30 March 2011
Often mistaken for hardcore rockers, there’s more than meets the eye with this somewhat tricky to define band.
.Caught in the musical spotlight of the moment, the band has made a name for itself on the indie scene, well make that two names, they started as BeatAmina, but have really come into their own these past months under the moniker DiaBizarro. What else could these four teenagers, who back in ’09 competed in a Battle of the Bands in front of a tough audience, where the prize was a pizza and coke, wish for? And while there are traces of Nica mainstream music (if there is even such a thing) as well as other common influences, such as Pink Floyd, in their jams and lyrics, DiaBizarro makes those influences their own in a way that is just refreshing.
Bruno, Daniel, Walter and Rony bring life to the bands harmonious songs “We’re about 70% music and 30% lyrics,” claims Daniel Dilger (Keyboards-Vocals); and from what I’ve heard I’d have to concur. DiaBizarro explores the genres of electronic, post-rock, chinamo and avant-garde more than hardcore tunes. It’s a true melting pot of good music for music lovers.
DiaBizzaro has been together for a year now, and while early on, as BeatAmina, they were known for performing covers of Arctic Monkeys, Muse and Pink Floyd songs, they have now involved themselves in the production and engineering of all of their songs.
The four members who have known each other ‘since forever’ say they rehearse about 5 hours everyday at Daniel’s place. Rehearsal consists of jamming, with brain storming and random interventions from them all. Apparently this group dynamic has paid off because they already have built quite a following.
MUSICAL INSIGHT: GETTING TO KNOW THE MEMBERES OF THE BAND…
While they each have similar tastes in music, what are a future engineer, aspiring doctor and two economists in the making doing jamming together? Maybe it’s these ‘go-getter’ attitudes that supply an ingredient missing in other bands that makes them unforgettable.
Bruno Cortina is a follower of progressive rock, 70’s rock, psychedelic rock, and thanks to his father who is also a musician, a little bit of Jazz. He says bands like Dream Theatre and The Beatles are some of his biggest influences. Meanwhile Daniel Dilger has played piano for almost ten years, since he was 7 years old, and learned to play Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven. He writes his own music, likes to improvise, and is the newest addition to the band. Walter Gomez, on drums, is more indie and enjoys the goodness of electronic music. And then there is Rony, who brings a serious dose of attitude to the bass.
Photos by Silvio Balladares / Heyton Urtecho
‘El Sendero’ is the group’s most versatile song, as far as genre goes, to date. It’s catchy, fun and heavy, with a guitar solo that can only be described as chilling. The lyrics talk about how you can find people in different emotional states, kind of like a bipolar disorder or an OCD thing, from sanity to madness and everything in between. It’s not a love song, more like a metaphor filled with sarcasm and irony.
It’s been almost three years since the band debuted at the Battle of the Bands and their feeling is that the local music scene has changed for the better. It’s not as hostile as it once was, “There’s diversity now” and it seems as though everybody’s trying to make it “in” and be part of the newest generation of young musicians. Making it in with DiaBizarro are other bands such as CulturaFolk and Pequeño Parlante, both up-and-coming bands in their own right, featured in this issue.
Ever since they realized that they could do ‘the band thing’, that it might work and that they were pretty damn good at it, they haven’t stopped evolving. And even though they’re about to enroll in different schools and pursue different careers, their goal is to leave proof of their existence. So far they are on the right track.
