Debbie & Friends Remix Contest

Calling all Kids (and their Parents): Create a Debbie and Friends Remix in GarageBand and enter your remix to win some great prizes!

Here’s a chance to try your hand as a record producer. Between now and April 4, families can play around with the tracks of “Willy Won’t,” a new song from our forthcoming CD, More Story Songs & Sing Alongs, to create their own version.

It is easy to enter the contest at http://debbieandfriendsremix.ning.com/.

Contestants may download the Garageband file to the song “Willy Won’t” from the contest site, and load it into their GarageBand app on their Mac computer. The family mix engineers can then record additional tracks, raise or lower the volume on existing tracks, add special effects, and add their own special touches to create a unique version of “Willy Won’t.”

Contestants must submit their remix entries by Sunday, April 4th, as instructed on the contest site.

All entries will be considered, and the winner will be announced on Monday, April 5th. The winners will receive great prizes from Debbie and Friends including CDs, music instructional books, t-shirts and other great gear. The winning remix will also be featured on this blog.

Here’s the original version.

Let’s hear what yours will sound like! Good luck!

MEDIA CONTACT:
Beth Blenz-Clucas, Sugar Mountain PR
(503) 293-9498 beth@sugarmountainpr.com

Debbie & Friends in the News

Free Song Download!

The new CD, More Story Songs and Sing Alongs will be hitting stores on March 30. Here’s a special FREE song download gift for our fan families to thank you for all of your support. The song is our new baseball anthem, “Home Run Ronnie.” I hope you enjoy it!

-Debbie

Home Run Ronnie, in production

Here’s a sneak preview of our brand new cartoon, currently in production. It’s based on a song called “Home Run Ronnie” about my nephew. The song will be included on our new CD, More Story Songs and Sing Alongs, soon to be released. I hope you enjoy it! The finished cartoon will be ready by the end of February 2010.

Thanks to Tom Jackson (Mr. J!) for the song idea!

For more Debbie and Friends’ cartoons, visit http://www.youtube.com/debbiecavalier

BCM’s Favorite Live Performances of 2009

I’m happy to report that we have been awarded one of Boston Children’s Music’s First Annual Favorite Live Performance of 2009! We’re really excited about this honor and thrilled to be in the company of such great musicians!

Here’s what Amber Bobnar of Boston Children’s Music, had to say:

Debbie & Friends is one of our favorite bands and we love to see them perform live. Debbie does such a wonderful job of talking to the kids and getting them to really feel like they are an important part of the show. Debbie’s shows have a very inclusive feel to them and they can be a great way to introduce your kids, especially little kids, to full-band live music.

Debbie’s band is just phenomenal, but I have to say that Mike really helps make the show. He is Debbie’s backup singer and all-around silly guy. The kids love him. He responds to all the stories and games and is just so much fun to watch. And I love his singing on the new song, “So So Happy.” Download your copy of “So So Happy” here.

Meet the Band!

The Debbie and Friends’ band has been making music together for nearly two years. In that time, we’ve enjoyed a special connection with our wonderful fan families who come out to see us play. I thought it would be fun to tell you all a little bit about each band member and unveil their new cartoon personas which will be on the new CD (coming soon)!

Mike Carrera is the producer and my partner with “Debbie and Friends.” He’s an incredible musician, can play just about any instrument, and has the most beautiful singing voice I’ve ever heard. His favorite color is blue, favorite food: tacos, and his favorite band is Head East.  Mike’s favorite thing to do is play music. For Mike, the best part of D&F is “Seeing how much the audience really gets into the music and enjoys themselves!” Those of you who have been to a D&F show know that Mike is a lot of fun and a VERY good sport!

Rory McKenzie is our awesome bass player. Rory and I have been friends for more than 20 years! We met when I was a music teacher in Gloucester, MA when his son (my first grader) told me his dad’s band needed a keyboard player. We’ve been dear friends and musical collaborators ever since! Rory has been playing the bass for (gulp) 40 years. His favorite band is the Beatles, favorite color, midnight blue, and favorite food, “See food!” Rory loves playing music with his friends, which is the best thing about playing D&F shows for him.

Eric Saulnier is our most-excellent guitar player. He’s been playing guitar since he was five-years old and it’s his favorite thing to do. Bob Dylan is his all-time favorite band and he likes the color red. Eric’s favorite food is Hot Dogs with Mac and Cheese (and I’ve seen him eat it at the World Cafe Live kid’s buffet!) In addition to guitar, Eric is often doing double-duty as our sound engineer for D&F shows, making sure the sound is just right for our young audiences. For Eric, the audience is best thing about playing D&F shows! I know the audience enjoys Eric, too!

Bill D’Agostino is our amazing drummer. He can play anything and he does it all so well! Bill’s been playing the drums for 30 years, and like Eric, it is his favorite thing to do! He is solid as a rock and is so much fun to play with! James Taylor is Bill’s all-time favorite band, and he likes the color blue. His favorite food is pasta. For Bill, getting to play drums with his friends and making kids laugh are the best parts of playing D&F shows! I know the band feels the same way about playing music with Bill!

That’s the band! We have lots of other friends who play with us from time to time too, such as Jeff Muzerolle, Susan Gedutis Lindsay, Liz Gould, Adam Olenn, Brian O’Neill, and many others. We always have a great time making music with the families that come to our shows.

Have you been to a D&F show? Does anyone in your family have any questions for our band members? Please post your comments and questions and we’ll get right back to you!

Berklee’s New Kids/Family Concert Series

Berklee College of Music is kicking off a brand new a Kids/Family Concert Series beginning this Saturday, January 9th with Debbie and Friends!

The shows will be held in Berklee’s newest performance venue, The Red Room at Cafe 939 located at 939 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for kids, and can be purchased online via Ticketmaster or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Buy 10:00am show tickets here.

Buy 11:30am show tickets here.

Everybody goes home with Debbie and Friends’ tattoos and a free new song download card!

In honor of this new series, the Cactus Club is offering 20% off lunch entrees for anyone with a Debbie and Friends’ concert ticket! The Cactus Club is in the same building as Cafe 939, so you won’t even have to put on your coats to go to lunch!

The band and I hope to see you on Saturday!

- Debbie

Debbie and Friends

Bob McGrath and Me

Recording with Bob McGrath, Dec. 2009.

Here’s a sneak preview to the Debbie and Friends’ duet with Bob McGrath, “Until Next Time,” currently in production. What an honor to record with Bob!

Special thanks to Berklee’s David Mash who is featured on classical guitar. I hope you enjoy the song! It will be part of the new Debbie and Friends’ CD, MORE STORY SONGS & SING ALONGS, to be released in March 2010.

Until Next Time, duet with Bob McGrath by Debbie and Friends

Willy Won’t Smile for the Camera - Cartoon

Here’s the newest Debbie and Friends’s music cartoon featuring my nephew, Will Cavalier.

Enjoy!

Debbie and Friends on Fox News

On Friday, Dec. 18, I had the opportunity to talk about Berkleemusic.com on Fox Business News. I was thrilled to discover that the interviewees also wanted to talk about Debbie and Friends! Here’s the 5-minute interview.

It will air nationally as part of a larger music business piece. I’ll be sure to post the date.

Story Songs and Sing Alongs on Fox Business News!