Brand New Diana Interview!

Dallas Mc Coy's one-on-one interview with Diana DeVille


Dallas: Ya know being a DJ is one thing, but being a DJ for KNAC and having her own show playing the music she loves and nothing else has got to be another. Is this still a big deal for you knowing you don't have to play the new age metal if you don't like it? Or have you gotten so content with it that you just look at it as it's just what I do?

RockGoddess: Well the good thing about my show(s) is that on the Wild Side, I can concentrate on the music I truly love, music from the 80's. But then again, during my "during the week" shifts, I get the opportunity to play lots of different music, which there is a lot of great music from all eras. It's a great balance, and I never take the musical freedom for granted.

Dallas: Who were the ones directly or indirectly in your life that made you say "This is what I wanna do"?

RockGoddess: Well, I stumbled into radio when my mom was going to college. I'd hang around the campus while she was in class, and I found the college radio station. It looked interesting, so when I started college I started working at the radio station and found that I really enjoyed it. I studied my craft and decided this was what I wanted to do with my life (in fact, I dropped out of college a semester away from getting my master's degree in Psychology because I got a great radio opportunity). People who have really had an impact on me and really taught me the business and art of radio are Russ Mitchell, Brian Ringo, Tawn Mastrey, and of course Long Paul.

Dallas: Ya know it really pisses me off to hear these new age metal bands dog out the bands of the 1980's like Quiet Riot, Great White and Faster Pussycat. These bands stood for the youth like most bands of the 1980's. When you hear of new age metal bands doing this what is your reaction to it and how does that affect you?

RockGoddess: Whether or not you like hair bands in this day and age, you can't deny their impact on upcoming musicians. They most definitely left their mark on music and there was quite a bit of great music that came out of that era. And even If you were not a fan, then it at least influenced in what you did not want to become, so either way, your musical path was shaped by the music of the 80's. To deny their contribution to today's music is pretty ludicrous.

Dallas: All in all I think there are a few killer new age metal bands around like Disturbed, Godsmack, Buckcherry and Linkin Park. Does this era of new metal appeal to you at all?

RockGoddess: In every musical genre there is great stuff and there is horrible stuff. I like a lot of the new music (including some of the ones you mention), and by the same token, there's a lot of it that is not my cup of tea.

Dallas: Where'd that Dr. Rockett deal come from? How do you go from a partying ass headbanger to a Doctor?

RockGoddess: The "Ask Dr. Rockett" show actually started out (and still is) a column on the Metal Sludge.com website. Rikki thought it might translate well into radio, so he came to Rob (Jones, KNAC.COM founder)and me with the idea, and we thought that would work well on my Wild Side show. It seems to have gone over well with the audience. The show went on hiatus for a while due to Rikki's tour commitments with Poison, but we are working on resuming the show in the very near future. I must say that Rikki actually does a lot of research on the topics we cover and his answers to the problems are very well thought out.

Dallas: Now I know of maybe two bands that actually write and record original traditional hard rock/metal and those two are Hollywood's Revlon Red and Leesburg, Florida's Theoadore Muddfoot. Can you see the LA scene becoming decadent again? I mean is it in the air...could it just explode at any time?

RockGoddess: I think there is always room for new talent... and music is so cyclical. You get one thing that changes the musical climate, and the next thing you know that's the sound everyone is going for, so then it becomes over-saturated with too much of a good thing, and boom, here comes the thing that changes that musical climate, and so on. I would like to see the music industry become not so narrow, so that many different types of music get the same type of attention.

There's too much hype on the boy bands and the little girls, so maybe metal will get its chance in the sun again soon. Obviously its fans never went anywhere and will buy the music if it is available. They just need to know it's out there. I don't think LA will be like the decadent scene of the 80's again. It certainly could come back around to that, but I think it would be a little different this time around.

Dallas: I was real glad to see you bring Riki Rachtman into the studio. That was killer! Is there any chance of Penelope Spheeris coming in like that? I mean she is an icon of that era and she'd be a perfect guest for the "Wild Side".

RockGoddess: Thanks for the tip Dallas! I think Penelope Spheeris would be an excellent visitor to the Wild Side. If she's reading this, let's get together and talk about women in ROCK!

Dallas: Do you ever see KNAC going back on the air waves and if not why?

RockGoddess: Honestly, I don't see that happening. I mean, anything is possible of course, but being on the Internet has helped us evolve with so many cool aspects that would not be available to us. Being on the Net allows us to reach people worldwide, whereas being on the radio is strictly a local thing. Also, being on the Net, we are not subject to the restrictions that terrestrial radio has to contend with, so I think the freedom we have is absolutely worth it.

Plus, we like being everyone's local station. The only downside to being a Net-only station is the problem of people being able to listen to us in their cars, but I think that with the advent of satellite radio technology, which is in the works as we speak, even that can be resolved easily.

Dallas: KNAC is the world over now and has been for years so when a rocker or a metal head has no idea what KNAC is, would you consider them still under a rock!?

RockGoddess: I still find it interesting when people find us for the first time, seeing how we've been in operation for over three years now, but like I always say, Better late than never - welcome to the party! Believe it or not, there are some people who don't use computers, so not everyone is aware of us, but it's always fun to watch local people when you tell them, yes KNAC.COM is going strong again! The look of enlightenment, the "where can I find it?", that's always wonderful to see, the love of a true metal fan.

Dallas: Have you spoken with former Ratt member Robbyn Crosby? How's his condition? Cause he would be a definite loss, as would any original Ratt member.

RockGoddess: I don't know Robbyn personally, so the only news I have is through the KNAC.COM Magazine and mutual friends. His is a tragic story, but I wish him all the best, and I also wish him strength and good health.

Dallas: I think on a theatrical level you have the best site out of all of the KNAC staff. Who designed it?

RockGoddess: Wow, thanks! I actually did it myself, which is kind of amazing, considering I'm not really that knowledgable about web design. I basically just pulled together some elements that I liked and aimed to make it a site that was interesting and easy for people to check out. I use Microsoft FrontPage, primarily because you don't need to know all the complicated code for what you want, to use that program.

Dallas: Ok Rockgoddess, last question for ya. When Dee Snider did the Top-40 Hair Bands special on VH-1 this year, Poison was number one, and Bret Michaels was proud of that and thanked everyone. But during the course of the special we also heard from Kip Winger, George Lynch and Mike Tramp. They all regretted being in a hair band. Especially Mike Tramp! Why would they feel that way? They were entertainers... fucking Rock Stars that made killer fucking tunes!

RockGoddess: Ah, here we go again. You can run from your history, but you can't hide it. I've never understood why someone would go away from something that they do well. You see it all the time when a band takes a completely different direction, and the fans are left wondering, "What is this?" I guess it speaks for itself in looking at what those guys are doing now as opposed to what Poison is doing; after all Poison WAS one of the top touring acts this summer.

Bret Michaels is one of the greatest guys I know, and I consider him a friend. Perhaps the secret to his and Poison's success is that they realize what they excel at; they work extremely hard at perfecting that, they go out of their way to give their fans their money's worth. I've seen them go out of their way to accommodate their fans as much as they can, and I think the fact that their gigs were packed this summer is a fabulous tribute to all that hard work.

**Special thanks to Dallas McCoy for this interview.