Today we’d like to introduce you to Debbie Goodman.
Hi Debbie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I packed up a U-Haul and headed to Los Angeles with my guitar, and who would eventually become my future husband and percussionist. I left behind a budding country career in Nashville to pursue rock in more progressive California. Through the years, every performance, every group I put together, and every song I wrote gave me the confidence to form my own band with my own originals, poised to play all over Los Angeles and beyond. Eleven years later, we are still doing it. And if I’m involved, that means it’s still fun! (Plus, we must be doing something right!)
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
At first my challenge was relocating to the unknown. Me and my then boyfriend – now husband – thankfully got jobs within like 9 days of moving here in 2008, during a downturn in the economy.
My dad, back in Oklahoma, LOVED the idea of me being in California, but feared it might not work out. I had also left behind an 8 year career in social work in Tennessee, during a time when a good job was becoming harder to find. But he and my had mom lived in Palm Desert in their late 20’s – in the 70’s – and loved the vibe. They always regretted not being able to stick it out financially and having to move back to Oklahoma while mom was pregnant with me. I barely missed being born here – like my brother was, just 17 months before me!
Me and my husband even had to finagle a bit with a paystub from my former employer in Tennessee to get into our first apartment, in Long Beach. We were delighted to learn that Gay Pride was THAT WEEK we moved in, and it was ONE BLOCK away! We felt like: WE HAVE ARRIVED!
Musically, the challenges in Los Angeles are finding places that will pay you what you are worth. In most other areas, the band gets paid no matter what, and they are not responsible for getting people in the door (only keeping them in there!) We are hired to rock whoever is in there, and people do come back to see us. Otherwise, a business should advertise, promote, and have good food, drinks and service to keep people coming back. It took us a while to find enough awesome owners – who understand this – to play every weekend. We were working like crazy before the pandemic, then had to just about start over again as venues were slow to recover.
Now days, our concert schedule is insane!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Now a part-time nanny/part-time rock star, I have a children’s album that is also a favorite for adults. It’s called The Sugar Monster by Debbie Goodman. The album cover is my adorable niece who is back in Oklahoma like the rest of my family. The hilarious music video was shot at YouTube Studios.
My main focus right now is being the lead singer and rhythm guitar player for my band Debbie and the Good Man Band. We are a busy band that has been rocking the greater Los Angeles area for over 11 years now! We sound great, but I think what draws people in the most (besides my vocals and my guys’ musical talent) is that we are a fun band that has a blast playing together.
Me and my husband are half the band, and we have been together romantically since 1998. It’s a dream playing in my own band with my best friend. He has been through it all with me. Before the band he played with just me as an acoustic duet. Then we added a female bassist and performed as a trio, and now we are 2-pieces of the 4-piece that makes up Debbie and the Good Man Band. It has been such a treat experiencing my originals that I wrote, progress from just me and my guitar and his jembe drum, to the full-band jams that they are today.
You can find our album WTH at debbieandthegoodmanband.hearnow.com. The cover is amazing LA local artist Chalavie!
You can see us live every year in Baja Blues on the final weekend of the Orange County Fair!
You might have heard my song Beautiful Girl playing at a grocery store anywhere in the country – a song about finding acceptance after the loss of someone dear.
An avid songwriter and journalism major, I am also in the final steps of putting together my freelance copywriting career. I’ll see where that takes me, but as long as I continue to write, sing and play – I feel like that is what I am meant to do (besides HAVE FUN!)
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I mean, everyone finds their own purpose, but when my mom inevitably asks me all the time: What’s it all about? What is life for? My answer is ALWAYS: TO HAVE FUN. I’m a yes person when it comes to adventures, traveling, hanging and doing fun things. I find joy in singing, writing, and I have always said that if any of these things become un-fun, I’ll stop. Debbie and the Good Man Band is a hard-working, joke-cracking good time, and somehow more-so as the years pass!
To quote John Lennon, like I do at the end of all of my emails: “When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
Why? I don’t believe there is a reason, and maybe that’s why you should just enjoy it – because what if there is no reason for life? At least you had fun! At least you caused fun for others. I won’t look back on my life and list my accomplishments, I will smile and think about how much fun I had!
Pricing:
- $10.99 on https://music.apple.com/us/artist/debbie-goodman/402740092
- name your price at https://debbiegoodman.bandcamp.com/album/sugar-monster
- $7 album WTH at https://debbieandthegoodmanband.bandcamp.com/album/wth
- Get the Music at https://debbieandthegoodmanband.hearnow.com/
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.DebbieGoodManBand.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbieandthegoodmanband/?hl=ne
- Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/DebbieGoodmanRocks
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-goodman-a818b622b
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/WwpJ5pGXSOE?si=cWbK0C-OH8Nm_BnM
- Other: https://debbieandthegoodmanband.hearnow.com/
