LUCIDMEDIA

Dala’s Taking Music By Surprise

Written by Lisa M. Knapp Tuesday, 23 June 2009 10:48

From playing for fun to playing as a career, the two young ladies that make up Dala have made it; they went from a backup plan of going to get a university education to having an amazing opportunity to record in a top notch studio for free. Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine are a pair of folk singers that had a life changing opportunity occur within only a matter of weeks.

The two started playing together right out of high school and just can’t get enough of life in music. Having been thrilled to have the opportunity of a life time arrive at their doorstep literally just a matter of weeks before going to Plan B, they both couldn’t be happier getting their golden ticket. Dala were ready and willing to take on a life of music and life on the road.

The girls just released their second album titled Everyone is Someone, which is a beautiful disc about love and life. They have come a long way since their high school music class to performing one of their favourite and most memorable shows at Massey Hall in Toronto where they took the stage and opened up for the fabulous Tom Cochrane.

These two best friends have brought their brilliant and harmonious style of acoustic pop folk music to audiences all over the country. Having already toured with acts such as Cochrane, Jann Arden and Matthew Good, even the well known voice of CBC’s Vinyl Café, Stuart McLean, counts himself as a fan. The girls have already got a career under their belt and a resume that blows many musicians out of the water.

Lucid Forge recently had the opportunity to get in touch with one half of Dala to have a fun chat.

Lucid Forge: How did you come up with the name Dala?

Sheila Carabine: Dala comes from the last two letters from our first names: Amanda and Sheila. We always joke that if we used the first two letters it would have been sham…And the Sham Wow corporation might sue us.

LF: When did you get noticed?

SC: I guess it was in 2003 when we met our current manager Mike Roth at Trebas Music Institute in Toronto. We had friends who were studying sound engineering, and they needed a band to come in to practice their recording techniques. We were asked to come in and we ended up recording 11 songs in two days.

The teacher of the class, Jim Lamarche, was impressed and he called up Mike Roth. Mike had been the head of A&R at Sony for years. He discovered Chantal Kreviazuk and worked with Amanda Marshall, Our Lady Peace, The Philospher Kings, and so on. He had left Sony by the time we met him, and had started his own artist development company: Big Bold Sun Music. We were the first act that he signed. The timing was amazing.

LF: Were you thrilled?

SC: We were definitely excited, but we didn’t really know what to make of it. At that point we were not considering music as a career option. Amanda was at OCAD studying sculpture and installation, and I was about to head out to Queen's University for my first year of undergrad. But Mike came along, and made us this incredible offer. We knew we had to take it. Meeting him definitely was the turning point of my life.

LF: What do you love about a life of music?

SC: I love it; I love the creative process… I love working with Amanda, we are best friends and we love to sing. The fact that singing is in our job description is pretty incredible.

LF: You have played with many well know acts in the past, who has been your most memorable and why?

SC: Well I guess they are all memorable for many reasons. The most memorable will always be Tom Cochrane which was in 2006 because it was our very first Canadian tour. Everything was so new and exciting.

LF: How did you feel about being on stage?

SC: I loved it, it was a full on rock show that we were opening for. We were pretty nervous but the audiences were very receptive. Playing all the big rooms in Canada was very life changing. Especially Massey Hall in Toronto! We also played at Jack Singer in Calgary too.

LF: What is your most embarrassing moment on the road?

S:C Wow, those are things I like to forget. But forgetting lyrics is always embarrassing. I’m usually very good with words, but we did shows in Aylmer once and I forgot half a verse in “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell… I totally blanked. I've sung it hundreds of times too. It was humbling.

LF: What are your plans for the future?

SC: Well, everything is centered around music now; the album just came our yesterday [June 9th]. In the immediate future we are playing at the Enwave Theatre for our CD release show. Then in August we play the Newport folk festival in Rhode Island. That's something we're really looking forward to. It's the 50th anniversary show, and artists like Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez and Pete Seeger will be performing, as well as the Fleet Foxes, who we adore! Our whole summer is taken up by festivals, including The Winnipeg Folk Festival and Hillside among others. It's a really fun way to spend your summer!

With a summer jam packed with concerts and festivals, Dala’s girls are looking forward to touring all over for festivals, and shows and the like. Check out their website at www.dalagirls.com for more information about concerts, photos, and an up to date blog that the girls like to put out their voice on.