He learned piano, guitar, and saxophone at a young age, but John O (as his friends call him) was more into playing dress-up with his cousin Lisa while dreaming of a life beyond the Toronto suburbs where he was born. Of course, being the only kid on the block that wanted to pair a ballerina tutu from the tickle trunk with hockey gloves didn't always make things easy.
Although initially pegged in some corners as a novelty act, audiences have now begun to identify with Diamond Rings' unique brand of pop songwriting and his overtly glamourous live sets. Showcasing real human emotion and honest vulnerability is rare enough for a young man -- let alone one who matches his eyeshadow with his Air Force Ones while dancing about onstage with the reckless abandon of a teenager in the bathroom mirror.
His new album Special Affections gives Diamond Rings fans seven new songs and ties them together in a stylish package designed by the artist himself. It's folk music for the iPod generation and it's about time -- finally.
