Live Performance
Nominated for Drummer of the Year – 13th Annual LA Music Awards
Dianna St. Hilaire better known as Versailles is an American dark wave/synthpop artist from Los Angeles, California. She was born in Modesto, California and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Teaching herself how to read music and play the piano at age 8, she spent most of her younger years in school choirs and friends bands. She temporarily gave up the idea of pursuing music, but began to write again at age 18 after leaving home. In 2001 she was in the movie Lockdown. Actress Dianna St. Hilaire, created Versailles Suicide in 2001 and later changed the name in 2003 to Versailles
In 2002 Versailles created a 4 song demo under the name Versailles Suicide called “Fallen Angel” written by Dianna St. Hilaire and produced by Mike White. Off this album the track “Little Dead Kitten” was placed on the compilation CD, Burque Love 4.
In 2003 Dianna changed the name to Versailles releasing the Gothic/Industrial full length album Live Your Life released on Dianna’s own Label “Evileye Records”. That same year Versailles took her project into an even more industrial sound, leading to the release of “Kiss” on the Evileye label.
In 2004, during Versailles time in Los Angeles, she changed her sound blending her original Darkwave sound with classical piano. She was then labeled “The Gothic Tori Amos”. She created a back up band with members Rod Arias and Andy Bettis. That year she was on the Dirty Dave Talk Show on KCLA, performed The LA Music Awards Showcase, and was on the Scary Perry Show – The Comedy Pure Rock Resurrection, a talk show featuring Perry Caravello from the movie Windy City Heat.
In 2005, she released a 4 song EP called “Believe”. Placing her in the Pop/Rock genre. This included 3 tracks and a remix track of the song Believe. In Jennifer Laytons Indie Music Review of Believe she quotes “Versailles is a dark pop mistress with gothic influences and a voice that can be breathy and innocent even when she’s rasping and pleading and crying out to the heavens.” . In 2005 she was also a nominee in the 2005 Rock City Music Awards for Outstanding Solo Artist
Versailles is (Dianna Marie St.Hilaire) singer songwriter and piano player. Versailles grew up in Albuquerque,NM. Versailles started to show interest in music at age 2. She began to write stories by age 5 and play the piano by age 8. When she was 8 she got her first Casio keyboard and wrote her first song. She also at this time taught herself how to read music. She took a great interest in artists like Madonna, Love and Rockets, and Depeche Mode, also classical artists such as Bach and Mozart. She studied music for the next several years both singing and playing piano.
Versailles father was not a big music connoisseur so sometimes playing at home was a bit tough for her. Due to a lack of interest on a personal level from her family in her writing attempts she eventually abandoned the whole idea of writing all together but continued to sing in school choirs and play in friend’s bands.
Versailles at age 18 left home and the great desire of writing came back to her. She bought an old electric guitar off of a friend and began to write again. Not being familiar with the guitar this was an experiment. She wrote a 10 song album later to be titled “Live Your Life”. This was an album of the freedom from the struggle of dealing with the depression and hopelessness, felt by a teenager living in an oppressive environment, where creativity in music was not appreciated. In 2001 Versailles was featured in a movie by Master P “Lockdown”. It was her first real part in a movie which later gave her a SAG card. With the desire to do more she moved to Los Angeles.
Versailles finally came out with her first full length album shortly after moving to Los Angeles “Live Your Life” 2003 produced by Mike White and Versailles. This album featured songs like “Little Dead Kitten”, “Fallen Angel”, and “Live Your Life”. Versailles continued to work on a single shortly after that also in 2003 called “Kiss” a limited edition single not currently available. In 2004 Versailles embarked on a new journey after playing the 2003 LA Music Awards Versailles met a drummer named Rod Arias, and a guitar player named Andy Bettis. The three of them merged together to create Versailles the Band.
Versailles put out her first EP and music video titled “Believe”2005 produced by Versailles, George Kerhulas, and Randy Hill, which gathered a great deal of attention from all over the world and with local record companies. In 2005 Versailles was asked to do a cover of NIN “Something I Can Never Have” on the Cleopatra CD release “A Gothic Acoustic Tribute to NIN”. In 2006 again she was asked to do a cover of She Wants Revenge “She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not” on “ “A Tribute to She Wants Revenge” also put out by Cleopatra Records and produced and recorded by Gregory Butler (Switchblade Symphony). And last but not least in 2007 a cover of “What difference does it Make” by The Smiths on “Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”. This song has also been placed on the online version of “Gothic Divas”.
Versailles is currently in the studio recording her second full length CD “Broken Dolls” due to be out in mid 2008. This CD is going to be coupled with a book of short stories written by Versailles showing her own illustrations. These stories Wendy’s Razor Blades, Fade, Mars, Broken Dolls, Pages, and Legion all show a girls struggle through different types of abuse and destruction.
In addition Versailles was a participant at the “Danny Blitz Benefit Concert”. Also she has been featured on shows like “The Scary Perry Show” starring “Scary Perry of “Windy City Heat”, and “Star Tomorrow” where she met David Foster and Mick Fleetwood. She has worked on Malcolm in The Middle, The Thirst, Related, Vegas and The Comeback. Versailles presently resides in Los Angeles.
Band Members:
VERSAILLES – Singer Songwriter, plays piano, guitar and does some sampling and producing.