pop star Harry Styles invited Diaz to open for him in arenas and stadiums\u2212and ultimately asked her to be a member of his touring band. That led to television appearances, a solo tour (her first since 2014), and other opportunities, including collaborations with the indie band Waxahatchee, Angel Olsen, and Kacey Musgraves, with whom Diaz duets on the devastating <em>Weird Faith <\/em>ballad \u201cDon\u2019t Do Me Good.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Diaz, 38, navigates the questions and uncertainties of life, her music continues to resonate with a growing fanbase. I recently spoke with her from her home in Nashville, where she reflected on her musical journey from her early days to finding her creative process and the making of <em>Weird Faith<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Madi Diaz - &quot;Don&#039;t Do Me Good&quot; (Live Acoustic)\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mveIwXOcQYE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Finding the Guitar<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Diaz grew up playing the piano because it was her father\u2019s main instrument, but eventually gravitated toward the guitar. She still has her first acoustic, a Yamaha LL15 jumbo that she brings on the road.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a special guitar,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s funny because I\u2019ve played a lot of fancy acoustics, but this Yamaha is very reliable and such a beater. It\u2019s just a great guitar. My friend Chris Plank [Musgraves\u2019 guitar tech] has been helping me for the last few years, just keeping me on my game. He put this really fun, cool, shapey pickguard on it before I went and played it in Harry Styles\u2019 band.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diaz\u2019s father, Eric Svalgard, a music teacher and performer who has played with a Frank Zappa tribute band and in many other settings, had a big role in her musical upbringing. <em>\u201c<\/em>My dad helped me make my first chord shapes on acoustic guitar,\u201d Diaz says. \u201cHe told me to practice till my fingers bled so they would build callouses and get tough. We\u2019d learn songs by the Eagles and Alice in Chains and sing the harmonies together. We\u2019d be on a road trip, and he\u2019d turn around and grill me on what instruments were accompanying whatever song was on the radio.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Diaz graduated from high school, in 2004, her father gifted her a brand-new <a href=\"https:\/\/reverb.grsm.io\/ag?query=martin%20d-28&amp;make=martin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Martin D-28<\/a>. It has been her main acoustic ever since, and she finds that its voice has become enhanced with maturity. \u201cThat guitar is now 20 years old, and it\u2019s just sonically so different than when I started playing it,\u201d Diaz says. \u201cIn the last five years I\u2019ve noticed a warmth and grit and depth that wasn\u2019t there before. I really feel like we\u2019ve grown up together, and it makes me feel weirdly emotional thinking about it. It\u2019s pretty special.\u201d [Sadly, at the end of April, Diaz shared on social media that her Martin was shattered due to mishandling on a Delta Airlines flight. <em>\u2014Ed<\/em>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Struck by a Meteor<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Diaz\u2019s pursuit of music led her to Berklee College of Music, where she initially majored in guitar. However, the competitive environment and the overwhelming presence of what she calls \u201cthe super bro shredders\u201d led her to switch majors to contemporary writing and production. \u201cI made it not even halfway through my junior year, when I dropped out,\u201d says Diaz. \u201cAnd then I mostly was sticking to the songwriting stuff because that was what I was really excited about.\u201d That shift marked a significant turning point in her musical life, allowing her to explore and develop her unique style and voice.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2007, Diaz moved to Nashville, where a fateful shopping trip to a Guitar Center with her bandmates Kyle Ryan (guitar) and Adam Popick (drums) sparked another love affair with a guitar. \u201cThey\u2019re such gearheads, and at that point I was like, \u2018I play acoustic guitar and everyone else does all the rest, thank you,\u2019\u201d she says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut then I remember the moment when I saw her,\u201d she continues. \u201cIt\u2019s so romantic. I remember the light, and there was no one else in the room, you know? I saw this \u201959 <a href=\"https:\/\/reverb.grsm.io\/ag?query=harmony%20meteor&amp;make=harmony\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Harmony Meteor<\/a>. She looks like she\u2019s cut out of a gym floor and then walked all over for decades and decades. There\u2019s just something about this guitar, like you\u2019re just there and it\u2019s kind of playing itself, you know what I mean?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Madi-Diaz-DSCF0963-photo-Joseph-Wasilewski.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Madi Diaz, eyes closed, rests her arms on an acoustic guitar.\" class=\"wp-image-144851\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Madi-Diaz-DSCF0963-photo-Joseph-Wasilewski.jpg?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Madi-Diaz-DSCF0963-photo-Joseph-Wasilewski.jpg?resize=375%2C500&amp;ssl=1 375w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Madi-Diaz-DSCF0963-photo-Joseph-Wasilewski.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Madi-Diaz-DSCF0963-photo-Joseph-Wasilewski.jpg?resize=1152%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1152w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Madi-Diaz-DSCF0963-photo-Joseph-Wasilewski.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Madi Diaz, Photo: Joseph Wasilewski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Meteor reshaped the way Diaz approaches her instruments, informing not just her technique and vocabulary on the electric guitar but on her cherished D-28 as well. \u201cMy Harmony turned me into a real guitar player,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s made me more adventurous as a player and writer, and in turn it has been fun to focus back on my Martin with certain licks like the ones from \u2018Nervous\u2019 and \u2018Woman in My Heart,\u2019 which were both written on acoustic, although they shifted to the Harmony in the studio. I feel like if a lick can carry on acoustic, it can live on electric.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diaz seems comfortable in her current guitar configuration, which primarily includes the Meteor and the D-28, and she might like to score a Harmony Jupiter to complement the Meteor. But, she says, \u201cI don\u2019t know, I\u2019m kind of stuck on the Meteor. I mean it kind of writes songs for me. It gives me so much. Why would I leave it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The songs the guitars have given Diaz have been deeply influenced by the folk and Americana artists whose music she fell in love with during college, including Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Joni Mitchell, Patty Griffin, and Lori McKenna\u2212who co-wrote the title track of <em>Weird Faith <\/em>with Diaz. When asked about the ways in which these artists have influenced her songwriting process, Diaz says, \u201cI don\u2019t know if I can really explain that. I feel like if I could, I\u2019d have the perfect formula for a song and I\u2019d write it every time over and over. Those influences are just in there and part of my vocabulary, much like if you read a book and look up some words you don\u2019t know the meaning to\u2212voil\u00e0, you have different words to pull from in your brain bank. They make an appearance when life requires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Madi Diaz - &quot;Same Risk&quot; (Live Acoustic)\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Qxdk_bFfu4A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In Collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, Diaz mostly tours as a duo with Popick, who plays drums with his right hand and bass lines on a keyboard with his left. On certain songs, she says, \u201cHe\u2019ll pick up a guitar and we\u2019ll drop the drums, or he\u2019ll do kind of a Fender Rhodes [electric piano] melody thing. So it\u2019s just us, and we\u2019ve made it work. We travel really well together, and it keeps costs low.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a duo, she adds, \u201cWe\u2019re weirdly able to cover a lot of ground. You\u2019d be surprised. That\u2019s the reason we\u2019ve kept it, because it actually does work. There are instances where I\u2019ll have a bigger band, like when I did a TV debut last year or when I opened the Harry Styles shows. Then, yeah\u2212it\u2019s ideal to have as much manpower as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Collaboration plays a crucial role in Diaz\u2019s creative process and is especially evident on the new album, on which each song is a co-write and co-production. Diaz thrives in such settings, finding them more stimulating and productive than working solo.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWorking alone is like having a conversation with yourself,\u201d she says. \u201cI mean, one day I do probably need to lean into that part of myself and really give myself the time and space to just produce something fully of mine. And the same thing with songwriting. It\u2019s just about finding that time and space and patience to sit with myself and know that it\u2019s OK to run into the walls and then come back from the walls\u2212you know, get stuck by myself and get myself out of it.\u201d She adds pensively, \u201cI\u2019ll get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The songs on <em>Weird Faith<\/em> chronicle a relationship from beginning to end with all the questions, emotions, and myriad experiences that ensue. It then delves into the beginning of a new relationship all the while prying deeper into the most important relationship of all: with oneself.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m recently out of a relationship, and it\u2019s so funny to have been with somebody for so long,\u201d she says. \u201cI knew exactly what I wanted within our relationship, and now being outside of that relationship I feel light and open and not really sure what I want. But I also feel good not knowing what I want. I\u2019m not rushing towards anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a stillness that not knowing offers, and in it, Diaz grapples with her weird faith in the title track and also in the song \u201cGod Person.\u201d \u201cBoth of my parents are Catholic,\u201d she shares, \u201cbut they raised us going to Quaker meetings, which is a pretty \u2018choose your own adventure on your spiritual journey to the heart\u2019 kind of religion.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diaz attended Quaker meetings through high school but then stopped as a late teenager when doubt crept in. She says,<em> \u201c<\/em>I\u2019ve kind of dabbled in a little bit of everything. As human beings, we can all probably agree that there\u2019s some sort of law of attraction with the unknown of all of it. I love watching people look for it. I love looking for it myself. I\u2019m very private about it all. I don\u2019t really have any faith practices, but I feel very spiritual, and I feel very solid in whatever those practices are. You know, it\u2019s usually walking around in the woods and being like, \u2018Holy shit, what are we all doing out here?\u2019 At this point, it\u2019s always going to be a question, and I kind of love that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Diaz is sitting in the questions and the unknown of it all, poised at a very beautiful moment in her life and career, surrounded by a close-knit community of great artists with the support of a label and a quickly growing fanbase. She is sure of one thing, though: the opening F-bomb on her record.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI guess it\u2019ll probably weed out the people that are not willing to go all the way,\u201d she says. \u201cLike, don\u2019t be faint of heart, you know? Come on in\u2212or get the fuck out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/no-347-jul-aug-2024\" name=\"magazine\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 198px; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/001_347_Cover-150px.jpg?w=1290&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Acoustic Guitar magazine cover for issue 347\"><\/a>\n<p style=\"font-family: sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">This article originally appeared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/no-347-jul-aug-2024\">July\/August 2024<\/a> issue of <em>Acoustic Guitar<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Nashville-based singer-songwriter reflects on her musical journey from the early days to touring with Harry Styles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":144848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"The Nashville-based singer-songwriter reflects on her musical journey from the early days to touring with Harry Styles.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1155],"tags":[1950],"ppma_author":[1944],"class_list":["post-144847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guitar-talk","tag-july-august-2024"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Madi-Diaz-photo-Caity-Krone.jpg?fit=1200%2C863&ssl=1","authors":[{"term_id":1944,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"natalia-zukerman","display_name":"Natalia Zukerman","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/natalia-zuckerman.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/natalia-zuckerman.jpg"},"user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":"Natalia Zukerman is an artist and musician whose insight into the creative process yields captivating profiles."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144847"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144930,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144847\/revisions\/144930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144847"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=144847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}