Diva Kai is currently working on her first album release. Diva has performed for small venues and is beginning to build an audience that appeals to the broad range of emotion and vocal stylings that make Diva’s music great to listen to. As a native Iowan and frequent Chicagoan, Diva Kai’s music bridges rural sensibilities with a contemporary voice.

Cul de sac Magazine: What music have you been listening to, Diva?

Diva Kai: Maria Taylor, Jose Gonzalez, Kaki King, Iron and Wine… I don’t really listen to the radio much. I feel like a lot of songs are overplayed. I appreciate pop music, but it’s not really my style. I enjoy public radio… Pandora, too. I enjoy listening to a more underground radio, being able to find artists you might not otherwise know about.

CM: You now call Iowa your home once again; could you walk us through the transition of moving from Chicago, a big city, back to America’s heartland?

DK: Well, a lot of it had to do with, I love Chicago, but I really was needing a break from all the hustle and bustle. I wanted to go back to my roots, I felt overwhelmed (in Chicago). I’m very impulsive, I’d like to go back to Iowa for just a little bit, and I want to live in Chicago again. I will someday. It’s a good experience, a good time for healing, and I’m able to do a lot of the things I enjoy—like music, yoga, and relaxing. I like the stimulation of the big city. When I move into a city again, I’d like to find a balance between nature and relaxation and the excitement of a big city. I’d like to feel calm within myself.

CM: What do you miss about Chicago?

DK: I miss my friends a lot. That’s probably the biggest thing. I miss the trains—how good the public transportation is. There’s a lot of freedom in having a car, but there’s freedom in taking the trains, too. You can get anywhere on the bus and trains.
There’s something going on all night… so much music and art and people who are really working toward a goal. It’s stimulating being around it all.

I felt, when I was there, I learned equivalent to what it’s like living somewhere for 6 or 7 years. Everyday is something new and exciting, and everything was so spontaneous.

CM: What do you love about Iowa?

DK: Dubuque has a lot of hills and bluffs, right alongside the Mississippi River. Iowa is great in the summer. I like the nature here and being really close to my family. I also have really good friends here. I like that Iowa just legalized gay marriage.

CM: Do you at all find it strange that Iowa would openly allow same-sex marriages before Chicago and Illinois?

DK: Yeah. I was shocked. I found out through a text message. I was just in shock; “Are you joking?” I can’t believe that Iowa was the third state to legalize gay marriage.

CM: What do you think this will do for Iowa and the region?

DK: I think that it might draw more people to live here because it’s becoming so much more open-minded. I think that people will look at it in a different way. A lot of people who hear me say I’m from Iowa say, “Oh, Idaho? Ohio?” It’s not really acknowledged much, and now people will be able to see it in a different light. Hopefully, it’ll bring more people to live here and start families here.

CM: Have you ever written stuff and thought, You know what, actually, that’s too personal to share?

DK: Yeah. I have definitely, and I remember when I first started writing songs I was a sophomore in high school, which was also the time I was coming out. I had all these feelings about girls and I couldn’t share them with anyone. I wrote my feelings on a small piece of paper in very vague words. I was afraid people would find it. It allowed me to express what I felt without being straightforward, something that could be interpreted. I’ve gotten a lot more straight-forward about the message I want to get across, but I have written songs that I didn’t necessarily want people to know were about them.

CM: What was the first song you ever wrote?

DK: I guess my early songwriting days I’m kind of disconnected with. I was more practiced after a song-writing class. The first song I completed was called “My Intuition.” It was about a girl who I was falling for (who was actually my best friend at the time… big surprise, right?) and I felt that she felt the same way about me. She was the first person I played it for… going back to writing songs and not wanting someone to know it’s about them. I didn’t tell her it was for her. Her intuition did.

CM: Are there songs that you like to play more than others?

DK: I like to play “Tears from the Moon;” that’s also what I want to call my album. Also, “It’s Not Over,” “(You Can’t Have) All of Me,” “The Island of Bare Feet,” “Fancy Town,” “Laced with Music.” Just to name a few…

CM: Are there songs you prefer not to play on stage?

DK: Some songs are more sad or more personal than others, and in some places slower songs are just better for a more intimate crowd.

CM: Do you get tired of people asking if Diva is your real name?

DK: I don’t really get tired of it. It’s always an interesting topic of conversation. When my parents were dating, they saw a French film called “Diva.” It’s a story of an opera singer who didn’t like to have her voice recorded, and this guy follows her around trying to record her voice. Do people become something they are called so much? Or did my parents just know that I would be a performer? I think I represent my name in the sense that I’m a singer/performer, and a musician, but I’m not a “diva” in the sense of being a drama queen.

CM: Who does music belong to?

DK: The universe. Sometimes, I’ll just go through these phases where I’m writing and playing constantly, and then I’ll stop for a while. I think it’s a natural cause and then people can appreciate having that inspiration. I get down on myself sometimes, but the source is totally unlimited, and it’s available to all of us. If you ask for inspiration and know that it’s available, it will come. I think music comes to me from a higher power, a higher source. I’m like a vessel I think.

CM: What can we expect to hear next from you?

DK: I would really like to explore a more classical approach, more finger picking, maybe more music like Spanish guitar. I would like to get better at solos and lead guitar skills. I might want to do a one-woman band. But I would also like to play with other musicians more. Expect more layers.