Diamond Rings Brings Jock Sensibility to Glam Synth-Pop

He may pair them with purple tights and heavy eye makeup, but the basketball jerseys John O'Regan wears onstage aren't ironic or out of character. Long before the 6-foot-4-inch Canadian created Diamond Rings, his one-man electro-pop project, he played high school hoops, lacrosse and volleyball. Now that he's touring the United States, bringing spare, confessional '80s dance music to in-the-know indie kids, he says he still thinks back to his days on the court.

"It's really similar in a lot of ways to that -- knowing when to rest and when to push," O'Regan tells Spinner. "For me, getting suited up for a show, the feeling I get from that is more like a hockey player putting on their gear or a basketball player lacing up their shoes. That whole ritual and routine -- putting on the uniform -- that's really important to what I do. It is important to make a distinction between what I wear onstage and what I wear when I'm eating breakfast at Denny's. I can't be the same person all the time."

O'Regan only recently became Diamond Rings, a persona he conceived of -- or rather a facet of himself he chose to embrace -- in 2008. Prior to that, he sang lead and played guitar in the post-punk quartet the D'Urbervilles, a group whose music shares little in common with the songs on 'Special Affections,' his debut as Diamond Rings.

Touring behind the record, O'Regan has gone from team player to star attraction, and he's had to learn how to rock crowds without the support of a full band.

"There are certain nights -- I think any performer can relate -- when you're feeling totally on and unstoppable, and there are other times it requires a tremendous amount of mental and physical energy to get myself to that point where I can deliver the show," he says. "But that's part of the fun when you're on tour. It's about getting to a mental state where you can overcome those things and focus on what to deliver the best possible performance. For sure, it's hard, but that's the challenge I like."

Some nights, he says, everything clicks, and fans can sense the former jock is on his game.

"It becomes this reciprocal thing, where we can play off each other," O'Regan says. "Sometimes you've got to work to get people in that state of mind. It's something I'm still learning."