Davis Idol winners record at professional studio

By Talullah Manghise,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

At the Davis Idol finale last Feb. 3, judges announced that both the winner and people’s choice winner would each receive a day of studio time at the University of the Pacific’s student-run recording studio.

The winner, senior Simone Gamble, and people’s choice winner senior Cinnamon Dale traveled to Stockton on Nov. 3 to record.

Dale recorded three self-composed original songs, “Ode to a Bitter Outcast,” “Disarray” and “Things I Left Behind” on Saturday, two of which they performed at Davis Idol.

“Last year, I decided to change things up a bit and perform two original songs– one for the preliminary round, and one for the final round,” Dale said.

All of Dale’s songs are entirely self-written and composed. They record the majority of their work on GarageBand on their iPad and are completely self-taught.

This risk served Dale well, as they ultimately won the people’s choice award.

“Real talk– no, [I didn’t expect the audience would react as positively as they did]. I was just expecting them to be like ‘Oh, that’s so nice! They wrote that themself!” Dale said. “The judges told me that I should write and star in ‘Emo: The Musical.’”

Dale is grateful for their experience with Davis Idol, as it gave them a newfound confidence and brought them to the studio.

“My experience with Davis Idol was great. 100 percent, 10 out of 10 would recommend to anyone who would enjoy singing in front of other people,” Dale said.

Dale has been singing for as long as they can remember, and has dreamed of pursuing a career as a performer.

“We had a karaoke machine and I would hop up on top of the coffee table dressed up like a pop star in just rhinestones and one glove like Michael Jackson [with] big ol’ leather boots and I’d just sing my little heart out,” said Dale.

Gamble has been singing since around the second grade. She traveled to Stockton the next day, Nov. 4, to record covers of Alicia Keys’ “Lesson Learned” and “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran, which she performed at the Davis Idol finale last winter.

“[Recording] was a new experience,” Gamble said. “The teamwork that I experienced with the students at the University of the Pacific was very eye-opening.”

The most memorable part of the experience for Gamble was learning to work with the people behind the scenes. The friendly, laid-back atmosphere created by the staff and students at the university helped Gamble feel more comfortable recording for the first time.

“I was a little nervous when I first got there, but everyone was so kind and they all showed their different personalities, so it made it feel more like recording with friends than recording with strangers I don’t know,” Gamble said.

Both students are hoping to pursue music after they graduate from Davis High this summer.

“It’s always been kind of a dream for me, being able to make a career in music, especially being well-known for it, and now that that actually seems like it might even be possible, that’s all I really need,” Dale said.

Gamble, however, has a different idea for her how music will fit into her future.

“I hope to [pursue music after graduation], not as a major, more to be a part of a choir, and in any other way possible,” she said.