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!.
Filed under Cartoon, Children's Music, Debbie and Friends, Music, News, Videos | Comment (0)DVD Concert Memories
What a fun crowd filled with friends at the Regent Theatre!
Thank you to everyone who came to our show at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA on Saturday, March 26, to celebrate the release of our new DVD, STORY SONGS & SING ALONGS and to sing along with our special guests and good friends, Bob McGrath from Sesame Street and Darcel Wilson.
Here are some pictures from our fun time together! (Thanks to Beth Oram Photography for “capturing happy”!)
Debbie and Bob McGrath singing “Sing a Song” with everyone.
Darcel Wilson, Mike Carrera and Debbie Cavalier
Our fans and friends!
Our own Eric Saulnier on guitar!
Our dancing band!
Having fun!
Bob McGrath!
Story Songs & Sing Alongs DVD.
Our new DVD is available on our Web site .
http://debbieandfriends.net/music.php
Thanks again, everyone! I hope to see you at another D&F concert soon!
-Debbie
Filed under Concerts, DVD, Debbie and Friends, Music, Music Education, News, Parenting, Videos | Comment (0)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
Filed under Children's Music, Concerts, Debbie and Friends, Music, News | Comment (0)Recorded LIVE at WERS 88.9 FM!
Debbie & Friends on WERS Live!
Debbie and Friends had really fun time playing LIVE in the WERS studios on March 20, with Host “Ginger Snap” of The Playground. We sang songs, told stories, and even had a special guest appearance with The Big Bad Wolf, who stars in a a number of our recordings. If you missed it, don’t worry! The following is a recording of our WERS on-air debut. Thank you, WERS The Playground and “DJ Ginger Snap”! Debbie and Friends thinks you ROCK!
Debbie & Friends LIVE on WERS FM by Debbie and Friends
Here are some pictures from our time on the air!
Debbie singing on WERS Live!
Mike singing on WERS Live!
Rory and Kevin playing on WERS Live!
DJ Ginger Snap and Billy on WERS Live!
March 26, DVD Release Concert Featuring Bob McGrath
The new Debbie and Friends DVD
Dear Friends,
For the past two years, we’ve had CD release concerts at the Regent Theatre. This year, it’s going to be a little different. We are releasing a new product, but this time it’s our first Debbie and Friends DVD (YAY!) AND we are also featuring two very special guest artists!
Bob McGrath, of Sesame Street fame, will be joining us on stage for a few songs!
Bob McGrath
We will also have the amazing and talented Darcel Wilson performing with us!
Darcel Wilson
The band and I couldn’t be more excited!
Please join us on Saturday, March 26th at 10:30am. The Regent Theatre is located at 7 Medford Street, Arlington, MA.
Don’t wait! Call for tickets 781-646-4849, or order online here: http://www.regenttheatre.com/details/debbie_friends
Ticket Prices (general admission):
$8.00 – Kids (12 and under)
$8.00 – Seniors
$10.00 – Adults
The band and I hope to see you at the show!
- 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
Filed under Children's Music, Concerts, Contest, Debbie and Friends, Family Activities | Comment (0)Behind the Scenes!
Debbie and Friends is hard at work on our new DVD to be released on March 29, 2011.
On December 18, we performed a live action concert shoot for the DVD at Berklee College of Music’s CAFE 939. The following is a fun “Outtakes Video” featuring some special moments from that day.
Cinderella is here!
Hi Everyone,
Thanks again for voting for your favorite “fairy”! As you know, the fairy Godfather won the fairy contest by popular demand, and he’s read to make his cartoon debut!
Presenting Debbie and Friends’ “Cinderella” song. It’s the classic tale with a twist, including self-esteem and friendship messages for kids.
ENJOY!
Thank you to Planet Sunday for the amazing animation work! You guys are the greatest!
Filed under Cartoon, Children's Music, Debbie and Friends, Recording, Videos | Comment (0)Learning to Play Piano - FREE book
Happy Holidays!
I’m pleased to share a piano method booklet for children that I developed with my Grandfather, Marty Gold. Marty is a wonderful musician who has enjoyed an amazing career in music. In fact, he’s the reason I became a musician. Recently, he told me about a piano “tent” he created to help kids learn the names of notes on a music staff. The story goes that Nabisco was going to put one in every cereal box back in the 1950s, and then pulled the project for fear there were not enough pianos in US homes. We decided to do the project together and make it available to friends of “Debbie and Friends.”
The following widget has a download link for a free copy of the Learning to Play Piano book and piano tent PDF files. A printed version of the book will be available soon. In the meantime, please let me know how the tent and method book are for your children!
Special thanks to Robert Heath of Barkley Studios for designing the keyboard tent, Greg David of Planet Sunday for the cover art image, and Shawn Girsberger for the book layout and design. What a dream team!!!
-Debbie
Filed under Children's Music, Debbie and Friends, Family Activities, Music, Music Education, Parenting | Comment (0)
