Dala: Forever “Twenty Something”

 

It’s not very often that you get to see a band as it’s on its way up, but for Toronto’s own Dala- Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther- the process is very real, and, in many ways, exciting. The past year or so has been a fairy-tale like experience for the women, who have achieved in less than a year a major label recording contract with Universal Music Canada, a hit album- “Angels & Thieves”- and a hit single, their signature “Twenty Something”, currently a chart success on Bravo! (where they are #3 at press date) and on my chart (at #6), as well as an airplay success on Toronto’s 97.3 EZ Rock and Country Music Television Canada. The band is poised for their big break, and while that may be an excuse for other artists to wilt under the pressure, Dala are taking it in stride, giggling and laughing along the way.

I caught up with the band at Toronto’s famed El Mocambo Tavern and chatted while they were selling CD’s and T-Shirts at the end of their set. We talked about a variety of things, such as the origins of Dala, what it was like recording for Universal, the reaction in Alliston (where I first saw them) and the band’s ultimate goal.

 

DG: I was reading your biography and it said that your first meeting you (pointing to Sheila) were looking at the clock and you (Sheila) saw Amanda. How does that turn into this band?

Sheila: I’m actually two years younger than Amanda, so initially the relationship was me looking up to her as you would do in high school, as “two years older” is light-years apart. We gradually realized that we had so much in common that we were at such a level playing field that we became closer and closer and we realized we had shared musical tastes and shared musical backgrounds in our families- our dads both play guitar and sing- so we tried it ourselves one day. We sung in the school jazz band too so we had sung before but never together and when we did, it was “a magic moment” (laughs).

DG: Funny you say you look up to Amanda, because you seem to be more in charge.

Sheila: Well, it’s all a façade really- she’s the accountant, so she’s in charge of me, really. She writes my cheques (laughs). It’s great- performing on stage is one thing and off-stage it’s another. We’re friends so we’re all having fun.

DG: (Referring to Amanda) You pull the purse strings, it’s like covert.

Amanda: The strong silent type.

Sheila: Oh, she’s strong.

DG: Definitely.

 

Now that you’ve travelled across Canada, how is life like on tour and where was your favourite place to visit?

Sheila: Well, we haven’t really travelled across Canada- the furthest east we’ve been is Ottawa and the furthest west is BC, which is as far as you can go in Canada. We really enjoyed BC because we got to fly in a plane and felt like kings. It was great.

DG: Oh, I saw that you guys went to BC and I thought you guys had been everywhere.

Sheila: No, no, that was our first big trip.

DG: How was that like?

Sheila: It was great. We played two shows and they were songwriter’s shows so it featured the craft of song writing and there were five people on stage and each artist talked about how they wrote their songs. It was really interesting to learn the different techniques of song writing and the instruments, so it gives you a new motivation to go home and work on your craft.

DG: How was the reception like? This sounds like a big event.

Sheila: Yeah it is, it’s really big in the song writing community so people who follow that follow it pretty closely.

Amanda: It’s funny how in every city there’s a different vibe when you’re playing there. We played and opened for Jann Arden in London and the audience had a different vibe than they did in Toronto, a different sense. Same thing with BC- the audience had a different vibe, a different sense.

Sheila: They react to different parts of the song and different parts of the set, differently than things that were up here. You never know what the audience is going to react to, which makes it fun. (Amanda laughs) They kind of help create the show, really.

DG: It’s funny you mention audience reaction. I remember up in Alliston, you said it was funny how you were in front of a crowd that was there to pay attention.

Sheila: Yeah, and it was a little daunting too- all these pairs of eyes on you. In a weird way it helps you relax, because you know everyone’s listening, so you’re really focused. It’s like a Zen moment- you’re really there playing for them and just for yourself at the same time.

DG: Was that the first moment?

Sheila, then Amanda: No.

DG: Okay good.

(Both laugh)

Sheila: It was a rare moment, and hopefully it becomes more frequent.

DG: I hope so too.

 

In Alliston, the guy who introduced you said “it’s rare that we get a band that’s just about to break loose”. You guys get a lot of press about that you’re about to break loose. Is there any pressure? How do you feel about that?

Sheila: Good question. You know, when you start to think about it, you’re going to get crippled or paralysed by your own self-doubt, which everyone has. Our strength is that we do what we do and the only thing you can do in that kind of situation where there is that kind of pressure or the expectation of pressure is to keep doing what you do- if you’re going to break, it’s because of what you do so you got to keep doing what you do. If you start do things differently in fear or in life being about to break, you probably won’t break, so you have to go with the momentum by being created by doing exactly what you do.

DG: How do you handle it?

Sheila: (Jokingly) Lots of drugs, and alcohol. No, I’m really kidding (Amanda  laughs). I don’t know- I don’t know, I guess we were born to do it because just seems to come naturally; and because it’s based in our friendship it’s all about us. We write songs together when we hang out all day, so it’s such an organic thing it’s like second nature.

(Amanda and Sheila switch positions)

DG: I want to get to “Angels & Thieves” proper. I noticed that when I see you on stage you’re laughing and cheery but “Angels & Thieves” is different. I used “melancholic” but I’m not sure if that’s the right word. What was the mood like when you were coming up with the songs for the album?

Amanda: I know we seem like really cheerful people, because we are, but writing songs you are coming from a place that’s really deep and sometimes really dark. We have lot of dark and melancholic songs again we also have happy songs. Our personalities stretch across all those feelings and emotions, that’s why the songs come out that way.

DG: Since this was your first album for Universal, how was it like recording for (searches for words)

Amanda: A record company?

DG: Doing this? (yeah)

Amanda: Actually, we recorded it at Big Bold Sun studios, which is a place we were comfortable in, so it wasn’t like what you expect a normal album to be like, it was very relaxed, very easy-going and we actually had a lot of control over the process.

Sheila: We had control over the art, we had a huge input on the art. We got there and arrived at the office on the day we were supposed to discuss for the art for the first CD and we had some reservations that they would be like, “all right, this is what your first CD is going to look like” and they sat down and said, “so, what do you want your CD to look like?” We had a huge say. Things didn’t feel that different even though we were signed.

Amanda: Which was amazing.

DG: I noticed that a lot of the songs on “Angels & Thieves” that were transplanted from your independent release.

Sheila: Two of them.

DG: Oh, okay. Was there anything you wanted to do here that you couldn’t do on your independent release? Did you get to experiment a little now that you’re on a major label?

Amanda: Huh? To be honest, we just sort of do what we do what we do, when we were independent and now that we’re signed to Universal, so it’s all the same thing. The thing that is different from the two albums is that we put a lot more “rocky” songs and poppy songs on the latest album “Angels & Thieves”.

Sheila: We kind of wanted to catch people’s attentions really quickly, because you know people- ourselves included- have attention spans of negative a million seconds, so you want to get people and draw them in and hopefully they can stick around for the long haul. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make lots and lots of albums with lots of different musical expressions, so we’ll see.

DG: So this is like an on-going process.

Sheila: Yeah, it’s always evolving.

DG: I noticed a lot of your unreleased material is a lot more upbeat.

Sheila: The next album is going to be so much fun. We were driving home from our last show and we were thinking about all the songs that would be on it and we are so excited about it, because the more we write, the more it gets better in our opinion. We can’t wait to release the next one. I guess we’re playing one album ahead all the time, which is the way it should be, because you get to be more creative.

Amanda: Yeah, I can’t wait.

Sheila: It’ll be 99% of our own material, which will be really great. Getting something that can stand on its own. We’ll probably have one cover on there, so I’m looking forward to it.

DG: Do you know which cover that’ll be?

Sheila: It’ll probably be-

Amanda: Uh, we’ll let you wait for that one.

Sheila: Yeah, we can’t give it all away, man. Not on the first date.

DG: Okay, fine…I tried.

 

Now, I said in my Alliston review for the Alliston show that you seemed a little out of place. I called you guys “liberal warhorses in the heart of conservative Alliston.” Can you describe the reception?

Sheila: For sure. Maybe on the surface and the way that they vote it’s a conservative riding (Editor’s note: it is), but ultimately people come to a show regardless of their background and they seem to kind of sit there and they’re very giving of themselves. They kind of give you the benefit of the doubt. They’re there to suspend all their beliefs for a minute and take in something new and we found that we really connected with them and at the intermission and after the show they were so, so nice and complimentary and we really loved the people. Whenever you walk into a show or leave the show being in the show it’s kind of like timeless magical suspension of everything you are really. I find people are real when they’re there- it’s different.

DG: Not that I think you’re hardcore (rebels).

Sheila: Yeah, but I see what you mean. I guess it’s because we’re young and sassy and maybe they’re not young and sassy.

DG: …and “Twenty Something”.

Sheila: Yeah, but not for long, ah!!!

DG: Young at heart, c’mon! It’ll be your timeless classic.

Sheila: We’ll be singing that at Casino Rama. That’s the goal. When you hit Casino Rama, you’ve made it big. It’s like when you’re made fun of on SNL, you’re huge. When they mock you, it means that you’re huge, and that’s never a bad thing. It also crushes. (jokingly sobs)

DG: Don’t cry. They’re only doing it for fun…I think.

Sheila: Hopefully.

DG: Haha (laughs).

 

I want to get to “Twenty Something” itself, the song. You’ve described it as a “panoramic diary of your friends and your trials and tribulations”, but I really think it could apply to just about anyone. How can you account for the song’s success?

Sheila: (Jokingly) I mean, it’s just so brilliantly written (Amanda laughs).

Amanda: It’s just really honest and I think people react and respond better to honesty and people just being themselves.

Sheila: Yeah, it’s not “threatening honesty”- it’s just drawing people in. Hopefully a song connects to someone when they feel they could have written it, like “oh, I would have said the same thing.” So it really relates to when you’re in your twenties I think, because that’s your emotionally intense period- you’re forming your whole life; but I think people respond to it no matter what your age.

DG: It could also be a little bit about contradictions too I think. My favourite line is the second one- “he calls me up when he’s down”.

Sheila: It’s the whole Oscar Wilde thing- “The only thing worse than being alive is not being alive.” A contradiction works all the time. It’s moving somehow.

DG: Can I ask how that line came about?

Sheila: Well, actually, when we were writing it, I was sitting on the floor and Amanda’s in her living room and she was on the phone with somebody who always happened to always call her up whenever he’s feeling low and ‘bam! We’ve got to write that up.’” He’s in the song, and five other of our friends are in the song.

DG: I remember, “he’s so tired of acting tough.” I can’t remember the whole thing. How did that one come about?

Sheila: Can’t tell ya.

DG: Okay, okay.

Sheila: Then you’ll know who they are and it’ll be bad.

DG: I’m not asking for names here!

(Both laugh)

What was the inspiration behind that song and how does it carry over to your lives?

Sheila: Well, we’re in our twenties so what else can you write about? I just found that every time we’re on stage and we sing it on stage it makes me it makes me reflect on the place that we’re at and that it is a place of contradiction. It’s also so exciting- the song’s so upbeat- you can’t deny that your twenties are your peak. As my parents are always saying, you’ll look back and no matter what your worries and cares were at the time you’ll always look fabulous, so you got to enjoy it while you can and take it with a grain of salt.

DG: I want to get to the video. It shows you two roaming around the country picking up what appears to be “a mini instrument set”. It’s very interesting and- dare I say it- very Wedge-like. Where was it shot?

Sheila: Shot up in Newmarket, sorry in Aurora. A friend of ours’ sister has land up there, lives on farm property and I think they built they’re own house. They’re very down-to-Earth people and I think that she does yoga and they’re just interesting people, so we just picked this spot near this beautiful lake, perfect for this kind of end-of-summer day. I think it was August, I don’t remember. We shot it in three hours with this really up-and-coming director from BC who happens to be a friend of ours, so he flew out to do it. It came together so easily that we felt we had a winner on our hands. It was so natural, we just hung out.

DG: I thought it was Northern Ontario or something like that.

Sheila: Well, a little north, a little north, along the 404.

DG: What gave you the idea for the video?

Sheila: We wanted to be doing something the video that elicits natural reactions, not flying in cranes and explosions, things that were unnatural that we wouldn’t know how to react to. When we arrived at the house we found all these mini-instruments just kind of scattered around, because they’re really artsy and they’ve got all this clutter everywhere. We actually picked up the mini piano a week before at an antiques store; so we just thought it’d be fun. The song’s about being young, but in a weird way we look kind of ridiculous, we look like we’re even younger than our twenties; we look like we’re six. So it shows how age is irrelative.

DG: So the video was like an actual scavenger hunt?

Sheila: Yeah, exactly.

DG: Lastly, I want to get to “Drive-Thru Summer”, the next single. It sounds like it’s a song about missed opportunities and missed potential. What were you trying to convey with the song?

Sheila: The process for writing the song for us was very important. It was the first song we wrote apart and it was the first and only- I was at Queen’s University in Kingston and Amanda was in Toronto at OCAD, the Ontario College of Art and Design. She recorded the guitar part and recorded it at the studio in Aurora and she Fed-Ex-ed me this track on CD because we didn’t know how to do MP3 settings because we’re such techno morons. I got this track in the mail and I sat down and I wrote lyrics for it. It was our first real upbeat song, so it’s a big thing for us because we’re stepping into pop territory, so we wanted to write about something like “caution in the wind” and “driving in the summer”. For me, I remember when I about 17- no I must have been 18- my whole summer I just got my licence. It was all about driving listening to music in the car and so many things happened in that setting with lots of different people, chauffeuring around, meeting people, talking to people, whatever time of day. The song is kind of like day to night and how one summer’s day is like every other summer day; and like you say, everything in life is about contradictions so inevitably all our songs are going to be like that.

DG: The double meaning of everything.

Sheila: Yeah, I know. There are two sides to every story (Chuckles)

DG: Could this be construed as a metaphor for your own careers, because that’s what I thought of when I heard it.

Sheila: What do you mean?

DG: I mean like, missed opportunities, missed potential and all that stuff.

Sheila: I mean, no matter how successful you are you’re always going to be thinking about the road not taken. Maybe it’s about that, maybe. It is what it is.

DG: Lastly, what can we expect for the video?

Sheila: Well, all we can say, the only hint I can give you is “CD cover for ‘Angels & Thieves’”. That is the kind of the thunder, the video’s going to be built on that.

 

-DG

 

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