Diane Kelly Review

Courtney Coles / Roundup

There aren’t that many talented music acts anymore, especially in the rise of instant Internet stardom where anyone with an instrument, the right hair and a membership to a social networking Web site can get a record deal.
Jayla, a Los Angeles-based duo made up of Pierce College health professor Diane Kelly and producer Nikki Thompson, aren’t mainstream and weren’t discovered on MySp— err, I mean, on a social networking Web site, but the old fashioned way–daily, after every show they play.
Jayla performed March 20 at The Mint, a nightclub in Los Angeles, to a packed crowd.
Sitting and enjoying my Coke (and later through their set, a Shirley Temple) I couldn’t help but close my eyes and imagine myself driving aimlessly nowhere while singing along to “Jayla’s California.” The set list included: “Faithfully Alive,” “Now,” “After the Rain,” “The Cage,” “The Other Side,” “Higher,” “Sound,” “Keep it Real” and “Spirit.”
For the majority of the set, Thompson was playing the acoustic guitar (passing it off to Kelly for two songs) while both Kelly and Thompson took turns with the vocals. Thompson closed the set playing the djembe while a selected few members of the audience chimed in with their fruit shakers.
Jayla’s overall theme was that of peace and love. With lyrics like “And come to think of it, I’m living with the notion that life’s a lot better with love” and “Do you realize, do you understand when we walk a friendly mile we walk a better way, I know I want a better way” how could you deny it?
The mood set by the duo’s soulful voices was an overwhelming sense of pure bliss. After a long week, sitting and listening to these women sing on stage just lifted a weight off my shoulders- it gave me that massage I so desperately needed.
Throughout the night, I’d occasionally look around the room to see eyes closed and heads bobbing to the music–soaking in Kelly and Thompson’s folk-like voices.
Kelly and Thompson did a magnificent job in interacting with the crowd, from thanking everyone from Pierce College for showing up, to making jokes about bra straps.
Check out Jayla at www.myspace.com/jaylamusic.

Diane Kelly of Jayla performing at The Mint nightclub in Los Angeles Fri. March 20. Kelly, a health professor at Pierce College has been playing alongside producer Nikki Thompson for 12 years. (Courtney Coles / Roundup)

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