JOSE DIAZ

Victoria musician, though not a star, keeps on 'pushing back the clouds' APRILL BRANDON - Victoria Advocate José Diaz is a musician in the truest sense of the word. His story begins the same as many others' stories. He got his first guitar at age 13 and dreamed of becoming the next Jimi Hendrix after hearing Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner." In high school, Diaz had a band called Legasys, which eventually had a small following in the Bloomington and Victoria areas. They played local gigs and dreamed of making it big. But they never did. And this is where Diaz's story starts to turn. Instead of quitting and sitting around and reminiscing about the good ol' days, he kept playing. Even though fame and rock stardom haven't been knocking down his door, he - now age 41 - still continues to write, play and produce music as if he was getting paid like, well, a rock star. "Every note has been worth it, even though I haven't hit the big time," Diaz, who lives in Victoria, said. "To take something from inside myself and share it with people, that's what it's all about. I love that feeling of creating something, recording it and then being able to listen back to it and see what I've done. It's always been about the music." For Diaz, music is more about the craft, than the spotlight. Even though his style is hard rock, he says, "a combination of heavy metal '80s style, with a little bit of progressive rock to it," he doesn't limit himself on his sound. "My inspiration comes from every single note of every single song I've ever heard. And I like to listen to a lot of different genres of music - from new wave to country, from rock and blues to classical and jazz," he said. "I also take a lot of inspiration from the things that happen around me; from my life and imagination." With no formal music training, despite a year in seventh grade playing the recorder, which Diaz admits with a sheepish grin, he played every instrument, wrote every note and lyric and recorded each and every song for his four CDs in the small studio he has in the back of his house. Needless to say, the writing and recording is a long process, especially since Diaz can only get to his studio when he's not working at his day job. Working in the oil fields for 23 years, Diaz looks at his musical career realistically. "I don't see myself leaving that job any time soon, unless, you know, Eric Clapton happens to call," he said with a smile. "But I try to get into the studio as often as I can. Some days it's easier and some days it's harder. But it's all been worth it. Every note I've ever played has made it all worth it." Diaz's latest CD, "Paint by Thunder," was released in July. Available online through his own Web site and CDbaby.com, so far sales have not been great, although in the digital realm, his songs have been downloaded more than 100 times. And he already is beginning to work on his next CD. "It's difficult to sell independent CDs when you don't have a record company throwing money into the marketing aspect. But when you do it all yourself, you get to do your own music, which, for me, is more satisfying," Diaz said. "And I can't see myself not doing this. This is my life. Music is my life." Though heavy metal fans have waned over the past several years, Diaz believes that the genre will never truly go away. "Heavy metal always rears its ugly head." His motto is: "Stay loud, stay proud, keep pushing back the clouds." And Diaz's music will continue whether it get the attention of the music industry or not. He is, after all, a musician. For more information about Diaz or to purchase one of his CDs, go to www.legasyssongs.com or www.cdbaby.com. • Aprill Brandon is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 580-6514 or abrandon@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com. Copyright, (c) 2006, The Victoria Advocate

JOSE’ DIAZ Contact: Jose’ Diaz FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tel. 361/575-4154 Email: joseexist@legasyssongs.com CD RELEASE OF “ALLOYS OF EMOTION” “Alloys Of Emotion” Set To Debut On Cdbaby.Com 2006 was an eventful year for Victoria, Texas based singer-songwriter Jose’ Diaz. Nationally, a war raged on and the world took its best shots at one another. Closer To home, Diaz dealt with the poignant loss of his beloved Grandmother, Irene Brown. But as always, the music played on. Diaz worked relentlessly on his music all year Long and that hard work has paid off. Jose’s latest CD will go on sale February, 15th, 2007. “ALLOYS OF EMOTION” is comprised of 13 hard rock tracks steeped in blazing guitar work and thought-provoking vocals. It is slated to debut to the public initially by way of cdbaby.com. After that it will be distributed to other web sites and services world-wide. A complete list of these sites can be found at http://www.legasyssongs.com. The links page tab on the site will also lead you to the music of many of his friends. Diaz has also been collaborating with many bands and artist on a compilation series released through Victoria, Texas based A.O.G.MEDIA. The 7th of the series is available and an 8th is in the making. More info on the entire series can be found at http://www.myspace.com/jessedelao1. These compilations feature artist and bands from around the world and give the entire world in turn the chance to hear unique music that simply cannot be found in the mainstream today. However, many of the acts featured on A.O.G. MEDIAs compilations are on the verge of “breaking out”. This is a concrete testament to their talent. They are winning contest and getting the recognition they deserve. This is due in large part to the hard work of Jesse DeLaO, the founder of A.O.G. MEDIA and the creator/producer of the COMPILATIONS SERIES. His diligence, along with the artist hard work, are achieving great results world wide. Any lover of music should seek out their own copy of any of the compilation releases. Each and every release is a worthy addition to ones music collection. The collaboration of Jose’ Diaz and Jesse DeLaO goes far back in time to the early 1980s. Jesses’ band then, Bois D’ Arc, featured Jose’ on lead guitar. The music they created together has gone around the world and back, and to this day the two enjoy working together. # # # For more information Jose’ Diaz can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.legasyssongs.com. You may contact Mr. Diaz by E-mail at joseexist@legasyssongs.com. Or by phone at 361/575-4154

JOSE LUIS DIAZ – DEATH AND DECAY: Jose Luis Diaz is a guitarist, producer, singer and songwriter. Jose handles all musical aspects on this CD which is his third independent release. Diaz's music is a mix of metal, rock and prog. Guitars are the focal point on his latest twelve-track collection. Jose explains that the album has a concept with lyrics based on the idea that "anything that exist can die and decay in any multitude of ways". Although the content may be dark the journey does rock. Jose, who works full time at an oilfield, plays music because he wants to. He brings energy and passion to his diverse compositions. Diaz's songs show a lot of potential and he could be quite formidable with a band and studio production. 'Disintegration' opens the CD in high metal style with soaring guitar leads layered over deep, bass lines and dark vocalization. The title track is also an attention grabber with its scary, sizzling guitars melding with a driving rhythm and graphical lyrics. Death and Decay is a guitar heavy CD facing the reality of disintegration. • Recommended Tracks: (1,5) [USA/TX 2005 - web] (Review by Laura Turner Lynch for Kweevak.com)

Jose Diaz “Death and Decay” Score: 3.0 Give a man a guitar and some recording equipment and you’d be amazed at what he can do. Jose has recorded and played on three of his own CDs and there’s no doubt he is one very talented guitarist. I hear a lot of inspiration from Santana in his music. What I would like to hear is Jose’s songs recorded in a real studio with a great producer and engineer. Given those conditions this solo artist would have some very rocking material. The lyrics could be polished and the vocals certainly need some work,but he’s on the right track. Production 2.5 Lyrics 3.0 Music 3.2 Vocals 2.5 Musicianship 4.0