After a stormy night, The Songbird had the pleasure of sitting down with Nick Diver, delving into his musical journey since the release of a trio of songs in 2022. Since then Nick has been carving out a unique space in the music industry, inspired by the likes of John Lennon and Frank Sinatra, with a deep passion for live performances, he shared how the energy and interaction of the crowd are profoundly shaping the direction of his forthcoming album. We discuss how writing free from the constraints of place or emotion, has created a harmonious blend of introspective lyricism and timeless melodies, whether living in London helps or hinders and trying to remain focused on keeping his goals simple yet meaningful, prioritizing songwriting and recording over grandiose ambitions. It’s clear that this artist has
found his rhythm, and he’s just getting started.

How are things with music in general? I haven’t been thinking about music at all for like, the past two weeks. Nothing, zero, right? Literally, just doing something completely something totally different.

In 2022 you released a trio of songs to introduce yourself, How do you feel they interact with the future intentions of your music-making? Can you still relate to them? I can relate to them live. To me, although they’re all dead to me, I don’t pay attention. It’s like forest fire burnout, onto the next thing. But when you play those songs live, it’s really cool. Working them out is cool when you go to play live because it comes out totally different. We just played this one song in the last few shows in Ireland, we didn’t have in the setlist, and then I think, like, two days before we were just fucking messing around, and came up with this cool song that we recorded a long time ago, and it’s like the most fun song to play. Live is always exciting if you like the song, but as far as an emotional attachment, I’ve already forgotten about those.

How does a live music experience shape what you write next, do you think about crowd interaction? This next album, total crowd interaction. This next one can be 100% blowout, like, I’m just gonna blow the roof off the place for at least for me, maybe, maybe it won’t achieve that, but based on the last few shows, I’m going total crowd interaction. I think I’ve got enough credit in the other department of playing the songs for myself. I’ve done that so many times. But now this one is going to be, totally for the crowd and for live stuff.

Do you have a favourite place that you can do songwriting within or a favourite emotion that you can sit in that feels comfortable? No, doesn’t matter anywhere, nowhere in particular.

All of your music has a definite sound. So it’s interesting. There’s like definite place attached to it. Thank you. Yeah, no definite place to write. You could be anywhere, you know, I actually don’t like need any specific lighting, some people have, like, lava lamps and stuff to set the mood, I don’t really care, I just work in whatever lighting or anywhere it is.

How do you find being in a band with your brother? I know that wouldn’t work for me and my siblings. It’s cool, it could be the best thing and then the worst thing at same time, one minute, it’s the best the next minute the worse, and then somebody gets really mad and yells but you can come back to each other later, like nothing happened.

If you wanted to make someone a fan of your music, which song of yours would you make them listen to? I can’t think of any of the song names right now for some reason, but maybe Black Liquorice. I think it’s cool, makes me feel cool. I like that song, Black Liquorice.

Have you got a favourite lyric from that song? Strawberries on the moon.

Along with your other songs, I think Black Liquorice is very visual, there is an aesthetic to your storytelling. Can you see that in your real life? Absolutely, I think so. Yeah, definitely.

Could you pinpoint an overall pairing between fashion, music and films you watch? I like Marcello Mastroianni, he is a big influence on me, very cool. Cary Grant different characters throughout time… I could go on and on.

The last time I saw you perform was, like, back in June when we put you on at The Isle Of Wight Festival Hipshaker stage. What was your like highlight of that whole weekend? Making the babies in the crowd dance, watching the Blondie cover band. The whole weekend we were in good spirits, the whole trip was a lot of fun, that’s a cool place.

You just supported The Libertines for 3 slots on their Irish leg of the tour. How was that? Have you ever seen those guys live? Yeh. Well, you’re from here, I’m from the US, and so I haven’t seen them live, but all those shows, I think, are sold out now, obviously, for good reason, but I’ve never had the opportunity to see them live, and that sucks, it’s sold out and I can’t get a ticket. But I was gonna say, if you can go to see them live go, it was a lot of fun!

If you could choose any song to describe how you feel about having wrapped that tour up now, what would the song be? Rhapsody in Blue, a George Gershwin… actually sorry, you know a cooler song would be the Dracula song, who’s that by Tchaikovsky?

Is that because of excitement to have done it or nerves? It was so freaking cool, so fun. It was the funnest thing ever, they’re a fucking awesome band, and their show is great. They sounded great. They played some new songs, and they mixed it up. They do pretty extensive sets It’s not linear, they do a lot of different things. I was thinking, it’s like a tornado in The Wizard of Oz or something. You get swept up in it. Even just seeing Ireland and being on the opposite side of the road was cool. Trying to drive like a stick shift.

How does being a musician, based in London, change the influence of your music, do you feel pressured? It’s like the most. I think this is probably the most creative place in the world. I think London is, and I feel like it’s unlimited.Sure I feel that, you either run away in the opposite direction or you join the rat race. Sure, I just joined it [laughs]

Do you have any big plans for 2025? I don’t have any, I’m trying to do as little as possible and focus in on just writing songs, and recording, just writing and recording and then playing shows and everything else in my life, I’m kind of just pushing away. I’ve got a lot I’d like to get off my chest, and I can’t help but write, and it’s sometimes because the world makes you take a break, like the past two weeks is too much. You go crazy like a mad person. So it’s like, I’m gonna relax and, like, meditate for two weeks, take a breather and then just hit it hard. So that’s what I’m gonna do, just day by day. I don’t think that far in advance. I’m trying to think of tomorrow or today, the next day. I have no grand plans, you know, just as little as possible. I don’t like the Internet or anything. I just want as little as possible. Don’t you feel like that? Don’t you want to just have a cup of, like, coffee or tea and just, like, do nothing all day except, write or something? Yes, that’s a way nicer way to be, in fact, I spend far too much time online and I need to not be, so I’ve started to use the Do Not Disturb feature on my phone.

I find meditation can be quite visual. Do you think that spending time meditating helps you with writing song lyrics at all? I think so. I think if I had to answer your question, sorry, I don’t want to sound boring, ramble on for 10 hours, but I would do two things. I would do completely visual. That’s so easy to walk through the placement of a song, or sometimes you don’t think anything and feel like I’m just a complete nothing. I’m just boom, and then that doesn’t make any sense, and in hindsight, it makes sense. So yeah, I agree with that. There’s like, two ways I write songs, like visually and then just literally nothing at all, just whatever’s coming down.

Is there, a genre-specific icon or influences that are always deep-rooted in your music? Yeah, John Lennon, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra are probably my biggest influences. Big names to look up to! I feel like they’re my friends or something. You know it’s weird, like, if you watch or read interviews with those guys, and then it’s kind of like they’re just with you wherever you go, I’m sure you’ve had that before. Like, if you don’t really, like, you realize you don’t have any friends, like, no friends in real life. You might have one friend, and then anywhere you go, you kind of carry those guys with you, and you feel
like you’re not on your own now, do you do that? Yeah? I get that.

Have they changed over time? Did you have different icons growing up that you’re now kind of you’d be embarrassed about, or have they always been the same? No, It’s pretty much always been the same. There’s so much, I could listen to music for the rest of my life. I don’t even need to listen to new music, I don’t like any new music really, past 1971 I don’t listen to new stuff at all.

Can you remember watching or listening to a specific performance that did that, that, made you want to play or made you want to listen to that kind of music forever? No, I just remember, like, a lot of snow where I grew up, and cold weather, and it’s really pretty, and then that music is in the memory, and it’s just my mom, and just happy moments like that. It’s the nicest place ever. So then I just kind of stayed in that place. I don’t think I’ll ever leave.

Where did you grow up? I’m originally from this tiny place in Idaho, but it’s kind of near Seattle and then I moved, when I was like, 18, to Southern California, and so I spent a lot of time in Los Angeles and then London.

All of that must have impacted your music? Yeah, I remember taking this drive. It was cool with The Beach Boys. I really liked Brian Wilson, and I got, I was lucky enough in the spring to drive from Idaho to Southern California. So you get to pass it. Have you ever been to California? (I’ve never been to America). You should go, But this particular memory of just seeing the flowers and the mountains and everything that memory is pretty thick In my mind, it’s a really pretty place.

What do you think’s the best career advice you’ve been given? I don’t think I’ve ever been given good career advice, because I think people who give advice it’s just not worthwhile advice. I think people who have advice worthy to give won’t give you advice at all. I think I’ve got so much advice, and usually I don’t listen to anybody, but they tell me, because, again, if they’re telling you advice, it probably isn’t worth listening to. I don’t think anybody could give you advice. I don’t think anybody has answers to anything. You probably know as much as anyone. Nobody has any answers to anything.

Except from maybe Frank Sinatra if he could give you advice now? Frank Sinatra once said, the crowds with you, they’re not against you. So that’s some advice worthwhile, I think he gave it to Tony Bennett, and that really changed his career. He said, at least that the crowds with you. Their support. They’re supporting you. They’re there with you together. I think that’s probably the best advice. I feel like there is a truth to that quote as the audience too, there’s a magic between the band and the audience that is created by the fact of some sort of higher energy in the room, not just adrenaline. The audience and band feel connected by that.

Can you feel it as a performer? I think so. I think that’s a minute that you walk on the stage.

Can you remember your first gig? No, I have no idea what my first concert was, no clue. I saw Morrissey on the day before London, like, locked down. That concert was probably one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. Have you ever seen him live? Never Whoa. Yeah, that was the day. There’s all this scariness in the air. And then he started off with some song acapella. Crazy.

Your next show is Friday? Windmill Brixton. We’re gonna get there at six, we’re gonna do a sound check, and we’re on at eight. I’ve got a great band. Those guys are great, Jason, I got a shout-out, Jason (Jason Stafford – the award winning sound engineer from The Albion Rooms) produces all the songs, by the way, so I recorded everything with him, and he produces everything. The next thing I’m looking forward to is Halloween!

Thank you Nick Diver for taking time and talking to The Songbird.

Interview by Molly Noble