Canadian native Dayna Manning admits to being influenced by a large assortment of artists, such as Joni Mitchell, Tool, and Rage Against the Machine, among others. Manning's own music probably slips into what is considered pop/rock, but many of her tunes carry hints of alternative, folk, and roots rock. Her debut album was recorded in 1997 when she was 18 years old. Dayna Manning is a singer and songwriter, as well as a musician who can play both the guitar and keyboards. She was born in 1979, and raised in Stratford, Ontario, in a home filled with music. Both of her parents played instruments. Her father was also a music teacher. It was of little surprise when she began landing a few gigs and stepping up on-stage at just about any open-microphone night she could find. It was through the latter that she was discovered in Toronto. It didn't take the beautiful and talented teen long to impress the powers-that-be at EMI Records. A recording deal resulted in the release of her debut album, rightly titled Vol. One. She had some great musicians help out on the album, including keyboardist Ray Coburn; drummer Creighton Doane; and guitarists Sean Ono Lennon, Mike Borkoski, and Kurt Schefter. Manning also got her family into the act: her father, David, adding his expertise with the trumpet, while her mother, Darlene, provided her talents with the clarinet. Some of the tracks fans can sample from the debut are "Gold," "Simple Plan," "Half the Man," "The End of the Game," "And That Was Done," "A Walk on the Moon," and "My Kind." ~ Charlotte Dillon