CRYSTAL CLEAR
We were sitting in the studio writing one day and listening to songs for inspiration when "At Seventeen" by Janis Ian came on. I always thought of myself as a pretty girl, but my best friend is a total knockout and boys would always come to me for her number. ”Crystal Clear” is about just that - a pretty girl with a gorgeous best friend who unintentionally snags all the attention, making the pretty friend feel "crystal clear."
Composers: Ali Milner, Anthony Anderson, Dane DeViller, Sean Hosein and Steve Smith

I WANNA BE LOVED BY YOU
This song came about by accident. We were writing a song called “Heartbreak Boulevard” and becoming frustrated with writer's block. To get our minds off of it, we decided to move on and try starting a different song. This is how “I Wanna Be Loved By You” came about - a happy accident!
Composers: Ali Milner, Don McLeod and Davor Vulama

I LOST MY DIAMOND
After having a falling out with my best friend, I was feeling really down. I was thinking of a way to write about it when I was on Facebook and saw my friend had made her status "threw away a diamond" - I became inspired! We started writing about my friendship with my best friend using the metaphor of diamonds and how special they are. For instance, the bridge talks about how "everyone has a rhinestone, but I lost what I just can't find," which refers to how rare diamonds are, just like my best friend.
Composers: Ali Milner and Don McLeod

SOMEBODY
Like many songs on this record, "Somebody" was inspired by a break up. Don and I were on our way to get ice cream, when I jokingly began to sing, "I just want somebody to loooove me." It had just jumped into my head fully formed. By the end of ice cream, we had the full chorus finished! This was one of the songs that came easily and is among my favourites.
Composers: Ali Milner and Don McLeod
    
SECRET TO TELL
Don and I were on a mission to finally write a happy song. We began brainstorming things that made us smile and decided to write about crushes - one of my favourite things to have! The song, to me, is the moment when someone is revealing how much they like someone; telling a secret to them, hence "Secret to Tell".
Composers: Ali Milner and Don McLeod

I DARE YOU
One day Shaun Verreault joined us for a writing session, bringing a snippet of the song "I Dare You" and we all decided to work on that. The melody and sentiment of the song stole my heart right away. To me, it's about the final moment before a breakup; that one last time when someone pleads with his or her loved one to stand up and be strong enough to love. It takes a lot of guts to give yourself completely to someone and this song is about challenging someone to do that.
Composers: Ali Milner, Don McLeod and Shaun Verreault

GONNA DANCE
We were recording the piano for "I Love Christmas" at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver when I came up with the chord progression for "Gonna Dance." At the time it was a much slower song and when I brought it to the table during a writing session with Don and Aileen, it was a sad song. We really hit a brick wall, but when I suggested we try it as an up-tempo song it really took on a life of it's own. It just felt right as this happy, up-tempo tune. It's a song that makes you want to dance!
Composers: Ali Milner, Aileen De La Cruz and Don McLeod

PORTRAIT OF DORIAN GRAY
This is a song written by my Uncle John. He's an incredible musician who was part of a band in the ‘70s called Canadian Zephyr. The song is a metaphor that was inspired by the Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Composer: John Howard

I CAN'T WAIT FOREVER
 “I Can't Wait Forever” is a song in which a person is reaching their wit's end with their loved one. They care for them so much, but know that they can't wait forever for that person to figure themselves and their future out.
Composer: Ali Milner and Don McLeod

BREAK AWAY
 “Break Away” is based on a relationship I observed a good friend going through. It was just so unhealthy and I couldn't believe she was sticking it out for so long. This song is my plea for her to "break away" from the relationship.
Composer: Ali Milner and Don McLeod
    
DON'T FORGET TO CALL ME
You know when you meet a super smokin' hot boy or girl? Then they get your phone number and it's just the most exciting thing ever? Well, this song is about that; it's about meeting an amazing person and they get you're number and you're just hoping against hope that they'll give you a call!
Composer: Ali Milner, David Blair and Don McLeod

DAY BY DAY
 “Day By Day” is a song I had the privilege of writing with Don and the legendary Jim Vallance. The sentiment of the song is very simple and clear: you have to take life day by day! It's too often that people hurry this way and that and don't appreciate what they have in front of them.
Composers: Jim Vallance, Ali Milner and Don McLeod

CAN'T CHANGE THIS GIRL
This song was written with a clear, strong message. At the time, both Sherry and I were going through break ups and discussing relationships, boyfriends and how people can compromise themselves too much. I like to think that I'm a strong girl and Sherry is an incredibly strong woman. We both agreed: you can't change this girl!
Composers: Ali Milner, Sherry St. Germain and Don McLeod

 
All tracks except “Crystal Clear” are produced by Don McLeod.
“Crystal Clear” is produced by Sean Hosein, Dane DeViller, Anthony Anderson and Steve Smith for Shred Records Inc.

"This album is really special to me - it took a lot of hard work and the help of so many people. What I really love about it is we recorded real live music right off the floor with live musicians then recorded live to tape to get the sound we wanted - Thank you Armoury Studios!

We went to the studio with the bare bones of the songs and sat down with the musicians (bass, drums, guitar and keys) to really flesh them out. They had only heard demos of the songs a few days before we turned on the microphones, so we all worked together creating the sounds that you now hear on the record. We made our way through every song, working closely with the each other and sharing ideas for the feel of each song. It was an incredibly organic and creative happening with many of the songs turning out quite differently and even better than we’d originally imagined.

After all the beds (underscore) were laid down, we brought in some more substance with horns and strings. We also added the sound of some unique instruments, such as the melodica in 'Secret to Tell' and the hurdy gurdy at the beginning of 'Don’t Forget to Call Me.' Spur of the moment things made the final cut too, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I Dare You is an amalgamation of many minds and talents, and I'm honoured to have met and worked with all of them."