Visitor, Fill Me Up (Di and Danna)

The early nineties were an epic time for me. Shortly after becoming a Christian, I would come across many people that God would put in my path that would help shape my life. Some of those people I would sustain relationships with till this day, and others would simply be for a season.

Such is the case with Di and Danna. These were two very talented young ladies who I came across on a fateful trip to San Francisco.

It was on the road home where Christian Smith, Dave Perrigan, and I would take the long coast ride home after a weekend at a Campus Crusade for Christ conference. A simple stop at a Carl’s Jr., where a busload of teens from Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, California (whose youth group also decided to take the same long coast ride home), turned into an invitation to their church.

A new demo tape recorded by Dave and myself titled “Holy Ghost Stories” had just been finished, and we were more than happy to hand them out. It was there that one of the teens, a young girl, spoke about her cousin, who was a singer and dancer. Intrigued, Dave and I exchanged numbers to connect with her cousin, Danna D’Amore.

Danna was a songwriter and an accomplished dancer. Danna had been working with a talented friend of hers who was a pianist and an accomplished singer as well. Her name was Di. Di and Danna had been working together, writing songs under their group name, “Pillars of Truth.” Dave and I finally connected with both of them and found that we could all benefit from our talents.

So it was decided to put together a few songs and some shows for any church that would have us. The two groups, our band New Jerusalem and Di and Danna’s group Pillars of Truth, would combine their songs and talents and embark on the road.

Di and Danna had recently penned the songs “Visitor” and “Fill Me Up.”

The San Francisco trip was also the opportunity God used to introduce Dave and me to bassist Marc Miller. He, at the time, was the bass player for the University Praise Service at Eastside Christian Church. This was the church Dave and I had been invited to attend on that fateful trip home.

Marc would eventually introduce Dave and me to drummer Gary Zdenek. All of us would eventually back up Di and Danna for a number of shows. It was a pretty cool time. God did some amazing things, and it was exciting to be a part of it.

Unfortunately, sometimes, you don’t really know why folks lose touch with one another. But that’s what happened to Di and Danna. Dave and I would eventually join Marc and Gary and ultimately form the band Fair Exchange.

I eventually lost touch with Di and Danna over the years. However, if they ever happen to come upon this Flashback Friday, they too can appreciate all the good times we experienced together in those early days.

So for your listening pleasure, here are two of Di and Danna’s original songs. “Visitor” and “Fill Me Up.” A raw demo with Di and Danna singing and Di on piano.