MADI DIAZ

My parents were super supportive of my big dreams; I was pretty lucky. I guess I became a musician because I didn't see myself doing or loving anything else as much.

Hopefully, one day I won't have to be so caught up in all of that day-to-day, the Twitter and the Instagram. But I also would like to, at some point, turn off and take a break and also be, like, an artist.

I can never sit still. I wanna hurl myself into life.

There isn't a single artist out there, I'm sure, who wouldn't take the most perfect record deal. If the right record deal came along, like, the perfect deal, we'd definitely take it.

When I was in Boston, I was doing a lot of Americana stuff - I fell in love with Ray LaMontagne, Patty Griffin, and Neil Young.

My dad was a musician who went to Berklee, and he made me learn piano when I was five.

I love to perform at benefits and charity fundraisers.

I'd say, for my freshman year in college, I was doing everything in my power to hide the fact that I had ever had any association with the Paul Green School of Rock Music because it was like this bruise. It was such a sore subject.

My parents were big music fans, and my dad plays music, so I grew up with Madonna, Frank Zappa, the Beatles, Alice In Chains... it was all over the place. I had a Third Eye Blind record, but I also had Korn, Courtney Love, and Shania Twain.

I was pretty lucky to get into Berklee at all. I never really had any theory or music-reading capabilities; I was completely by ear.

One of my favorite feelings is the sense I get from pouring over parts of my past before lighting them up and leaving it all behind me to start over again.

When you're in a songwriting class, and you write a song, and you hand it in to a teacher to grade, I'm still going to say that it's a really awesome song whether I got an A or a D. I learned to stick to my guns and take the tools as tools and not as rules.

It took five days to drive to Los Angeles by myself. I listened to Abbey Road for six hours at a time and watched the desert open up before me again and again. I saw the sun set and rise at the Grand Canyon, and I sang out over the cliffs, picked up tumble weeds along the way and threw them in the back of my car.

Both of my parents were super music lovers when I was growing up - they had a massive record and tape collection. I think my dad even had a couple of laser discs, but that was a short-lived thing.

Coming to Nashville has been so motivating and inspirational. Just watching people live and breathe their music and create something that they can feel from start to finish.

It seems that for all of the artists signed to a major, there exists the same amount of artists that are struggling to break through to the surface within the label. I think, ideally, we'd end up with a very well connected competent indie team that will be along with us for the ride, however long that ride may be.

I could never ever say enough about Matt Amato. He has an indescribable presence; this warm, loving, serene calm with intense interest and excitement bubbling beneath his exterior.

I use Shazam all the time.

When I moved to Nashville, I didn't really let myself sonically explore, but things naturally got a little more poppy. And in L.A., even more so.

"There is love." Someone wrote that for me on a piece of paper in an airport when I probably looked like I really needed to hear it. I did. We all need the reminder sometimes.

Coming upon a space that sounds unique and incredible is just the best feeling.

Loving the process. I learn it over and again and in different ways. I'm speaking particularly to the musical process, but I definitely think that this lesson transcends. Loving the life process. Loving the process of becoming stronger by experiencing something that makes me feel unsteady. The process of speaking and living my truth and making my own path.

Both of my parents are teachers. One is in the Waldorf school system in Louisville, Ky., and the other runs a music school. I grew up with loving, supportive, encouraging parents that let me make my own world, and I wish that for every single child.

Coming upon a space that sounds unique and incredible is just the best feeling. Sometimes, it's under a bridge or down a stairwell or hallway. Sometimes, it's pitch-black or incredibly warm or in full daylight on a rooftop. I did a shoot recently for a clothing line, Somedays Lovin. I got to stand on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean and play my guitar basically all day. It felt endlessly powerful.

Candlelight and red wine? I don't know. Vulnerability catches me off guard every single time.