By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Members of G-dsquad, all female Christian contemporary band for church events.
MIAMI | What do a software consultant, an audio engineer, a physician’s assistant, a university music education student, a realtor, a pharmacist, and video producer-director have in common?
They are all members of G-dsquad, an all female, Christian and contemporary genre cover band.
“Praise-O-tainment!” said Ada Sheerin, the group’s leader. “That’s our goal, from rock and pop, to ballads, salsa, reggae and music that is positive and uplifting allows G-dsquad to touch the hearts of listeners and draw them closer to the Lord.”
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Ada Sheerin. a member and leader of G-dsquad — an all female Christian contemporary band for church events — sings during a practice session.
“Emmaus is the core that brought us together,” added Sheerin, the video producer and director. “Our mission is to spread the good news of the Gospel through music. We use G-d and not the spelled out name out of respect because the name is held to be sacred.”
She explained that the idea of a Christian all-female band originated during one of the first Emmaus ministry retreats at St. Rose of Lima parish in Miami Shores.
“We formed a casual band to share our love of Christian music with our fellow sisters in Christ,” Sheerin said. “What began as intimate concerts for Emmaus fellowship events and retreats quickly expanded to include performances at Catholic school carnivals, spaghetti dinners and other parish events throughout Miami-Dade and Broward.”
The original band was made up of four women and increased with the addition of the “junior squad,” four talented pre-teens who were daughters of Emmaus women.
“The girls sang backup vocals and delighted audiences singing tracks on their own,” Sheeran said.
Throughout the last 16 years, the size of the band has fluctuated, at one point performing with as many as 10 people on stage. The band has put together the best in their genre with a repertoire of 70 songs.
Lively Latin music such as “Eterna Primavera” (Eternal Spring), composed by Illmary Cruzan, an Emmaus sister from Puerto Rico, gets the audience on their feet and dancing.
Christians can relate to their music, Sheerin said.
“The song called ‘The Eye’ is a reference to the eye of a hurricane,” she said. “Part of the lyrics says, ‘You can dance in a hurricane, but only if you’re standing in the eye.’ As Christians, we can relate the hurricane’s eye to our Christian journey. Because when we’re walking with God, it doesn’t matter what ‘hurricane’ we are going through in life. We can still dance in the midst of the turmoil, because we are in and under the eye of the Lord.”
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Jackie Rodriguez, a members of G-dsquad — an all female Christian contemporary band for church events — sings and gestures during practice session.
In addition to Sheerin, who does vocals and percussion, current members of the band include: Diana Davila-Pinagel, the audio engineer who does vocals and guitar; Ellen Sepe, the realtor, who does vocals and guitar; Liz Buzone, the software consultant who plays keyboard and sings vocals; Marina Pinagel, the Florida International University music student who does vocals and plays bass guitar; and Jackie Rodriquez, the physician’s assistant who does vocals and percussion. Guest member Betty Rogers, a retired pharmacist, plays drums and percussion. All come from several parishes in the Archdiocese of Miami, including St. Rose of Lima, St. Louis in Pinecrest, St. Michael the Archangel in Miami, and St. David in Davie.
Throughout the years, some band members retired, including Linda Washburn, a music director at Holy Family parish in North Miami who gave Sheerin music lessons, and Dana Brown. Buzone took Brown’s place on keyboards.
“Liz joining the band was a miracle. We needed her,” Sheerin said.
Band member Davila-Pinagel said that they practice to sound as professional as possible.
“We usually practice in my garage once or twice a month,” she said. “It can be very hard work. We’re blessed. Our Christian contemporary music is very fulfilling. In many instances we find that we’ve helped other people through our music.”
Davila-Pinagel’s daughter, Marina, started as a junior G-dsquad member in eighth grade and is now a full G-dsquad member.
“I played the piano and taught myself to play the guitar, ukulele and violin,” she said.
G-dsquad’s mission is to spread the good news of the Gospel through their music, stressed Sheerin.
“It’s said that when you sing you pray twice,” she said. “Music is a universal language. We know that we affect other people’s lives with our music.”
