When Deborah Gibson made her debut in the music world
at the age of sixteen, pop music was still, for the most part, a
pure musical style. But, much like the hard rock scene, pop music
went through various trends and changes. Through it all, Deborah
was an artist who marched to the beat of her own drum. Her debut
album, "Out Of The Blue," went on to triple platinum status
and earned her a place in the Guiness Book Of World Records
for being the youngest person to ever write, produce and perform
a number one single, "Foolish Beat." Besides her spectacular
recording career, she made a movie or two, did some work in television
and garnered rave reviews for her performance in theater productions
including "Cinderella," "Gypsy," "Beauty & The Beast," "Funny
Girl," "Grease" and "Les Miserables."
Her career is still going strong. The proof can be found on her
latest release, "M.Y.O.B." On this release, Deborah
manages to capture the youthful energy of her previous recordings
with a more mature, modern sound.
WOMANROCK:
In your bio, it states that at age twelve, you were already a professional
Broadway actress pursuing a recording career. Your debut album,
Out Of The Blue, came out when you were sixteen. What were
you doing those four years in between that time?
Deborah:
Oh, I was still doing theater, TV commercials, voice-overs, stuff
like that, right up until I was fifteen. My very last audition for
a theater project was for Les Miserables. It was right after
that audition I said, I think I need to pull the plug on auditioning
because it's taking away from my music. So, I was basically
working my whole childhood, from age five to fifteen.
WOMANROCK:
How were you discovered by the major labels?
Deborah:
I literally went around knocking on doors with my demo tapes. It's
the good, old fashioned, hard work story that a lot of people don't
even want to hear because there's no gimmick to it. It was me, making
demos of my songs, first in other people's studios and then in my
home studio that my mom and I put together. Basically, when I would
go on auditions, I would look on the directory and see music publishing
or record companies, music entertainment attorneys; anything with
music or entertainment in the title. I would knock on the door and
drop my tape off. At the time, you have to realize, I was twelve
and wearing my retainer and I had mousy brown hair with bangs and
these people were like, what are we gonna do with this kid?
Eventually, an entertainment attorney gave me the time of day and
introduced me to the head of the dance department at Atlantic Records.
He listened to about fifty tunes before he signed me to release
"Only In My Dreams" just to the dance market. Even though I was
young it was still a tedious little road.
WOMANROCK:
When your debut album came out, were you ready for how big it eventually
became?
Deborah:
I felt like I was. I think when you're a kid and you're not dealing
with paying the rent and stuff like that, you really have nothing
to lose. You're just so fearless. I don't think anyone at any age
is equipped to handle fame. I did feel professionally ready to be
at that level. I always did. I felt like I was always meant to be
at that level... ready to play in the big leagues. The teen thing,
that was certainly an adjustment because people have an extreme
reaction to you, be it extremely positive or extremely negative
or extremely cynical. Whatever it was, everything in life became
pretty extreme. So, that was an adjustment. But, luckily, I had
my family around to make sure that when it came my turn to do the
dishes or whatever it was, I was regular Deborah, one of four sisters.
That kept me grounded and kept everything in perspective.
WOMANROCK:
Since you mentioned "Deborah," what made you decide to go from Debbie
to Deborah?
Deborah:
I always liked to be called Deborah and Debbie was more of a marketing
thing. Eventually, I thought, well, Debbie went with the teenage
image. But, I was always uncomfortable introducing myself to people
as Debbie because I never did that until it was on my album covers.
So, the change was from Deborah to Debbie, really. Going to Deborah
was a return to who I felt I was and the name that really represented
me. I feel it's a well rounded name, where Debbie is kind of one
dimensional and I've never felt one dimensional.
WOMANROCK:
You had a pretty consistent recording career and then you went to
theater. What caused you to go back to the stage?
Deborah:
Theater was always something I loved, but it was put on hold. It
was always something I intended to return to. I felt like I had
a chance to make a difference and bring a pop audience into the
theater, which was really exciting for me. I felt like a lot of
kids might have thought of musical theater as being hokey. I started
performing the song "On My Own" from Les Miserables, in my
live concerts and I got such a great reaction. There's really not
as big of a gap as people think between pop and theater. It's all
entertainment and if it's good, it's good. I was at the height of
my pop career and, so, to go do theater, I knew that people were
going to be watching. Some were rooting me on and others were waiting
for me to fail. But, whatever it was, I felt that people were watching
and I had a chance to show them what I was really all about. I wasn't
a one trick pony who could just get up and sing fun pop tunes. I
knew that I could sustain "big money notes" in a theatrical setting
and all of that. I also knew there was an actress in me and I just
felt that it was the right time.
WOMANROCK:
There was a five year gap between your self titled Deborah
album and M.Y.O.B. Why such a long delay and I guess the
question that most people would ask is why now?
Deborah:
You know, I never even take notice if there's a two year gap or
a five year gap. I was pretty deep into doing theater those five
years, Funny Girl, Joseph, Cinderella, all those were lengthy
tours. So, there were other projects going on and I was getting
material together. When the material starts itching to get out,
that's when I release it. The reason for that timing, I really feel
that pop seems to be back with a vengeance. It's interesting because,
at times, I wish I was a teenager in this time. When I first came
out, it was really more of a novelty thing to people. Artists like
Tiffany and I, they never would have given us the cover of Rolling
Stone. Now, they don't think twice about putting Britney or whoever
on the cover. It's just a different time for pop. I also felt that,
in a way, if I was going to show the still relevant, youthful side
of my pop writing that now is the time. Because, I think, once you
get well into your 30's, I'll probably want to do something a little
more adult.
WOMANROCK:
Like county?
Deborah:
I've had people say that to me. But, I'd feel like a fraud in the
country market because I was born and raised in and around New York.
WOMANROCK:
When I listen to M.Y.O.B., I get the impression this release
is part "Out Of The Blue," in the sense that it captures that youthful
energy that you had back then and it's part modern in the sense
that it sounds current and a lot better than a lot of the current
"teen sensation" releases that are out now. How do you view this
album?
Deborah:
I do feel like it was meant to take people on a journey to say,
"hey, look, I am claiming the youthful side of myself." I think
I'm a giant teenager. But, at the same time, the road goes further
and deeper into songs like "Jaded" and "Down That Road".
WOMANROCK:
One thing I've really admired about you was that you've always written
your own material. But, the one song that stood out for me was the
title track, which was written by The Alessi Brothers. Who are The
Alessi Brothers and why did you choose to cover that song?
Deborah:
I just really fell in love with that song. I fell in love with the
fact that it was an older, more knowing person singing to and about
young people and I thought, well, that's me and I thought it was
a real unique sounding song. The Alessi Brothers, our offices were
in a jingle house at that time, when we shared space with jingle
writers. The Alessi Brothers write a lot of the major jingles that
you hear and they also had their own pop career in Europe, they
toured with The Bee Gees, they're twin brothers who are amazing
with melody and harmony. They're great guys and I felt like, if
I had heard this song on an album, it would be one of those - oh,
I wish I had cut that - kind of songs. So, I didn't want to let
it slip away.
WOMANROCK:
Since you're the same age as I am, what made you decide to do a
version of "Knock Three Times?" Because, in a way, I guess you could
say that it was before your time.
Deborah:
I didn't feel like it was. It felt like a part of my childhood because
I have older sisters and, with my parents being music lovers, I
always heard that song. I felt like I had grown up with it and I
grew up being well aware of who Tony Orlando was. I actually hosted
a pay per view special with him and I turned to him on a commercial
break and said, "We've got to do something together," because we
get along so well. I thought it would be a blast. He was like, "Oh,
you don't want to record with an old guy like me" and I was like,
"Are you kidding me, it would be an honor." So, one day, I was kind
of messing around with "Knock Three Times" with a dance track in
my head and I called him and asked about remaking it and he was
like, "Okay, I'll do it" and he actually thought I was blowing smoke
and wouldn't follow through. Lo and behold, the plane ticket arrived
for him the next week and we did it.
WOMANROCK:
Can you tell us a little about your record label, Golden Egg Records?
Deborah:
At the moment, it's just for my music. That's a full time job. It
was really about creative control. Not having to answer to people
and being able to just brainstorm and do things the way that I want
to do them. That's really what it was set up for.
WOMANROCK:
Looking back on your career, the music, theater, television, movies...
what are some of the things that you're most proud of and would
you change anything if you could?
Deborah:
I wouldn't change anything. I feel like I've had a career, so far,
that's been a little unpredictable and very much from the heart.
Everything that I've done, I've done because I wanted to do it and
I think with that, you can't go wrong. Being a pop artist on Broadway,
that's something I'm very proud of and I'm very proud of standing
up to writing and producing my own tunes at the beginning of my
career. I'm proud of being able to do things my way.
WOMANROCK:
Any final comments for the people who will be reading this?
Deborah:
Well, I feel like I have such a devoted fan base and I always have
and I'm lucky enough to have a group of people who don't go with
the trends and they're really loyal. That's very important because
it gives you like this safety net and a spring board to do what
you want to do and that's very, very meaningful to me. I'd like
to thank everyone for their loyalty and for thinking outside of
the box and taking this ride with me, going through all the twists
and turns with me and the ups and downs. I think it's never been
easy to be a fan of mine in terms of... I always fear that people
kind of have to defend themselves and defend me. I think that it's
cool that it's not easy and I feel it's a testament to the people's
love of the music. |
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