Today we’d like to introduce you to Lapel (Debbie Neigher).
Hi Lapel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
From the moment I started learning piano at age 4, I fell madly in love with music and the joy, catharsis, and community it brings. Growing up in a household with two psychologists as parents, I also developed a fascination with human behavior, social systems, and understanding emotions from a young age. My synth-pop project Lapel is the culmination of a lifelong study of singing, songwriting, and playing keys, alongside this passion for digging into vulnerability, expression, and how our individual struggles fit into the fabric of larger systemic issues.
After studying music and sociology at Tufts University, I moved across the country to San Francisco – with no job or place to live – to search for a way to combine these subjects I love so much. I became a social worker and spent 3 years co-managing the Art and Music Program for unhoused youth at Larkin Street Youth Services. In stolen moments, I kept writing music and started playing keys for other artists and countless bands, touring the country in rickety vans. I started making records as well with John Vanderslice at Tiny Telephone studio, where I would eventually create my latest project Lapel, a moniker named after a quote by activist Margaret Trudeau: “I want to be more than a rose in my husband’s lapel.”
Soon after releasing my debut album “Periphery” as Lapel, I took another leap by moving to Los Angeles (again with no job, thankfully an apartment this time!). Since then, I have been incredibly lucky to play keys for pop icons Demi Lovato and Marina, indie darlings Suki Waterhouse, Ezra Furman, and Shannon Lay, and many others. I’m also about to release a brand new Lapel EP this year, my most joyful yet. I co-produced it with the brilliant Andrew Lappin (Anderson .Paak, Marina, L’Rain). Music continues to allow me to process my emotions, bring joy to others, and grow more branches of my musical community with every artist I collaborate with, and for that I am incredibly grateful.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
As grateful as I am to do what I love for a living, a freelance career in any creative field is extremely challenging! With my work as a side player, the roller coaster of not knowing when your next gig maybe can take a toll on your financial and emotional well-being. Additionally, without a robust union protecting musicians outside of the classical/musical theater world, there is a lot of exploitation and total lack of benefits, collective bargaining power, or protections.
From the artistic project side, we need to be incredibly resilient against all the rejection we face, as well as so much oversaturation online with nearly 50,000 songs being released each day on Spotify.
No matter what side of the music industry you’re on, I truly believe community is vital to uplifting, encouraging, celebrating, and protecting each other.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I love existing in the duality of being a keys player and singer for other artists, along with leading my own artist project where I get to tell my own stories and dream up my own songs, sounds, live performances, and visual universe. Going back and forth between both worlds allows me to bring skills, empathy, and understanding to each side, building a much larger community along the way.
I’ve played everywhere from laundromats and empty bars to Madison Square Garden, and I’m incredibly proud of the slow and difficult journey it’s been. I’m also so proud of my other friends in creative fields who support and uplift each other and the authentic networks we’ve built along the way, in addition to the progress I’ve made with my own mental health throughout this unpredictable freelance life!
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Follow the thread of what brings you joy, and you’ll find other people who will share your interests and be excited to genuinely form a connection with you! “Networking” can feel like kind of a dirty word sometimes, so if I can frame it as building relationships, friendships, and community within a creative field I care about, it feels much more satisfying and enjoyable.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lapelsings.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lapelsings/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lapelsings
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lapelsings
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lapelsings
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/lapelsings
Image Credits
Shervin Lainez Zak Cassar
