Live Performance with Video

Debbie & Friends in Concert with Video.

As a kid’s/family performing group, Debbie and Friends are always looking for new ways to actively engage our audience. A typical D&F concert includes our fan families doing everything from starting up the band with a clapping beat, to fixing rhymes, playing the “Simon Says” song game, dancing, singing, and interacting with all five members of the band.

Our good friend and booking agent for the Midwest region, Jeni Cosgrove, challenged us to find a way to to incorporate our animated cartoons into our live show format. It sounded like great fun so we decided to give it a try!

How?
First, we created a version of one of our cartoon music videos without recorded music. Then, we added a click track. During the performance, the click track is sent to our drummer, Bill D’Agostino’s wireless earphones so that he can lock in with the click and remain in sync with the video from start to finish. The band plays along with Bill so that we are all in sync playing, singing and dancing along with the video.

The Result?
The families in our audience LOVE it! And we do, too. In addition to adding a multimedia dimension to our show, we’re promoting our music video catalog and visits to our Web site, You Tube channel, and Jitterbug.tv. The cartoons all contain movement parts, so the families in our audience continue to be active participants throughout the show.

I highly recommend giving live performance with a music video a try! (Thanks Jeni!)

The following is our “Little Red Riding Hood” animated music video. This is one of the animated music videos that families sing and dance along with during our shows.

Vote for Willy Won’t!

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

We’re in the Semi Finals of the KidVid Tournament!

Please vote before 5pm EST on Friday, April 2.

Click here for to vote!

Thank you!

Willy’s Video Contest & Travel Challenge!

Dear Friends,

I’m happy to announce that our cartoon music video, “Willy Won’t,” is in round two of a music-video contest!

Please view the two competing videos and vote for your family’s favorite here.

Then, for a fun challenge, work together as a family to try and name all of the places that “Willy” visits. Double-click the image for a larger version.

Send me a message with the answers at debbie[at]debbieandfriends.net. The first five responders with the correct answers will win a copy of the new D&F CD!

Good luck and have lots of fun, just like Willy!

CD Release Concert Memories!

Thank you to everyone who came to our show at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA on Saturday, March 27, to celebrate the release of our new CD, MORE STORY SONGS & SING ALONGS!

Here are some pictures from our fun time together!

Special guest vocalist, Darcel Wilson.

Our friend Dak with D&F Guitarist, Eric Saulnier

So much fun!

We had a great time!

Our new CD is available on our Web site at a special discount.
http://debbieandfriends.net/music.php

Thanks again, everyone! I hope to see you at another D&F concert soon!

-Debbie

March 27, CD Release Concert!

The Debbie and Friends Band

Dear Friends,

What’s better than a Debbie & Friends Concert at the Regent Theatre?

A Debbie & Friends CD Release Concert at the Regent Theatre!

Please join us this Saturday, March 27th at 10:30am. The Regent Theatre is located at 7 Medford Street, Arlington, MA.

We have a great show in store that you won’t want to miss! In addition to our fantastic band, we have lots of surprises:

- Darcel Wilson joins us on vocals
- Sue Lindsay joins us on sax and flute
- We’ll perform with one of our cartoon music videos
- And, we’ll be raffling off copies of the new CD (signed by everyone in the band!), t-shirts, and more!

Don’t wait! Call for tickets 781-646-4849, or order online here.

I hope to see you at the show!

Debbie

Let’s Play Ball!

It’s baseball season and spring is in the air! To celebrate, we’ve got a brand new cartoon music video to share called “Home Run Ronnie.”

This one is inspired by my dear nephew Ronnie, who is an incredible athlete and a wonderful boy.

Please click the share button and share the video with others!

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