Diane Gentile

Diane Gentile sees her songs in her head before she hears them. Her songs are
abstractions of life, brimming with sharp wordplay and juicy narratives. Diane and The
Gentle Men’s latest, The Bad and the Beautiful, out September 15 on Velvet Elk Records,
is a scrapbook of vignettes, featuring endearing but poetically flawed protagonists
sketched with Diane’s literate flair and doused in classic NYC rock n’ roll swagger. The
Bad and the Beautiful was produced by Diane with Merle Chornuk at Atomic Sound
Studios with additional production by James Maddock, Jesse Malin, and Oscar Albeis
Rodriguez.

Diane's songwriting is informed by artists and literary legends such as David Bowie,
Lucinda Williams, The Rolling Stones, Henrik Ibsen and possibly, even William
Shakespeare. The distant lyrics of David Bowie, the honesty of Lucinda Williams, the
danceability of the Rolling Stones, the realism of Henrick Ibsen, and the tragic drama of
William Shakespeare are just some of the content that has shaped her creativity. Her
sensibility has been further rounded by the attitude and emotionality of punk rock - a
culture she's been intimately a part of for many years in New York City. Diane is a
fixture around town as a performer and a taste-making music professional.
Diane has previously release two albums and a single, and she has opened for artists such
as Richard Lloyd (Television), Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate), Jesse Malin, Tommy
Stinson (The Replacements, Guns N’ Roses), Robert Gordon, James Maddock, Jason
Darling, Laura Cantrell, Beechwood, and Joseph Arthur. Her videos have debuted on
rollingstone.com, and Diane’s single, “Motorcycle,” was awarded Little Steven’s
“Coolest Song in the World” for his Underground Garage Sirius XM channel.
“Motorcycle” was also supported by over 20 Triple A radio stations and 40 college radio
stations in the U.S.

Diane is a native New Yorker who grew up in Flushing, Queens in a musical family. Out
of eight siblings, three became accomplished musicians, including gifted guitarist brother
Eddie, and sister Elda who was a founding member of Max’s Kansas City mainstays The
Stilettos, a launching pad for Blondie’s Debbie Harry. Diane wrote her first song when
she was 10, and she continues to be a passionate prolific songwriter to this day.