San Diego Reader

Pavla Nova: Vocals | John La Plante: Bass guitar | Johnny Bruhns: Keyboards, Piano | David J. Sherry: Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric), Vocals | Ce Ce Taylor: Vocals | Darryl Cifarelli: Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric), Vocals | Freddie Bejar: Drums | Steve Greenfield: Guitar (electric) | Dan Halverson: Keyboards

Genre: Covers | Standards, Pop, Rock

Sound description: Very Neil Diamond-like.

RIYL: Neil Diamond

Upcoming Local Shows

Discography

Related Links:

• http://www.davidjsherryproductions.com/

• Blurt: "Imitation Diamond" · Nov. 2, 2011

• Cover Story: "Borrowed Music. Borrowed Look. Borrowed Fame." · March 18, 2009

• Blurt: "The Real Neil" · Jan. 21, 2009

Synoposis

Inception: Escondido, 2005

Ex-Band Members: Christopher Landry, Guitar (electric) Dave Keefer, Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric) Greg Douglass, Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric) George Nelms, Drums

Influences: Neil Diamond

Background:

Diamond Is Forever!, a Neil Diamond tribute band, was founded in 2005 by David J. Sherry, of Escondido. Sherry works on the side as a video editor, while backup singer Ce Ce Taylor is a retired California attorney who also serves as the band’s manager. Band members live all over the county, including Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Encinitas, El Cajon, Escondido, and La Jolla.

Asked what distinguishes his neo-Neil from others doing the Diamond, Sherry says, “First and foremost, it’s our passion for getting the music and performance right, unlike other tributes like Super Diamond, who do more of a Diamond-meets-Bon Jovi metal sound.”

“We recreate the popular late-’70s and early-’80s Jazz Singer Diamond,” says Sherry, who was 13 when he purchased his very first album in 1969, Diamond’s Live at the Troubadour. “[We use] costumes, smoke and mirrors, and a huge American flag that unfurls during ‘America,’ à la Diamond’s own concerts. We work hard to capture the feel and the excitement of Neil’s Hot August Night and Love at the Greek concerts, using dialogue taken directly from these concerts, as well as [telling] stories behind the songs.”

According to Sherry, “We sometimes mix the best studio versions of his songs along with the best live concert tempos. For example, we perform ‘Shilo’ very much like the live concert version from Hot August Night, along with a mandolin part not present on the original Uni Records single and also layering in Diamond’s original signature horn lines taken from his Bang Records single.”

Sometimes, Sherry says, his Diamond finds itself in the rough, as in February ’08 when they played an aging theater in Encinitas. “The moment we took the stage, things started going wrong. During the first song, someone flipped a switch in the projection room to rewind a movie reel and blew out the fuses, not once but three times, knocking out all the sound.”

In addition, “San Diego was experiencing one of its coldest spells in history, and the theater, being 80 years old, had no heat. Players were blowing on their fingers to keep them from going numb. Not only did the fog machine compete with the frozen breath of the band members and audience, but the big American flag refused to unfurl.”

During the performance, “A dog ran up and down the aisles and rows of seats, startling people and scavenging all the edibles…We found out later the dog was a local celebrity, having made an unexpected appearance onstage the prior weekend with Leon Russell.”