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Meet Amanda Pascali
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“Too foreign for here, too foreign for home, and never enough for both.” - Ijeoma Umebinyou, Nigerian poet
It's October of 2024. Considering the date, for those who are citizens of the United States of America - what comes to mind during this month of this year, when you hear the word "immigrant"? Surely, whatever side of the aisle you choose politically, socially, economically, etc., you have a strong opinion currently? Or perhaps you don't? Perhaps not having any opinion at all is just as strong of a statement as having any opinion as to what defines an immigrant in these United States in 2024.
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We've been researching an artist for this review, whom we've been a fan of since 2022. It came at a great time, as we decided to up our game with deeper analysis on our artists' reviews, that we would pick Amanda Pascali, who's inspiring story, social political contributions to the world, and artistic creativity have captivated us, raising the bar to great heights representing what we hold most dear at Knoxville Noise Pollution - the utilization of music and the arts in general to make the world a better place for everyone.
An Old Soul
When hearing Amanda talk in her interviews, she sounds like a young woman of her generation. She proudly claims Generation Z, sharing her love of today's pop artists such as Billie Eilish (7), but Pascali admits she has "an old soul" and you can hear it in her voice when she sings. Suddenly this girl becomes something so much more - a timeless treasure, pouring her soul through her beautiful, powerful melodic vocals (you can hear the influence of Arabic style in Amanda's voice, whose mother was an immigrant from Egypt (8)). Amanda's guitar picking style is classic and pristine, producing all that is needed for her music through bass rhythms and melodic licks that set the foundation for her band to follow, emulating the authentic sounds of Amanda's many backgrounds.
Amanda makes me feel like I haven't done anything with my life, as I'm turning thirty next February, and this 26-year-old has accomplished so much in so little time. Yet, that doesn't stop her from feeling the same way from her own perspective. When talking with Jesse Sendejas of The Houston Press about her fandom of Billie Eilish, Pascali said this about the singer, "I think she’s so smart and whenever I hear her — I think she’s like 18 now [2021] — I think about what I was doing when I was 18 ... the first time I heard her my immediate feeling was like, envious? ... I wrote good songs when I was 18 and I didn’t reach that level of fame ... I’ve matured to a point where I feel like she’s my little sister or something ... So, whenever I hear her songs, I’m like, yeah, you go girl! I’m really excited to see how her songwriting matures as she gets older."
Sometimes we struggle to know when it's the right time to make a move in the world - if we are premature or running behind. Amanda shared something insightful in that Houston Press article, that I felt like sharing: "I take a long time to write songs ... It’s scary to call something done and I want it to be perfect before I call it done. But then it gets to a certain point where it’s like, okay, the song is done, because if it’s not done now, it’s never going to be done.” Later in the same article, Amanda would make this claim: '“When I look back on the songs I released in 2018, I would do all of those over again in a different way and make them better ... but, at the same time, would I have rather waited to release those? No, I think it’s good that I put them out when I put them out.” This makes a fantastic point about life, in that our actions do not entirely define who we are. We always have time to try again, rework something, or create new beginnings. Sometimes, it's best to go ahead and take that leap of faith out of your comfort zone, before it's too late.
"There’s breadth in Pascali’s selections, a globally known pop star on one end of the spectrum and a GemsOnVHS up-and-comer on the other" Sendejas says about Pascali, going on to mention her love of the late singer, Rosa Balistreri, who's songs Pascali began translating, as a part of her work through her Fullbright Scholarship in Sicily on her "Canta e Cunta" project (9). "She said she was not a singer but a protester who protests with a guitar and a voice. Language and writing and songs are powerful tools for sharing messages." Amanda on Balistreri. Rosa Balistreri's story adds weight to our point about finding yourself in good time; a victim of abuse in an arranged marriage, she would finally escape, learn to write at the age of thirty-two, and master the guitar in her forties. As a singer, she used her voice and music as a message protesting inequality of all kinds. It makes sense that she would be one of Pascali's greatest inspirations, not only in music, but activism.
But inspiration comes from right at home for Amanda, who is a first-generation U.S. American citizen, born in New York City, and raised in Houston, Texas (10). To learn about Amanda's passion for music and social activism for immigrants, you must learn about the history of her parents, especially her father.
A First-Generation American Tale
"Some children grow up inspired by stories of princes and princesses,” Pascali told Elvia Limón of the University of Houston, “I was inspired by the story of my parents as two immigrants who fell in love in New York City. They were the heroes of my story.”
In 1984, Amanda's father was thrown into a forced labor camp, where is identity was confiscated by his home country of Romania, due to his outspoken opposition of their communist government. He eventually found his way out after two years in the labor camp, seeking asylum in the United States, where he became a refugee. His description of being a refugee in the United States during the late '80s/early '90s was "a living hell", as he was lonely, low on money and food, and had to build his identity from scratch, after losing it in Romania. Amanda's song "Temporary Home" shares her father's story - "No name, no passport, no identity to transport. No nation, no conversation. Where do you belong?" (11).
Of course, her father's life changed for the better when he met Amanda's mother while attending college in New York City. Amanda's mother was an immigrant from Egypt that built her own career from scratch in '80s Brooklyn (12), no doubt a strong role model for her daughter. Both parents indeed raised a bright young woman, who is now a geoscientist, working all over the world (13), all while still being a multi-lingual touring artist and social political activist.
Growing up as a first generation American was different for Amanda, as she felt the impact of her cultural barrier with classmates, neighbors, and friends. “I was the kid that got made fun of for bringing weird food to lunch, and I felt so out of place,” she told Maria Rodriguez of The Daily Texan, “That’s what led me to music. When I was 12 years old, I picked up a guitar and I started making music about my story and my family. That was my way of creating a space for myself where I didn’t find one already.” It goes without saying that her parents' stories impelled her to take such great steps in the immigrant community, and at such a young age - I'm excited to see what more Amanda does for the world in the future.