I caught up with Paper Diamond (aka Alex B) before his show at The Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This show was his second-to-last stop on his Rain Drops Tour. The tour was to not only promote the new Rain Drops EP, but his newest online project called The Rain Gang.
It was one of the first of many warm days in a row in Minneapolis. A very welcome break from the record freezing temps we've had all winter. The wild winter seemed to affecting everyone across the U.S.. Being a stereotypical Minnesotan, I had to mention the weather. ‘Has this crazy winter affected the tour at all?', I asked Alex.
It’s definitely awesome that we’ve got a little bit of warmth! Honestly I don’t want to jinx it because we’ve got to do one more show, but we didn't really have any issues. Basically the tour bus driver shows up at like 4 in the morning when we’re done with the show, hanging out with the fans, all that kind of stuff. When the bus driver shows up, I go to sleep. When I wake up I’m usually in a different city. But it was definitely a little bit bumpy because of the snow storms and messed with my sleep schedule a little bit.
I noticed when Alex came to greet me and as we sat there talking, he didn't seem to be in any pain from the leg injury that happened earlier in the tour. ‘What's the latest on the leg?' I asked.
My left foot was broken. I was jumping over speakers and I just rolled my ankle so intensely that I fell. When I stood up to do my encore, I looked down and my ankle was the size of a grapefruit. So I stood up on stage on my other leg and finished the last song. One of my stagehands came and helped me off stage until the ambulance came. I was like ‘Wow I’m about to go home for the first time this year and I’m not going to be able to walk. Give me the tequila!’. They were just pushing me around the hospital while I was Facetiming with my girl haha. They gave me an air-cast, and said I didn’t have to have surgery. I went straight from the hospital, to the airport and back to LA by noon the next day.
Back in LA, PD was basically immobile for a few days. He took advantage of that and spent that time in the studio. “Everything's good now!” Alex assured me.
The Rain Gang EP officially released the day of this interview as a free download. It was literally just finishing being uploaded as we sat down! Paper Diamond did another free download a few months back with the “Ultimate Bundle”. He explained how great of a feeling is it to give back to the fans.
The people that support me do so much for me man! To do this for them is nothing for me. People show me love and what I do in return is give them something to enjoy. A lot of these songs I feel really proud of. I know it’s very different and people will expect whatever from me, but the EP is varied. There’s a lot of lyrics and vocals and stuff that I’ve been working on. It just seems like the right thing to do.
The first single released from the EP, “We Gone”, has a great chill vibes compared to some Paper Diamonds ‘usual' tracks. I was curious; ‘How important is it to dabble around with other sounds/genres?'.
With the Rain Drops EP specifically, I just write a song or a beat or an idea or a core progression or a sound like every day. And since I’ve been in LA this past year, I’ve had a lot more access to singers, emcees and vocalists. I’ve been working with a bunch of rappers. I’ve been talking about it for a while but I think this year there’s definitely going to be a lot of music coming out. It just takes time for all that stuff.
People know that when they come to my shows it’s going to be insane. You know the crazy sound system, the crazy light rig, the bass-filled shows and people wylin’ out. I also don’t only want to make music like that. I just want to make whatever I feel like. The ‘Towers’ song on the EP is sooo chill! It’s just like a beat. I had a bunch of vocals and stuff recorded on it, but I just love the feeling that it emits. You know? Just chillin' with your Headphones on, eyes closed, just vibing out to music. I want people to know that I do that too. I’m also a musician first and foremost. I love rowdy show music, I love bangers, I love chill music, I love songs, I love Hip Hop, I love everything. I’m just trying to express myself.
Paper Diamond has some techy contributions to the tour. He was involved in the designing the visuals for this tour, and uses an iPad converted to a midi controller into the sets. Does he consider himself tech savvy?
Yeah definitely tech savvy! I’m always keeping up with the newest everything. Recently I’ve changed up my live setup. I’m running the computers through a DJM 900 mixer so I’m able to control the volumes through a physical way as opposed to an iPad. I’m also using a Midi Fighter Twister so I can also use the knobs and buttons. I still have the iPad on stage and I can still use it just like any other Midi controller, but I’ve expanded since the last setup. The iPad thing was born out of necessity. When you’re flying 14 days in a row and you’re by yourself, it’s impossible to bring all the gear that you want all the time. Now that I have the tour bus and the people to help set up all the stuff, it makes so I was able to expand on my setup.
I love the concept of RainGang.com . A platform where fans and artists alike come together to share their music and artwork. ‘Will we be seeing the final product in the future?' I asked anxiously.
Yeah definitely! We’re working on a ton of artwork. I work with my friend Birk on it, he’s doing art direction with me as well. He does a lot of the hand-drawn stuff that we turn into vectors. It’s cool because I get up and I work on art and music every day. The https://soundcloud.com/gladiatormusicguys that are on the tour with me just said yesterday ‘You guys just work on stuff like all the time. Like ALL the time!’ That’s just our lifestyle.
We want to showcase other people that are doing that. With the Rain Gang stuff, it’s an outlet for people to get involved in the shows, Not only come to the show, but be a part of it and support a scene of our own of people that love music and are independently minded and forward thinking.
Alex wasn’t certain on final details, whether it will be a website, an online forum, whatever. He said, “Currently it’s an all email based setup.”.
Basically we have a newsletter that we’ve been sending to people. We individually respond to them. They’ve been sending art & music so we’re just getting everything ready. We’re in touch with people all over the place that want to get involved.
Paper Diamond fans out there may remember him making an appearance in one of Zed's Dead's ‘Coffee Break' videos. In the video, PD shoots out a bunch of hilarious and outrageous slang used during that tour. ‘Any new slang terms you guys came up with on this tour?' I joked. Alex laughed as he busted out his iPhone. Instead of explaining them all to me, he showed me the huge text thread him and his buddies have going on.
It's a bunch of randomness! Everyone making fun of each other, just funny videos, slang, memes, everything. It’s a big family vibe out here. Everyone I work with I’ve worked with for a long time. I don’t want to be a slave driver, I want to be the one leading the pack.
Finally, in honor of all that was rain, I asked Alex what his favorite ‘rain' song was from this list.
Prince – Purple Rain
Guns N Roses – November Rain
Fat Joe & Lil Wayne – Make It Rain
Missy Elliot – I Can’t Stand The Rain
CCR – Have You Seen The Rain
Dude I’ve always loved the Missy song! I grew up skateboarding, I mean like obsessed with skateboarding! I remember there was a VHS of Europe 1998, there was a part with Mike Vallely. He’s skating in a tiny little mini ramp room. Literally the room is the mini ramp! He’s riding wall to wall, like 8 feet and dropping back in. That song is during that part of the video. I was like 12 at the time and I remember loving that part and loving that song so that will be something that always sticks in my mind.
Although the ‘Rain Drops Tour' is over, you can still catch Paper Diamonds amazing new ‘Rain Drops' EP on his website or Soundcloud. Also make sure to subscribe to the newsletter on his website to officially become a member of the Rain Gang!
