Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Lyrics to RED

Bullseye

We're gonna run, gonna run, gonna save you
We're rolling up our sleeves, got our fingers curled
for the bad, for the good, for the evil, 
they got it out for me, for me

We're tripping hard, gotta hit it on the bullseye
we gotta check our traps, gotta sneak out late
for the girls, and the boys, for the broken
they got it bad for me, for me

We gotta run, gotta run, who will save me
we're rolling up our sleeves
We're trippin hard gotta hit it on the bullseye
they got it out for me

Baby, it's the chain reaction, you'll see.
It's a lonely, lonely world, at a crazy, crazy speed 
and you don't need no more distractions from me
it's a lonely lonely world, at a crazy, crazy speed

Ya hit a groove, hit a groove on your back road
You walk the boulevard looking for a change
in your eyes, in your hands, at your young age
They're looking low for you, for you

They got it out for me.  They got it out for me. 

Daniel

Do you still sleep without your pillows in the house on cherry street?
Do you hear the sea?
And we promised we would meet back up in Autumn, but next spring came crawlin' on its knees.

You couldn't fit inside my suit case,
And I didn't wanna be slowed down.                        
Sometimes I wish that I could turn the clock around.

Why Daniel, I wish you'd talked me out of it, through thin and thick 
Why Daniel? Why'd you let me walk away, I would've stayed.
I convinced me If I loved you, I'd leave you, i was lying.
You stood there with your palms out, your crying was silent
Why Daniel, I didn't mean a word I said back then. Why'd you let me win?

I remember when we spoke of flying North to Paris, France, just to feed the birds
And do you still have that old napkin you took home from the cafe, where I wrote those 3 words? 

You couldn't follow me to LA
I should have never took that job
Now 3 years have passed and I still feel so robbed

Have you settled down with someone since I gave you time to grow?
Do you ever think about me, was it easy to let go? I was such a foolish soul.
Billy The Kid

Now once upon a time when the west was old
A ma saw her son was a sight to behold
he could shoot his daddy's gun like a straight arrow
He wrestled with the rattlesnakes before he walked
Ya, He grew up fast with a hardened grit
and he had the pluck and he had the wit
Ya his mamma called him William till he up and quit
and in these here parts he's known as Billy The kid

I've had you in my sights, my arms for so long.
Where did you go?  I didn't know. 
I've been around here waiting for so long, so long
And I'll wait for you.

He was as tough as nails, barging in the saloon
missing an eye, gun glowed in the moon
he called out to the crowd, "I don't want no fuss. 
See, I'm looking for a runaway, who looks like this!" 
And he slammed the paper down, it was covered in dust, 
but the crowd kept silent, sure, he looked real tough,
 but they knew the portrait well, and they knew not to,
mess with Billy the kid and his gang of thugs

The sheriff knocked on the door of a pretty girl
tipped his hat, said, "We gotta have a look around.
We'll give you cash if you tip off the fugitive."
She bit her lip, she was in love and acted clueless.  
He grabbed her arm and said, "We heard you been a harborin'. 
Give him up, I give my world I'll keep your name clean."
She steered 'em clear of the cracks in the floorboards and
said, "You'll never find him, you'll never find him!"
Trapeze

I'll never tell you what I saw
or how it made me breathe.
I'll never repeat what I heard
how long it took me to leave.
I'll never tell you what I saw
or how it made my smile freeze
Cause this world is a whirlwind, but I'm holding that trapeze
and I'll never tell you what I saw

I'll never tell you who I loved
or how they made me free
I'll never tell you how I slept
back when I was 15
I thought that I could just forget
the bricks that have built me
but this world is a whirlwind and I'm holding that trapeze
and I'll never tell you who I loved

but If I could tell you one thing
I would tell you I'm not leaving
If I could show you one thing
all my mistakes have shaped me
into who I am 
and who I am just wants to make you home

I'll never tell you why I drive
into the night and back again
I hardly speak of my home town
My little hands in the cement
I'll never tell you what I saw, close the door, swallow the key 
but this world is a whirlwind and I'm holding that trapeze
Ya this world keeps on turning, love is carried in a sling
Ya this world is a whirlwind and I'm holding that trapeze.
So I'll never tell you what I saw

The Broken Ones

I know they've hurt you bad
Why hide the scars you have
Baby let me straighten out your broken bones
All your faults to me make you more beautiful
I can't help it I love the broken ones
the ones who need the most patching up
the ones who never been loved
never been loved
never been loved enough

Maybe I see a part of me in them
The missing piece always trying to fit in
the shattered heart hungry for a home 
no you're not alone
I love the broken ones

You don't have to drive with your headlights off
It's a pocket knife, not a gift from God
Don't you learn of love from the love they kept
I will be your anchor, slowly, step by step

Maybe we can rip off the bandage
Maybe you will see it for what it is
Maybe we can burn this building holding you in

I Will

If you forget the reason that you're singing
and it's hard to find the song of your soul
just remember how you helped me start believing
anytime you're feeling down, I hope you know

Whose gonna always have your back
Whose gonna be a friend like that
I will, I will
whose gonna try to make you laugh
remind you life ain't all that bad
I will, I will

If you're feeling like the queen of nothing's working
and you question every choice you make
When you're sick and tired of being so uncertain
and everything you thought was right is lost along the way

Anytime,  anyplace, I don't care
No questions, no judgements, I'll be there

When all your wells are running dry
and nothing's really going right 
who's gonna help you fight the fight

Good Boy

You're gonna have to take him away, cause he don't wanna leave
Charlie's such a good boy, a good boy
Mamma's crying out, "Where's he hiding?"
Charlie's such a good boy, good boy.

And now he's sleeping at home in his rocket ship bed
Why does being good feel so damn bad?
He stares at a picture of his run away dad
shines his flashlight steady.
Kid, you're such an easy target, without a rebel bone.
You're so compliant, quiet as a stepping stone.
Did he give you the love you were yearning for? Did he give you what you need?

Have you heard the headlines on Blackberry street
There lived a kid out there in number 523
He came home smelling of old shaving cream
He began to act out.
He became a little devil, BB gun to the birds
and he spit out the F! and the S! and D! words
His mamma asked the priest and the priest replied,
"He used to be an angel, mam, Ya, I don't know why."

You can keep a secret right? Right. I can trust you with my life?  Right.
I don't get no sleep at night, Night. You can keep a secret right? 
Homeless

Walking along the streets of New York with a bag full of old memories but I'll follow you.
And I always thought that home was up the stairs to space 11B but time can change things too.

Red, yellow, red, green
Traffic in the city, reflects light in your eyes.
Hands touch, eyes meet, I remember perfectly the night we fell in love.

Everywhere we go is home baby home, home is you're with me      
Everything we touch is love, baby love, love is all we need
Is all we need. Is all we need.

I don't need a roof over my head while I've got your hands to shade the sun away from my face
I don't need a space to call my own, to scatter records on my floor, you're my secret place.

Red, yellow, red, green
Traffic on a side street, the corner where we met
Lips touch, you breathe, right into the soul of me, I haven't come down yet

You're all I'll ever need, You're all I'll ever need
Hearts out to dry
It's too late, you're too late
reach for the window pane
look to our childhood for screws that are loose, don't we?

We all know ourselves well
winter has dug in its heels
living like all love we worked for was something we stole.

How does the wind sing so sweet
even after all this time
How the lights dim, heavenly
taking back what was mine
you should have seen the way you loved me
leaving our hearts out to dry
you should have seen the way you left me
leaving our hearts out to dry

How did we come to this?
Chips in the paint that we missed.
Hard to put my finger down on the day it turned cold.

June turned into July.
Oh how the time will fly by
We were so careless to run from the words that we spoke
Isabella

Isabella, Isabella, I heard you crying through the walls
What's the matter? What's the matter? All the neighbors hear it down the hall

and I didn't want to be the first to say
everyone around here thinks you're crazy
and I didn't want to be the first to say you shouldn't stay, Isabella run away

All your hero's are your records, you play 'em loud but I don't mind the noise.
Why ya hiding?  Why you staying?  Maybe you don't think you have a choice.

and I didn't want to tell you face to face
that your mom and dad are straight up crazy
It's really hard for me to say that you shouldn't stay, Isabella run away

Don't you be afraid
It's never too late
You're a sleeping tiger, come awake

Out the window of your bedroom, climb on down the fire escape.
I left some money and a ticket. For the first time in your life don't be afraid

and baby I will be the first to say
You are stronger than you know, you'll find your way. Isabella run away. 

Don't kick the chair

Have you ever felt like everybody's watching, waiting for you to lose?
Have you ever felt like you're living in a spotlight, searching for the real you
Tell me, Have you ever woken up just to wish you could close your eyes
Getting hard to find a friend in a city like this where you can't even trust a smile

There are lonely nights when you see no hope, and you're feeling short of breath
Like the whole damn world is a braided rope in a noose around your neck

Don't kick the chair
It's gonna get better
Don't kick the chair
It can only get better

Have you ever felt love, really really felt love, the kind that could save a life
But right before you know it, you find out in a moment, you're gonna have to say goodbye
Walk Away
Looking back on younger days, the time has passed, and nothing stays the same.
She was such a pretty girl, with glowing eyes and yellow curls. Hey!
Stars are in a summer night, She's wishing that they'd fall down through the atmosphere, for a souvenir.
She's waiting for her Superman, her Never land, cause He can show the way.
Where's her missing piece her mind's been chasing, chasing?

A bullet with your name, a ticking time grenade, you better run away  
Either way you're screwed,  there's nothing you can do, no matter what you say.
She's tellin' tales through telephone that make you cry, chill to the bone. Hey!
It's lock and key, electrified, hide and seek from dirty eyes
Driving in the rain to somewhere far, but they've got tattoos stamped upon their arms, of her name in hearts
She doesn't understand that love is what you give, not given up. Hey!
Where's her missing piece her mind's been chasing, chasing?
Yeah you better not sleep, because she's waiting, waiting. 
She knows all about you. You're in her aim. 









Monday, December 5, 2011

Even more facts about the new album!!!

I usually don't like to write about the meanings behind songs I've written.  I believe it was Jeff Buckley who said it best.  When someone asked what his songs were about, he asked them, "What do you think it's about?"  They'd answer and he'd nod in confirmation.  He did this with every individual person.  I agree with him as well.  I've written these songs from my personal experiences, whether it may have been a story I heard, a relationship I was in, a favorite book, a city that inspired me, meeting new and interesting people on my travels, etc. etc.  But what the listener always gets out of the song, whether it is "wrong" or "right" to what I wrote it about, is always what is most special to me.  

Having said that, I will continue on telling all you curious folk about what these album tracks mean to me.  However, keep in mind that what they mean to YOU will always be "right" in my book.  Anyway, here's a little insight on the rest of the songs from RED for anyone who is interested. :)  

"Homeless"
This song can be summed up in one sentence:  "Home," is not a place.  It is a person.  (Or at least that's my definition of home).  It took me a while to come to that conclusion.  I started touring when I was 17 (You can read about that a couple blogs below).  Some years I was on the road 8 months out of the year.  I love traveling, but it was hard at times.  Try dating someone and then telling them you're leaving for 3 months.  The response usually isn't a party.  "But don't worry...after those 3 months I'll be home for a week...and um, then on tour again....in the UK.  But...I'll get a phone card."  Yeah, usually not a party.  But after a while, you realize that the people who truly care about you are the ones who don't even blink when you tell them about your crazy schedule.  My best friend Hannah has always been there for me, even though on almost every birthday of hers I'm usually 5000 miles away.  My mom and family have always been understanding and supportive.  It took me a while to realize it, but home is about the people you love and that love you.  It's about the people that no matter how far away they are, make you feel at home.  I love you guys!  

"Billy the Kid"
Picture a sunshine man.  A happy, go lucky, creative, funny person with blonde hair and bright eyes.  His name is Isom Innis.  He is the keyboard player for Foster the People.  I met Isom a few years ago, way before "The Voice."  We got together from time to time and wrote songs and chatted and created.  He's just overall an inspiring person/musician to be around.  When it came time to write for the album, I called him up.  "Let's get together and write!  Let's just see what happens."  I went over to his cozy apartment in Silver lake, CA.  He said, "Come in, come in...I'm just..uh, working on a track...it's like a spaghetti western...reminds me of cowboys,sit, want water? Ya good? Check it out..."  Isom gets really REALLY excited over music (which is why he's awesome to work with) and kind of reminds me of a mad scientist when working on songs.  He played me an intro to a song he had been working on.  There was no melody or lyrics.  He started dancing around the room with his guitar, playing the song really loud and yelling over it, "I think we could add in some really cool tambourine here!"  And then he'd pick up an acoustic guitar and start dancing again.  I sat down on his couch, opened up my journal, and started writing away.  It did remind me of a western....I thought back on my favorite movies.  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Clint Eastwood.  Doc Holliday.  Calamity Jane.  Kit Carson the sharpshooter.  I started dancing too on the couch and started writing a story.....  I love writing stories.  We recorded vocals that night in Isom's living room (same vocal tracks on the actual record.  Sometimes the "demo" vocal is the best!)  Then we wrote a chorus which made our feet wanna move.  We gave it a few weeks, thought on it.  Isom showed it to Mark Foster while they were on tour together.  He had a great idea for the chorus and also added some fun instrumentation.  It was a pleasure to work with them.  This song was....fun to write...and now fun to listen to while I'm dancing in my car and almost crashing into the poor lady next to me.  

"I Will"
This song is very special to me for an obvious reason:  Blake Shelton!  It was amazing to be able to watch him cut vocals for this song.  (We cut vocals for this tune together in Nashville, TN)! I love his voice and his country twang!  Also, I absolutely would not have an album to release in a couple days if it wasn't for him.  He's been such an awesome coach, friend, musician, that I just feel so lucky to have met him.  This song, simply, is about friendship.  He joked that it should have been the "Fox and the Hound" theme song.  Yes!

"The Broken Ones"
This song wrote itself, or so it seemed.  It came so naturally.  Lyrically, it's about not only accepting "faults or flaws" people find in you or ones you love, but embracing them.  It's the quirks and weird things my friends do that I usually love.  What others might find "broken," I find charming.  We've all gone through our uphill climbs, our own hardships.  We all have a story....   In my life, and especially in many relationships, I have been drawn to people a little out of the box.  We grow together and become better people.  What makes us broken, is also what makes us perfect.  

"Don't kick the chair"
Greg Kurstin produced this track.  One of my favorite producers!  It was so wonderful to be able to work with him.  Also, of course, Mr. Kid Cudi.  I like it when artists write happy tunes with dark lyrics, and that is what I attempted to do on this one.  This one is ...as corny as it sounds...  about not giving up.  

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Facts about the new album RED

As December 6th is growing closer, I am getting even more excited for you guys to hear the new album RED!  Thank you so much for being so supportive as well as interactive.  I love reading your comments, etc. on my facebook, twitter, or here!  

I just wanted to say a few words about the album, how it was made, what the songs mean to me, etc.  :)

"Daniel"
This song is by far the most personal to me.  So personal in fact, that it almost makes me feel uncomfortable.  It's as if I ripped out a page of my diary and put it on display for all the world to see.  This song is very much about me, and very much the truth.  He is still a very special person to me in my life, whether he knows it or not.  The vocal tracks on the album were supposed to be "demo" vocals.  I laid down some vocals right after writing the song, and during that time, I was going through a really rough emotional war inside me about this special person.  The vocal takes were...imperfect, sad, raw.  A few weeks later when this song was confirmed to be on the album, I went back into the studio to record "Perfect" vocals for the tune.  After a few takes, Toby (an awesome producer and writer) said, "When you first sang it, I felt like you were about to cry...  Now it just sounds like you're tired and stressed.  Go home for a bit.  I'm keeping the very first take of your vocals.  There's just something ... special about them."  I wrote this song for me...and I wrote it for Daniel.  
"Hearts out to dry"
Possibly my favorite track on the record.  (It's a bonus track on the I-tunes version...and sorry, but that is the only place you can get it).  I wrote this song with my sister Meg.    It's fun to write with friends and work with amazing producers, but when I work with my sister...I can just be myself 100%.  We are also close enough to say....yah, that part sucks.  Ha.  No hard feelings.  Meg and I wrote about 10 songs for the RED album, however, like I said, decided all of them, except this jewel, weren't good enough to make the cut.  As an artist, it's really important to weed out the "okay" songs.  I wanted the chorus of this song to hit you like a train.  Thankfully, I had Meg there, and she knew exactly what to do instrument wise, to make that happen.  This song, to me, gives me an out of body experience.  I can just close my eyes and listen to it and feel happiness, pain, sadness, excitement.  I wanted all the vocals to sound dissonant, like you were hearing a choir through a hall.  Neal Avron, one of my all time favorite producers, produced this track.  It was co-produced by Meg Frampton.  Go Meg!

"Bullseye"
I wrote this song with Isabella Summers.  The keyboardist of "Florence and the Machine."  This song came together like a 5 year old throwing random ingredients in a bowl attempting to make a cake.  We weren't thinking about song "rules," or "hit" making.  Hahah.  We were just making a racket in a tiny little room in LA.  It was terribly hot that day and we had to keep turning off the AC every time I would cut vocals or lay guitar down.  I still remember just sitting there sweating.  We got a lot of the percussion sounds by tapping picture frames together and high heels!  I wrote all the lyrics for this one...and wanted it to sound very anthemic, almost as if you are running or being chased by something terrifying but also exciting.  She was an amazing producer to work with.  She didn't hover over me and say, "Well, that line doesn't really rhyme," but rather encouraged my crazy creativity.  


 "Trapeze"
This song came about in a rather funny way.  I was hanging out with my two friends who are also great writers, Dave Hodges, and Dave Harris, (the guitar player for John Mayor), yes, I geeked out.  Dave #1 started playing a tune and I said, "Wow, I love that beginning.  Let's build on that song.  It's great!"  And he laughed and said, "I was just messing around.  That's a Bob Dylan song I was playing."  Of course I felt rather stupid, but then we just started jamming folk songs and "Trapeze" came out.  I wrote this song, lyrically, about a friend of mine who had a very tragic childhood.  However, he never spoke of it until after 4 years of knowing him.  It was odd because, lots of people with their dark pasts tend to dwell on them and sometimes victimize themselves, leaning on their crutches as an excuse not to press forward.  My friend, on the other hand, lived as if nothing had ever happened.  When he told me of his past I was shocked.  It's amazing how some people can overcome hardships and move forward, becoming their own person.  He never spoke of his past, or "told me what he saw," and all of his hardships.  He did, however, always speak of the future....and how to press on and make it a bright and beautiful one for himself.  

"Good boy"
This song is about a very close friend who was molested when he was a child by his neighbor, who was guilty of molesting many of the kids in the neighborhood.  Unfortunately the boys were too scared and confused to tell anyone, thinking that they were "good boys."  The neighbor died of old age. 

"Isabella"  
I wrote this song for my little sister.  No, her real name isn't Isabella.  During the time that this record was being written, my parents were going through a really, really tough time.  Divorce papers were pulled out, and the fighting and immaturity began.  I won't go into much detail, but basically, when I was out in LA and London and Nashville writing and recording and creating....half of me felt like I should be at home, taking care of my 4 little sisters who were stuck in a mess and having a really hard time dealing with things.  I never realized what an ugly thing divorce is and how terribly it effects children...their ideas of love, their ideas of "forever," and their ideas of family.  

"Walk away"
I was sitting with a friend one night, talking about first loves.  I rambled on...Yeah, my first love was my boyfriend in high school.  We had our first kiss on a hammock outside.  He called me, "My sweet," because that's what they say in Hemingway novels.  Etc. Etc.  (That really was my first love.  I was 15).  He then story-topped mine.  He got really quiet for a moment and then said, "My first love was when I was 11.  She was nine.  Her name was ****."  I interrupted, "Aw, cute!  When was your first kiss?"  He said, "I never kissed her.  We just held hands all the time.  We'd sit together on a hay stack outside, or by our secret tree.  Her dad used to share her with his friends for entertainment."  I asked, "What do you mean?"  He looked down and said, "Ya know.  They'd all come over for a football game or something, and then he'd let them take her in a bedroom...."  I was absolutely shocked.  "You didn't do anything?  And all these GROWN MEN thought it was okay?  All of them?"  He shrugged.  "I was too young...I didn't know who to tell.  I wish I did say something....  But, when she was with me...she felt safe.  I told her I loved her all the time and would take care of her."  He shrugged again.  "One of his dad's friends got her name and painted it on his truck."  I was even more shocked.  "He did what?  And no one noticed or thought it was weird!?  How do these things happen?"  He shrugged again.  "It was a weird time...a weird neighborhood."  He paused. "I wish I would have said something."  I asked, "Well, what happened to her?"  He said, "I tried to find her on the internet once but I couldn't.  I don't know what happened to her."
I thought on his terrible story for a few days, and then I also thought...."Where is she?  What became of her?"  And then I decided that ... if she didn't get her vengeance... if she didn't get her revenge...I was going to give it to her, in this song.  All of a sudden I started day dreaming, and thought of her as a girl in black, running across roofs, catapulting from the ceilings of tall buildings like a MISSION IMPOSSIBLE chick.  Running on moving trains, hitting targets from miles away with her hand guns.  She became this...weird kinda super hero to me.  And then I thought about her going back for all those men who hurt her.  She had, as the lyrics say,  "A bullet with their names," and she was coming to get her revenge!   I know it sounds kinda silly, but it made me happy to think of an alternative ending to her story.  And of course I wouldn't want someone to go shooting everyone's brains out.  100 years in jail would be more like it, but sometimes I get carried away, and she just looked so cool in my head as some kind of CIA chick with guns on her thigh holsters and an evil "Cat woman-ish" glint in  her eye.  Go get 'em girl, and then "walk away!"  

Thursday, December 1, 2011

My story: From the beginning to the present

Life is a funny thing.
It always throws curve balls at you: unexpected forks in the road, a closed door, an open window.
This is going to be a very long blog..or journal...or whatever you want to call it.  I'm warning you now, so you can just skip to the end if you want album info or have touring questions.  I'm going to tell you - My Story - as best as I can.  It may not be in the right order all the time, or it might stray a little, but....I think in order to get why I do what I do, you gotta start at the bottom of the stair case.  I'm going to try to tell it as factual as I can, without attempting to evoke emotions from the reader.  Sometimes I dislike autobiography's that attempt to call for sympathy or apathy or any of that.  
And also, many young aspiring musicians have always asked for advice, (Not that I'm a know it all or give great advice, ha, but...oh well).  This story isn't necessarily one that can give anyone a clear path way into music, or good advice about diving in either, but it can show you that everyone's path in music, or in any kind of dream they have, is always filled with unpredictable forks and uphill climbs,etc.  But now I'm just rambling.... Let's get back on track. 
Many strange things have happened to me this year, and it took a while for me to wrap my head around it now, and finally here I am to answer your questions, shed some light on some of you eager, old school "Meg and Dia" fans, and to any one who is curious, let ya know about my plans for the future!  
But first, let's go back.  Way back.  
I've always had a passion for music.  My dad used to be a radio DJ in Korea so he always had his records going on in the house.  A lot of Queen, Chicago, Toto, you name it.  (Funny side note: He never listened to The Beatles.  He always said, "The Beach Boys is all I need.  No Beatles).  Hah.  I got into them later on in life when my sister Meg started playing some of their lovely tunes on the guitar.  Anyway, away from side note.
I started singing at the age of 9.  And by "singing," I mean, wailing.  I had a very small range, and terrible, TERRIBLE pitch.  You'd be lucky if I was on key for one note of a song sometimes.  I couldn't sing harmony worth crap.  I couldn't hear it.  So in a way....  I started as a very unnatural musician.  The whole "God Given talent" thing isn't necessarily my story.  I hated piano lessons.  I quit.  I hated guitar lessons.  And after begging my mom to let me quit that also and stay home, she finally threw up her hands and let me.  I was still very young at that age.  
One thing that did come naturally to me was yodeling.  I heard Leann Rimes sing "Cowboy Sweetheart," and that's when I really got into singing.  I started practicing every day.  I started messing around on the piano more, even though I still refused to take lessons.  I got better at staying on key.  I spent all my pocket money and allowance on CD's.  By the age of 15 I had so many CD's they basically lined the walls of my room.  (Most of them were country CD's).  
My dad started booking me little gigs.  During lunch time at old folks' homes I would go sing a 20 minute set of Patsy Cline, Tanya Tucker, and Connie Francis.  Then I started yodeling at County Fairs in the small town of St. George, Utah.  I sang at Rodeo's on a "stage" on  the back of pick up trucks in my cowboy boots and jean jacket.  I sang at Christmas parties and charity events and business conferences and sometimes, if I was good, my dad would drive me 30 minutes out to an old ice skating rink on Wednesdays.  (Wednesdays was karaoke night).  I loved to go skate there and then sing some Shania Twain and Paul Simon.  
  I kept this up until I was 14.  When I was 14, my older sister Meg started getting into music.  (Before she had become engrossed in music - she, unlike me, enjoyed piano lessons and was classically trained for 9 years - but suddenly some kind of crazy passion started.  Call it "becoming a teenager" if you will).  She had her heart broken.  Puppy love.  And so she bought a guitar and wrote her very first song EVER.  It was called, "Masterpiece."  
When she played this song for me on her guitar I almost lost my mind.  It was the first time I had ever heard an original song.  The first time I ever saw an old notebook paper with her poetry, her lyrics scribbled all over it.  The first time I thought, "Woah....I didn't know there was anything beyond singing to tracks/ Kareoke).  (Keep in mind, I was only 14! Ha).
Anyway, after her first song, "Masterpiece," she began to write songs like crazy.  It fascinated me.  I thought she was the best songwriter I had ever heard.  In my eyes, she couldn't have created a bad song.  And of course, I was crazy jealous.  (Sister rivalry if you will).  I thought, SHE'S singing these amazing songs, while I'm singing Dixie Chick Kareoke songs!  
Anyway, she quickly formed a band and started playing around St. George, Utah.  She sang and played the guitar, and 2 friends of hers backed her up on drums and bass.  The first time I saw them play I almost died.  It was so amazing to me!  A real live band!  I begged Meg to let me join the band.  I told her that I'd sing whatever, and I wouldn't be a nuisance.  She declined.  She said the band was fine how it was, and she didn't need her little sister running around with her.  (How uncool could a high school cat be with her little sister in the band anyway!)  Funny to think of how our mind sets were back then.  
Finally, my mom said that she would ground Meg for a week if she wouldn't let me sing just one song with them at their next gig.  (It was at a little arts festival.  They set up a tiny stage on the back of a truck.)  I flipped out with glee and of course Meg was mad and also embarrassed in front of her friends, but I got to sing up there with her and NOTHING could have made me smile bigger that day.  
After that, Meg continued on with her band and I, behind my locked door, started trying to learn the guitar as well and started trying to write my own original songs.  I started practicing guitar and piano on my own, to my mom's surprise and delight).   The first song I ever wrote was called, "Hold on."  I still remember the title, although I don't remember how it went at all.   That's probably a good thing!
Then one evening, while I was enjoying a burrito at a mall (still 14 years old, Meg 16), there was a karaoke session set up right outside the Mexican restaurant.  Of course my mom put my name down, and as they called me up to sing a Garth Brooks song, I grimaced at my mom hoping none of my friends from school would walk by.  I sang the song.  Afterwards, a guy walked up to me.  He explained that he had a brother that played the guitar that was looking to start a band....the rest is history.
With his brother on guitar, and his two friends on drums and bass, I started my first band with them called, "Jade Harbor."  Meg also joined "Jade Harbor" as the songwriter, pianist, and 2nd guitar player.  My very first real band!  I still have my "Jade Harbor" T shirt.  It's an old brown T with a pair of pink head phones printed on it.  My most prized possession.   The bass player of that band also owned a great venue in St. George called, The Electric Theater.  We rehearsed and played there often, and when we weren't playing, I would work concessions from time to time, just so I could be around when other bands came through town.  I loved to hear the music.
We played with that band for a couple years.  
Then, we met a person who said that they would love to manage Meg and I.  That she could help us try and get a deal.  Meg and I instantly got stars in our eyes, and of course, over excited.  However, she said that the band would have to go.  "I can't sign all of you.  You'll have to leave them behind," she said compassionately.  Decision making time.  At that age, all Meg and I saw was the opportunity.  We left the band after all their hard work and dedication.  We left them without barely explaining anything.  We left them to go to LA to take meetings with labels.
To this day, thinking about leaving them still makes my stomach feel sick.  I should never have left them like that.  Abandoned them.  If I could change anything about my life.......  well, we all make mistakes.
(I'm rambling now.)  To make this shorter, basically Meg and I recorded demos to send into labels, took promo pictures, had meetings, etc.  After a year and half of working with our new manager and trying and failing, we amiably parted ways and began a new chapter.
We went back to St. George, Utah.
We went back to The Electric Theater.  Our ex bass player (owner) was nice enough to let us open for acts there.  One night, we opened up for a band called Limbeck on an indie label called Doghouse records.  
We talked to their tour manager.  He smelled of beer and had twinkly, friendly eyes, like little stars.  He had a kind, drunken smile.  He gave us his card.  "Keep in touch," he slurred.  "Send me some new songs when you get 'em.  I know Doghouse records.  They're a great indie label.  They do great things."  We'll call this tour manager, "Mr. X" for now.  With that, Mr. X gave us a pat on the back and left in Limbeck's band van.  (Side note: Mr. X is getting married and Meg and I are singing at his wedding in 2012!  So excited!)
Meg and I went through a couple different bands after that point, just as one would go through boyfriends at that young age.  Each one left us with a bitter sweet taste in our mouth.  
We played shows at churches, old venues, parties, fairs.  Anywhere that would take us really.  We spent all our savings on new equipment.  Our parents helped us a lot as well.  (We finally paid them back after 3 years).  
Meg got scared though one day.  All her friends were now out of high school and going to college.  (Not to mention she got a full ride scholarship to a Utah college based on academics).  "I can't not take this," she said.  I thought I was going to die when she moved out, being the overdramatic teenager that I was.  She wrote, "Just one of those things," (a song you can find on "Our home is gone,") during that time.  She wrote it about us leaving each other.  
So she went to Cedar City and I stayed at home with my parents.  She started a new band up there....she became the guitar player of a really neat indie/rock group very popular around the college.  I started one at home.  We called each other from time to time.
A half year went by.
She called me up. 
"School will always be here for me.  Maybe not the scholarship," she joked, "but you get what I mean.  Music needs to happen now.  We have a shot at this...now.  People who wait never do it at all," she said.  And with that, Meg moved out of her dorms, left her scholarship and was back in my life.  I home schooled while I did my junior year of high school...so I could get out of school a year early. (Basically public school from 7 am to 1 pm. and then home school from 2 pm to 6 everyday for a year).  I knew that we'd want to start touring soon, and I didn't want to hold the band back.  
Meg and I quickly found a bassist, drummer, and guitar player.  We were starting to get serious about making music our career, our life.  After much tossing and turning of band names, our bass player at the time named us "Meg and Dia." Haha.  Ironically, it actually wasn't either Meg or I that named us that.  Anyway, it stuck and that was what we were called.
We started booking tours around the west coast. (We were living in Salt Lake City then.  Meg and I shared a small room in a small house with 3 other room mates).  We booked shows through myspace.  For example, we would find a band in AZ, email them, and say something to the extent of: "Hey.  We're passing through your city on July 8th.  Do you know promoters/  or a venue we could play at?  We are very unfamiliar to the music scene in AZ.  If you do this, we will set you up with a show in Utah.  We know all the promoters and good venues out here."  
So basically, we show swapped.  And we did this following a tour route.  We had little money. (All the loose change we had, we spent to make our first, "Meg and Dia" shirts).  We took Meg's 5 passenger car, hitched a small trailer to it with all our guitars and amps, and drove off.  I was 17 when I first went on tour.  All the shows were quite small.  Sometimes literally 0 people.  Sometimes 100 if we opened up for a popular local band.....  After the show we would ask the bands who played (if there were any) if we could sleep on their floor.  Sometimes we asked people in the audience.  Hotels were too expensive.  It had a 75% success rate.  The other nights we just slept in the car in Wal Mart parking lots or sometimes in parks if the weather was nice.  (My mom still doesn't know that. Ha!) Nick's drum rug made a nice little cushion on the grass.  One night, in Berkeley, CA, we got kicked out of a park at 6 a.m.  It wasn't nice to wake up on the damp lawn with 2 cops hovering over you, their flash lights in your face.  
Months passed.  We recorded a demo with saved up pocket money.  We played as many shows as we could get.  We pushed our music to everyone we could via the internet.  
Then we called, Mr. X again.  The tour manager we had met a while back.  We asked him for help.  He said he'd get us a showcase with Dog house.  He said to come out to L.A.  
To make a long story short, Dog house signed us a little while after the showcase.  (Funny side note:  A couple years after they signed up, while talking to people at Doghouse records, they laughed and said, "To be honest...you guys were terrible at that showcase show...sloppy as hell.  But we saw potential...determination...and that is why we signed you.)  We made a record on that label, and toured.  Our first big tour was Warped tour, 06.  It was also probably one of the hardest tours I've ever done.  
Side note:  Warped tour, for those of you who don't know, is an annual music festival...there are food/clothing tents everywhere and about 10-15 stages set out across a large parking lot/ampitheater/field, etc.  Anywhere from 50-70 bands play everyday.  (Those number facts could be a little off, but that's like what it seemed!)
We didn't get to play on a stage...but they said we could play in a small tent.  A tent no bigger than a living room.  Each morning around 7 a.m. we set up the PA system and a little platform that was about a foot off the ground in the dirt....the "stage."  Each morning Meg and I woke up early to "Walk the lines."  
"Walking the Lines" is going to the line of people outside the main gates of Warped tour before the doors open (usually around 10 a.m.).  Since people are just idly sitting by, they are more apt to listen to you when you come up and say, "Hey, since you're just waiting, would you mind listening to my band?" (You push a pair of headphones towards them with your thumb waiting patiently to push play on your Ipod).  Many said, "Get lost."  Many said, "No thank you," but many said, "yes."  And after they listened to 30 seconds or a minute of our song, they'd either buy a CD for 10$, say, "Not my style," or "That's the worst shit ever," or just laugh.  We hoped for option #1.  Meg and I sold anywhere from 5 to 50 CD's a day.  All that money, plus merch money went to pay for transportation, so even though we came out of that tour breaking even, we felt pretty happy about it.  
Warped tour ended.  We did more tours.  I wasn't home very often.  My relationships struggled.  My mom called me a lot with "I miss you's." 
Doghouse (remember: an indie label) wanted us to upstream to Warner Brothers records.  We suddenly became signed to a major label, and with our hats in our hands, said bye bye to the Doghouse staff.  
(I've been rambling too much.  I'm going to try and simplify this story! Sorry).
Meg and Dia recorded another album, "Here, here and here," on Warner/Sire records.  Meg and Dia toured 8-9 months out of the year.  Meg and Dia have played almost every single state 7-15 times over.  Dia learned how to drive a 15 passenger van so Nick (our lovely drummer) wouldn't have to drive so much.  (Meg's a terrible van driver. Sorry Meg. Haha)  Dia learned how to take energy drinks when she had the 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. shift.  Meg and Dia spent 3-10 hours in a van everyday on tour.  We learned how to take showers in Chevron Bathrooms.  We learned how to pee on the side of the road without getting it on our shoes.  We learned how to get through the Canadian border crossing as quickly as possible.  We learned band etiquette on tour toward the headlining band.  For example, don't eat before they do if there's catering...some people are pretty intense.  (And dammit, we got a lot of reading done).  We also met some of the most amazing musicians and people.....  Thanks for the memories ya'll.  Here's a moment to give a quick shout out to "Angels and Airwaves."  No band was ever so nice and generous to us as they were.
Now, back to the story. 
Meg and Dia's record didn't sell very much.  Then the tour offers came in less frequently.  Then we got dropped.
We got sad for a while.  Discouraged.  Low spirited.  
Then we said, "Fuck it all.  We're going to keep playing music." 
We took all the savings out of the band bank account that we had saved from previous tours.  We hired a guy for real cheap to engineer and produce our record. (He ended up being rad).  Then we rented a small, cheap cabin in Tillamook, Oregon and, with the last of our funds, rented out recording gear, and made an EP, "It's always stormy in Tillamook."  
It wasn't enough though.  We wanted to make a full length.  We had extra songs we had done in Oregon, but we wanted to make something...that represented our emotions of the moment.  We had run out of funds to keep the cabin, so I made a phone call to my mom.  
A few weeks later, her couches were moved to the garage, and a drum set sat where her TV had been.  We put microphones in the bathrooms, the kitchen, the hallways.  We set up the engineering room in my mom's dining room.  (She wasn't all too happy about it, but she's always been supportive).  
We recorded our latest album, "Cocoon," in my mom's kitchen and living room in St. George, Utah.
We recorded some songs that are still incredibly special to me.  "Bandits," because I like to write about myself through fictional stories.  "Unsinkable ships," because the last line of that song is the entire reason I, personally, went in to record "Cocoon" when I was so disheartened.  "Said and done," because it reminded me of the love I want and hope to one day have.  
With the last of our touring money, we made "Cocoon."  (The "we" is Carlo - amazing guitarist who's been with us for over 6 years now.  Jonathan - amazing bass player whom we met when we met Carlo.  Nick, who's been with Meg and I since pretty much the very beginning.  He's a great mechanic too if you're looking for one!)  
Now was the tough part.  We did the "music," but now the "business" side came in.  We didn't know how to promote it.  We of course utilized the internet first, putting it on every website we could think of. (I-tunes, bandcamp, etc.)  Then I manually sent in CD's to college radio stations, asking them to please play our songs.  I must have sent out over 250 letters with Demo CD enclosed.  My tongue was dry from licking so many envelopes!  Then we tried to book shows.  (Our booking agent had left amiably as well) so now....no tour offers came in.   In fact, there was no way for us to really get submitted for any tours anyway.  The last headlining tour we did.... half way through we almost had to cancel since the funds were so low with the gas prices up so high and all.  It wasn't a blast getting 7 people into 1 hotel room either.  Winter tours can be rough. 
We felt we had come to a dead end.  Our record had come out but it seemed like nobody knew about it, or cared.
Time passed.  I moved to New York.  I got a job at Crumbs Cupcakes on Madison Avenue, making coffee and putting red velvet's in cute little boxes.  I took the subway home late at night listening to Tom Petty.  I watched my friend's bands come through Brooklyn.  I got pretty sad.  I called Meg from time to time.  "How's it going?  Anything new?"  ........  "Nah, you?"  .......  "Any luck on that tour in June?"  ....."Nah.... How's work?  Have you gained weight yet from serving all those cupcakes?"
Meg got a job at a jewelry shop cleaning and selling engagement and wedding rings.  Nick played random gigs at bars in a cover band to make extra cash.  We all felt so far away.
Time passed.  I moved back into my parents' house in Utah cause rent in NY got me a bit over my head.  
My manager called me randomly one day.  
"Hey.  There's this new show you should try out for."
I rolled my eyes.  "I'm not doing that American Idol shit man.  No thanks.  Plus, I can't belt out a Celine Dion song, and that's just not me."
"No, no, " he said.  "It's a new show.  It's called The Voice.  They're holding try outs in LA.  You should drive down."
"A show?  No.  That sounds weird."
"Hear me out..."
"Wait...What exactly is this show?  I don't do reality TV.  Plus, I'd be way too freaked out.  I don't know how those singer's do it."
He cut in, "It's not like a real reality TV show...it's really cool.  You should watch it.  I sent you a clip of the show.  It started in Holland.  It was a big hit there."
"What is it?"
"You just sing songs...and the judges don't even get to see you, so you won't be scared.  It's not really a big deal."
"Who are the judges?" I asked.
"I dunno...they haven't picked them yet.  I think Ceelo Green might be one."
"Who?"
"Oh, never mind.  Just watch the clip."
"When are try outs?"
"In March."
"Well, South by South west is in March and I really wanted to go to that music festival.  The band might get a chance to play."
"Well," my manager said, getting a little frustrated.  "Just try out.  It might be nothing at all.  The show might flop, who knows.  So don't even worry about it.  You wanted to come to LA anyway to try and get voice over auditions.  So I'll try to set some of those up, but why not go to this audition too?"
(Side note: My manager, Mike, has stuck with us for about 6 years now.  We found him during our Doghouse years.  He still manages me/us).
"Who are the judges again?  I don't like that word.  Judges. It scares me.  I'm not a big singer....I'm a singer/songwriter.  Shows like that want belters...not weirdos like me.  I'll just get embarrassed.  I just...I can't."
"Listen," he said.  "What's the worst that could happen?  Even if you get 5 minutes of air time, that would be enough for some viewers to google your name, find the "Meg and Dia" band, find the Cocoon album on I tunes.  It's a free way to get more promotion than you guys could EVER do for yourselves.  And I know what you mean...you're not a belter.  But winnings not important.....even if you lose the first time you'll still be able to promote "Cocoon."  It's pretty much the only choice we have as of now...it's the only opportunity that's come up."
"I dunno..." I said uneasily.  
"Just watch the clip and call me later."
I got on my computer.  I watched the clip.  It was in another language.....some good that did me.  
I drove to LA. 
Somehow I ended up waiting in the waiting room with my manager sitting beside me, smiling.  There were a couple hundred people lined up outside the building waiting to audition.  "Just go in there, and play a couple songs and then we can go get tacos at your favorite spot.  Cool?"  
Yeah.....cool.  Sure....
When I went in to play the songs I was so damn nervous my hands wouldn't stop shaking.  I pulled out my guitar.  I pressed the strings down for a Bm chord.  My hands wouldn't stop shaking.  One of the people watching me (there was about 9) said, "Honey, just put the guitar down and sing a cappella.   I gratefully complied.  I didn't realize I'd all of a sudden get so nervous, but all those eyes were on me.  I sang.  One of them said, "We'll maybe call you."
They called that night.  I had to go sing again the next day, but in front of more people.  I did, this time even more nervous.  They said, "Go back to Utah.  We'll maybe email you."
Weeks passed.  They emailed me.  
Before I went out for the 3rd audition, my manger and I got on a conference call with the band, Meg and Dia.  The conversation was mostly like the one I had had with my manager previously.  
"What's this competition about?" asked Nick, (drummer).
"It's a new TV show," answered my manager.
"We'll have to cancel our South by show.  I got it finalized.  Some people pulled some strings," Nick said.
"Yeah, I really want to play South by," Meg concurred.  "I love that festival."
"Well, if Dia doesn't move on past this next audition, she'll be back in Utah and you can do South by," said my manager.  "If she does move on...well, we'll see.  You guys should look at it from a bigger perspective.  If she does get any air time at all, it'll give you guys that much more promotion.  People might google her name and see the band.  People might get on I tunes and get "Cocoon."  What other option of promotion do you guys have?"
"I only want to do this if everyone's comfortable with it," I said.
A pause.
"Yeah, I think you should do it," said Carlo.
"Are you guys sure it's okay canceling our South by show?  We've had it planned for weeks." I said.  
Finally, after a long conversation, the band and I decided that I should try out.  In a way, I kinda felt like I was carrying the torch for us all into the Gladiator ring.  (I know that's an absurd metaphor but, oh well.  It's nearing 2 a.m. now and I'm afraid my grammar's getting sloppy too).  
After that...the rest is history...or can I say that?  That phrase has always been a little funny to me.  
Anyway, I was lucky enough to get put with the best BEST coach and person ever, Blake Shelton.  And was lucky enough to go further than I ever EVER could have imagined on that show.  Even now when I think about it...I feel almost shocked sometimes.  It feels like a dream that I even got past the first audition at all. 
It suddenly and unexpectedly pushed me into a new realm and new opportunities literally almost appeared to fall in my lap.  I got excited.  I got scared.  I started day dreaming again.  I got stressed.  I got exhausted.  I got anxious.
What now?  
Well, the show has ended, obviously.
Universal/ Republic decided to pick up their option to sign me to their label.
The "Meg and Dia" band is not signed, and is still independent.  The "Meg and Dia" band is still very important to me.  The "Meg and Dia" band will remain separate from "Dia Frampton," although, all 5 of us members of "Meg and Dia" will be involved with "Dia Frampton."  The "Meg and Dia" band will do separate tours, separate albums, etc.  
What am I doing now?  I'm trying to record a "Dia Frampton" album while also trying to include the band in as much as possible.  They've been nothing but supportive and excited about this whole process and I'm lucky they stuck by me through this whole waiting game.   I've been writing a ton since the show's ended, and have also been having a great time writing with people who inspire me.  I got a chance to write with John Mayor's guitar player (Huge fan of John Mayor and their music).  I got a chance to work with the keyboard player of Florence and the Machine.  We worked on a track together....making an interesting drum beat by clicking shoe heels together and picture frames.  I got to work with the keyboard player of Foster the People, Isom Innis, and Mark Foster,  a band I really enjoy.  It's been great to write and create music with so many inspiring people who also share a passion for music.  It kinda makes me feel like an apprentice sometimes too.  
(Side note:  I wrote this blog a month ago...was a little shy to put it out till now.  So the timing is a little weird. Obviously the album has been recorded and is complete.)  
Also, Meg (who's been swamped with jewelry making lately) has just flown out from Austin to now come write music with me for the "Dia Frampton" record out late this year or early 2012.  We just wrote a song called, "Hearts out to dry," and have been having a great time writing together again.  Meg and I are going to try to write as many songs as possible together before the deadline comes from the label to pick the 11-12 songs that we think are the BEST as well as the most cohesive for an album (which is really important to me).  I'm very happy Meg came out here to create again with me.  She's not only a talented songwriter but guitar player as well.  (Side note:  Many ask why Meg didn't try out with me.  Well, I had no idea duos could try out until casting had ended....it was too late).  
I'm now living with Carlo in LA (best room mate ever), and Meg's been hanging out in my room.  (She takes up a lot of the bed)  Ha.  We are working on making an album that will make us proud.  
We are going to be touring early next year....and we hope to see you.  The same members of "Meg and Dia," will also be touring with "Dia Frampton."  Meg and I will continue to write songs for "Meg and Dia," but also will write songs for "Dia Frampton."
Side note:  It's been kinda cool to have 2 projects...it almost makes me feel like I have an alter ego.  In "Meg and Dia," I can write poetry to slow, melancholy waltzes, and with "Dia Frampton," I can explore fun dance beats that instantly make me wanna get up and dance around.  I like that about dance music...it's almost like medicine.  It makes you happy.  And then the sad songs....the ballads...they're kinda like a companion when you yourself are sad.
The label's wanting to put out the album soon, Dec. 6th.  It's been both stressful and exciting.  Stressful because I want to write something great, and a time limit on that is always straining, but exciting because I can't wait for ya'll to hear it!  
That's pretty much were I am right now.  Writing, recording, and trying to get my 5 minutes of downward dog in so I don't go crazy.  It's been really important to me to be a part of the writing process on this record.  Even with the little amount of time allotted for getting this thing out, it's important to me to write what is real.....  I haven't yet had a song just handed over to me, made from a professional factory of song writing experts.  The perfect hook.  The perfect length.  3 minutes, 30 seconds.  I've been very vocal about writing on my own, with my sister, and with people who creatively I look up to, like those writers mentioned above to name a few.  And Universal has actually been very supportive in this.  (Yay, Universal!)  It's kinda crazy how some records are made......some singers even hold "song writing camps" in which a bunch of "hit makers" go out to a retreat, write like crazy for a week together, and then at the end of the day...they listen to all 80 songs give or take, and pick the best 10.  Not for me though.  No, no, no.  Meg taught me better.
So that's my story up until now folks.  To wrap it all up, I want to thank you all for being so supportive.  I want to thank Meg and Dia listeners for also supporting and understanding.  I want to thank the band I've been playing with for over 7 years now!  I want to thank my sister, my family, my manager.  I want to thank Universal.  I want to thank all of you who get on my facebook and write lovely comments and who tweet at me.  And THANK YOU for coming out to shows as well and sharing the music!
If you want to keep in touch with us and me here's the info:)
P.S.  I called the new album RED, because one day when I was very young ( I think 2nd grade), I was crying and upset to go to my first day of school.  I told my mom that no one would talk to me or notice me or want to be my friend and that I was scared to go alone and she had to come with me.  She wrapped me in her arms and said, "Just wear red.  Everyone notices red and is drawn to it!"  Of course she was feeding me some mumbo jumbo, but red became to me, what the "magic feather" became to dumbo. 
XOXOX!
Meg and Dia's "Cocoon" is on I-tunes or meganddia.com 
Meg has an AMAZING jewelry line (hand made and super cute) at www.chandlertherobot.com
         Meg is also starting up another band....they don't have music recorded yet but will soon, and I'm sure you'll see that all on her website soon up above.  
Nick's been playing in a project at home in Austin, TX too, acting as the drummer for the band and engineer.  Yup, he knows all about amps and microphones and cables and drum microphones and pro tools equipment and reverb.  I have no clue.  Maybe someday he'll end up recording YOUR band.  
Carlo (guitar), my dear roomie, plays drums in a church band, plays nintendo at home, and is starting to run crazy long marathons.
Jonathan (bass) is dog sitting in LA, grows broccoli plants, and just started doing yoga.  He plays in a Beatles cover band back in NJ.  
That's all for you now ladies and gents!  Thanks for reading.  Much Love.