Nickelodeon Parents’ Pick Awards 2010

I’m so excited to tell you that we’ve been nominated for the Nickelodeon Parents’ Pick Award! We’re in the top 5, and WE NEED YOUR VOTES to win!

Please click the link below to vote. You can vote once a day through Aug. 30!

Nominated for best kids’ music cd. Vote now!

You are the reason we’ve been nominated. Thank you so much for your support of Debbie and Friends! Please vote!

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Opposite - A cartoon in development

Here’s a sneak preview of our new animated music video in the works. It’s based on one of our favorite songs, “Opposite.” Check out how well the guys in the band can dance!

This is a pre-production teaser, and features the amazing animation work of Greg David and Goichi Hirata from Planet Sunday. It also features the wonderful character design work of Robert Heath of Barkley Studios. The final version should be out by the end of the summer.




The band and I hope you enjoy it!

-Debbie

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EarthFest 2010 Fun!

Thanks to everyone who came out to share EarthFest with us last weekend. We had a great time with all of you! For those of you who couldn’t join us, the following is a video shot by our good friend Amber Bobnar of Boston Children’s Music. It’s the “Simon Says” song complete with the “BAND FREEZE” section!

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Earthfest 2010, Boston, May 22 @ 11am

Please join us on Saturday, May 22 @ 11am on the Esplanade in Boston for Earthfest 2010! It’s a FREE event and there are all kinds of fun things planned for kids and families in the “Kids Planet” zone including environmental activities, games, and of course… musical performances!

Here’s a link to more information.

The band and I look forward to seeing you there! Don’t forget: we go on at 11am!

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“Where’s the Spider” Contest!

All Debbie & Friends cartoons include a very quick “spider cameo.” It happens so fast that it’s easy to miss!

I have a challenge for you, our awesome fan families…
FIND THOSE SPIDERS!

To enter the contest, watch our music videos in the player below and try to find the spider in each one! Parents: simply jot down the approximate time the spider appears in each video, and send me an email with the answers for all six: Debbie [@] debbieandfriends.net on or before June 14, 2010.

For Example:
Home Run Ronnie: spider appears at 3:57
…and so on…

The band and I will throw the names of all the entering families into a hat on June 15, and draw the name of the lucky winner who will receive a Debbie & Friends Prize Package that includes a D&F T-shirt, two CDs, an egg shaker, and a personalized note.

To view the movies in fullscreen mode, click “Fullscreen” at the bottom of the player.

Have fun and good luck finding those spiders!

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D&F Remix Contest, Winner Announced!

Thanks for all of your interest in the Debbie and Friends GarageBand Remix Contest. It’s been great fun!

The winner is Boogie Cindy from the Boogie Wonder Band, and 12-year old Alaïa Lamontagne. Congratulations to Cindy and Alaïa for producing a very creative rendition of “Willy Won’t” complete with a percussion break, vocal effects, a kids shout-out chorus, and much more.

As you will hear, they transformed “Willy Won’t” from its original Southern-rock feel to that of an Electronica tune. It’s very cool! To hear the winning track, check out the music player on the Remix Contest Site:
http://debbieandfriendsremix.ning.com/

Thanks again to everyone who participated, and congratulations to Boogie Cindy and the Boogie Wonder Band from Quebec, Canada. Your prizes are on the way!

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Live Performance 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.

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Debbie & Friends Band Coloring Page

For some rainy-day fun, this link will take you to a page to download a full-size version of the Debbie and Friends Band coloring page.

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