Wow, Amanda from Dala Girls was amazing on Thursday, December 3rd. Amanda spoke to us about how she started out singing at our St. Bonaventure’s Family Choir and about how she met Sheila (her band mate and her best friend) at her high school, Mary Ward Catholic School in Scarborough. Through their meeting, slowly “Dala” (a mixture of their names; Amanda and Sheila) was born.

Amanda spoke to us about how her faith influences her music, but she doesn’t call herself a Christian Music Artist, rather she lets her faith come through her lyrics and feed her own life. She told us that a part of connecting her music and her faith is about keeping her Christian values in the music business, which is a challenge she faces everyday. For example, trying not to show off her body to sell her music, a choice she has to make in a business where sexiness sells records.

Amanda also told us that her music is also about her past relationships and different lessons that she learned in them. She told us about one of her songs called ‘Patches’ which is partly about a break-up with a boyfriend.  She learned that he couldn’t give her what she already had (for example we are all trying to be happy people when we are single, even when we don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend, otherwise we are looking for someone else to make us feel happy, which isn’t healthy).

She also mentioned that ‘Patches’ is also about a pair of jeans that have patches all over them and each patch helps her remember a memory from a special time (either happy or sad) in her life. So she collects patches like she collects memories. I think that is something we can all do. If you didn’t get to come to the talk, check her out, singing ‘Patches’, on our Facebook page, click on her video;

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/The-Franciscan-Church-of-St-Bonaventure-Youth-Ministry/195483535520?ref=ts

For Christmas and Advent, she explained to us that she tries to forget the commercial side of Christmas and she makes her own gifts, she might write a song for someone or create a piece of art for someone in her family, instead of buying something for someone.

She also shared that today she really hangs on to her faith and she knows that belonging to a faith community is something she really appreciates and misses when she is often touring on the road. Being on the road a lot means she sometimes misses Mass and she is sad that she doesn’t always get to worship in a regular community like St. Bonaventure; I told Amanda that she will always be part of our faith community and is welcome to come home to worship with us and spend time with us anytime.
Thank you Amanda for making the time for us and being our first Guest Speaker!

*Since this event happened, I went to see Dala in concert opening for Chantal Kreviazuk at Massey Hall in Downtown Toronto, they were amazing!  They continue on their National Canadian tour with Chantal Kreviazuk until February.