We’re Going on Tour!

Debbie and Friends on Tour!

I’m exited to tell you that we’re taking the band on the road! If you live in NJ, PA, or MD, I hope you can come out to see us this weekend!

Here’s the schedule!

Friday, Nov. 4 at 10am Axelrod Arts Center, Deal, NJ
We’re so excited to be playing Debbie’s home State! For tickets and more information, please visit the Axelrod Web site or call 732-531-9106.

Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1pm Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, Drexel Hill, PA
This beautiful theater is just outside of Philadelphia. For tickets and more information, please visit the UDPAC web site or call 610-622-1189.

Sunday, Nov. 6 at 3pm Gordon Center for Performing Arts, Owings Mills, MD
Please join us for our first show in MD! We even have special guests, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer joining us on stage for a song! It’s going to be a great time! For tickets, please visit the Gordon Center Web site or call 410-356 SHOW (7469).

Special guests Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer play a song with us!

We hope to see you soon!

Walk Away

I’m so happy to present our new cartoon music video designed to help kids who are dealing with bullies.

Meet Lucy Lou, her dog named Boo and their friends!

Taking on Bullying - a sneak preview

That’s right! Debbie and Friends is taking on bullying with a new dance number called “Walk Away,” and we’re excited to share a sneak preview with you!

The cartoon music video is in production right now. The following is our rough sketch storyboard version.

As you know from previous cartoon music videos, the storyboard contains the song and the general visual direction of the cartoon. After the storyboard is approved, the animators start the hard work of coloring and animating. It takes 30 drawings for every second of animation, so there is a lot of work ahead!

The band and I hope you enjoy the new song. “Walking away” is one of the strategies taught for dealing with bullies. I hope it proves helpful for some of our young friends who may experience bullying.

The final version of the cartoon music video will be ready in September!

-Debbie

Take the Wendell Cartoon Challenge!

I’m so happy to introduce you to our new cartoon music video, “Wendell”! You may recall the song from our second CD, More Story Songs and Sing Alongs. In the cartoon version, Wendell is a boy who shows us that when you use your imagination, you can overcome obstacles and make your dreams come true!

Enjoy Wendell’s adventures and try to find two challenges:
1. When does “the spider” appear that is in every Debbie and Friends cartoon?
2. What is the “Debbie” character supposed to be in this cartoon?

If you have the answers, email them to Debbie [@] debbieandfriends.net along with your email address and your child’s first name. I’ll send a personalized congratulations email with a Debbie and Friends coloring page and Fan Club PDF to you for your child. Challenge ends July 9. Congratulations emails will be sent on July 10.

Good luck with the Wendell Challenge!

-Debbie

Gustafer Yellowgold at the Regent!

Hi Everyone,

My good friend Ivan and I want you to know that Gustafer Yellowgold is coming to the Regent Theatre this Saturday, June 12, at 2pm in Arlington, MA. We’re huge fans and wanted to make sure you knew about the show. It’s going to be a great one!

Here’s a link to tickets and more information.

http://www.regenttheatre.com/details/gustafer_yellowgold

Your friend,

Debbie

In Concert with Bob McGrath

Thank you to everyone who came to our sold-out show at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA on Saturday, March 26, to celebrate the release of our new DVD, STORY SONGS & SING ALONGS. We had a great time singing along with our special guests and good friends Bob McGrath from Sesame Street and Darcel Wilson. Here is a video of our last song that day.

Introducing Our New Band Member: The Big Bad Wolf!

The Big Bad Wolf in concert with Debbie and Friends.

BIG NEWS from Debbie and Friends! The Big Bad Wolf is joining the band! He made two guest appearances with us in March. The first time was at our WERS “The Playground” live radio debut and the second time was on stage at our DVD Release Concert at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA. Everyone enjoyed the Wolf’s performances so much that we asked him to join the band! He’s now in Florida at a puppet maker’s workshop getting a special “wolf makeover” so he’ll be ready for our very busy concert schedule beginning this summer.

Here’s a sketch of what our new, improved Big Bad Wolf will look like.

The new and improved Big Bad Wolf!

The Wolf will join the band starting in July. Please check our show schedule and save some dates! We look forward to seeing you and making music with you again soon!

Mike and the Big Bad Wolf!

Wendell Cartoon - Storytelling Differently

Today more than ever, video is an essential way to break through the noise and reach new fans with music. For Debbie and Friends, cartoon music videos are a great vehicle for this.

I’m always pleasantly surprised to learn that families from all over the world discover Debbie and Friends music every day through our YouTube channel and various cable outlets.

Many of our songs are based on classic tales, and therefore well suited for visual presentation. Some of our songs are not based on stories and I was always convinced those songs were not good candidates for video. “Wendell” in particular, is a cumulative movement song about a boy who finds a toy Robot. The Robot adds a new physical challenge with each verse. It’s fun to perform, but I couldn’t imagine it as a music video. My amazing animator, Goichi Hirata from Planet Sunday, had another idea. He suggested that we approach it differently and tell the story from the perspective of Wendell’s imagination. For children, the Robot will represent hope and a doorway to, literally and figuratively, scaling walls and overcoming life’s obstacles. Brilliant! Needless to say, I was very excited about Goichi’s idea and we’re moving forward with the project!

To help with some production questions and to include our fan families in the process, we held a “pick Wendell’s hair color” poll on Facebook. (Purple hair won!) Here are some initial images Goichi came up with for the cartoon characters in the song.

Wendell finds the Toy Robot.

Wendell and the Robot flying.

Wendell and the Robot arriving at the Toy Fair parade!

And, here’s the storyboard version of the animation.

I feel so fortunate to be able to work with such talented and creative people as Goichi Hirata and Greg David at Planet Sunday, and to share the stages of development with our Debbie and Friends fan families. I hope you enjoy learning about the process behind our cartoons, and will share this information with your kids in anticipation of this new video coming out in June!.

Rehearsing for the Big Show!

Sometimes, rehearsing and preparing for a show can be almost as fun as the actual show! This was certainly true last Friday evening, when the Debbie and Friends band gathered in our living room and rehearsed for our DVD Release Show at the Regent Theatre the next day. We played an “unplugged” set running through all of the songs planned for the show, including “Sing a Song” with Bob McGrath from Sesame Street.

The following are some fun pictures from our rehearsal.

Even Sophie loved it!

The next day, we played a really fun show to a packed house of enthusiastic families. Thanks to all of our Boston-area friends who came out to make music with us! Show pictures coming soon!

- Debbie

Win 4 Concert Tickets! (plus t-shirts and CDs)

***CONGRATULATIONS to the Wark Family for winning the Tickets and Prize Package!***

Hi Everyone!

I’m happy to announce that I have 4 tickets to give away for our full-band concert this Sunday, March 6 at 4pm in Needham, MA! The winning family will also receive Debbie and Friends t-shirts for the kids and two CDs. (The prize holds a $100 retail value.)

The event is a fundraiser for Temple Beth Elohim Nursery School in Needham, and the concert will take place at the Creative Movement and Arts Center, 145 Rosemary Street, Needham, MA.

To enter the drawing, please send me an email before 9am EST on Friday, March 4, to Debbie@debbieandfriends.net, indicating you would like to attend the concert. I’ll print the names, put them into a bowl, and randomly draw the winning family and will post the winner here by 5pm on Friday.

I hope to see you and your family on Sunday!

-Debbie