Eyes Like Diamonds are an American Melodic Post-Hardcore band from Las Vegas, NV. Founded in 2007, they self-released their first EP “Mystery” in 2009 and first full length “Frequencies” in 2011 through Tragic Hero Records. Both releases have earned nothing but positive review from press and fans alike. The band is currently writing an EP to build anticipation for their next full length release.
Bassist Tony Pell was gracioius enough to take some time out to answer a few questions about the band and his experience as a bass player.
Waffles: When did you start playing bass and what made you choose the instrument?
Tony: I started playing my sophomore year of High School, so about 8 years ago! The teacher for my Guitar Class f–king SHREDS on bass, so I think he had a little to do with it. Plus regular guitar frets are too small for me, I have bear paws haha!
Waffles: Who are some of your bass influences, and have you ever been able to meet any of them?
Tony: Obviously my guitar class teacher and I got a few friends that put me to shame. I’ve never really had a bass “idol” or anything though. If I had to say one dude though, it would probably be Cliff Burton. All I listened to in those days was f–kin’ ‘Tallica and Slayer!
Waffles: What are some of your favorite bands?
Tony: Definitely the aforementioned thrash bands. Bands I jam now-a-days are Underoath, Memphis May Fire, Minus The Bear, Circa Survive, In:Aviate and Emmure when I’m in an uber pissed mood!
Waffles: Tell us about your gear.
Tony: Pretty simple set up, although I’ve never seen someone with a rig like mine.
I run a Sansamp RBI>BBE 442>Carvin DCM2000l and my cab is a Basson 8×10
My power amp and cab are total overkill; I’ve blown more than a few circuit breakers at venues while pulling 2000 watts!! >:]
Waffles: What advice do you have for young musicians just starting out?
Tony: Be patient and put your heart in to what you’re writing/playing. Nobody is going to like you if you just play some bs. If you care enough about your music, eventually people notice that and start giving a f–k about you.
Waffles: Is there something you think your fans would be surprised to learn about you?
Tony: I’m a super nice dude when you get to know me. I know I look super pissed in all our promos/videos but I guess I just have that face!
Waffles: All young musicians dream of making it big. How is the reality of success different than the fantasy of it?
Tony: It sort of gets harder haha! Everyone thinks once you ink a deal you’re gonna blow up and your life will change forever. That’s not how it is anymore. Plus you gotta put in even more effort because now you’re competing with real professional bands.
We still aren’t at the level I wanna be at yet, but we have heart, we won’t be hanging up our hats any time soon.
Waffles: How was the band name chosen?
Tony: Oh man.. So long ago haha! Long story short, I got the idea from a billboard for a Jeweler with some beautiful lady on it. She was really pretty….
Waffles: What is the writing process of Eyes Like Diamonds?
Tony: The current writing process is a little different than before. We usually start songs on a computer in FL studio and then bring them into the practice space. It works for most things, but sometimes you just gotta come up with stuff naturally for it to feel right.
Waffles: What have been some of the band’s notable highlights?
Tony: Our keyboardist Danielle was featured in Revolver Magazine’s 25 Hottest Chicks of Hard Rock. That was pretty awesome!
Waffles: The Vegas music scene isn’t exactly the easiest path to success. Tell us your thoughts on the Vegas music scene and how you were able to parlay it into national success.
Tony: The Vegas scene was WAY better just a few years ago. We came out at a pretty good time and we used social media early on (when Myspace was the sh-t) to gain buzz. Our standing in the scene has held pretty solid ever since. After a while we knew we had to reach out to labels if we wanted to get on that level. I was talking to this dude Gabe Valdez for a while and he had told me he could help us out. Once we were ready, it only took a few months to get some bites!
Waffles: What are some of the most common mistakes local bands make?
Tony: There are a LOT of local bands out here that have HUGE egos and for no reason. They’ve done absolutely nothing besides maybe win a battle of the bands against a bunch of high school bands or opened for a national tour package. Chill out kids, until your band sells out venues with a 3000 person cap every night of a tour, you need to just take a seat.
Waffles: How much of a role has social networking played in the band’s success, and what is your favorite site for promotion?
Tony: This is actually a great question for me because I’m the main one who runs our promotion. I personally LOVE Twitter, it’s easy to hop on and find new potential fans and talk to them and I can do it right off my phone. I honestly think if it wasn’t for social networking we wouldn’t have done anything! It is one of the most powerful tools for bands these days! Somebody in the band needs to take care of it, or hire a pro. It’s an absolute MUST.
Waffles: How has your sound changed since your originally formed?
Tony: I feel like we’ve gotten way more ambient compared to our first album. Plus we started paying way more attention to structure and writing real songs. Before we kinda just did whatever and tracked it.
Waffles: Do you have any crazy bands stories that you’ll never forget?
Tony: I’ll never forget, the first song of the first show of The Keep It King tour, I dislocated my knee and ended up playing through 2 or 3 songs before I got any medical attention. I thought I had broken my leg something crazy, but they just popped that thing back in. After drugging me up with that stuff they give to ladies giving birth. That was fun! hahaha
Waffles: What’s next for Eyes Like Diamonds?
Tony: We are hard at work on a complete change of the band. We are really sitting down and figuring out exactly who we are meant to be and how to make sure everybody sees that. It might take a while but our fans seem really patient. I think they’ll really like what we are about to do.
We’d like to thank Tony for taking the time out to answer these questions for us. We wish the band continued success. You can – and should – check out Eyes Like Diamonds at any of the links below:
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