Today we’d like to introduce you to Doña Oxford.
Doña, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As a child I was always an entertainer. I wanted to be Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler or Cher. I guess I was born with the desire to be a gay icon!! I wanted to do it all; dance, sing, act, play instruments, write, create.
I truly believe that what you set your intention on becomes reality. At age nine, My mom enrolled me in a theater arts school in upstate NY and from there I flourished. I attended NYU for a year, which brought me to NYC, and that’s what introduced me to the live music nightclub scene. I quickly escalated through the ranks of the jammers at the famous Dan Lynch Blues Bar on Second avenue and through that experience I started getting hired by various bands as a sideman.
Now, I always had a fondness for The Blues, Ragtime, early Rock & Roll and R&B. One fateful night, a club owner called me in a panic. His headliner was former Chuck Berry keyboardist of 30 years, Johnnie Johnson. The club forgot to rent a keyboard for the show and needed to borrow one from a local musician. Of course, I had one condition: that I get to open the show. I was honored… I’d get to open for my idol and he would be playing MY keyboard! That night set off a friendship/mentorship between me & Johnnie Johnson. And because he was so highly regarded among many affluent and legendary Rock & Roller’s, I got to play with the likes of Keith Richards, Van Morrison, Bob Weir, Levon Helm, Roger Daltrey and many others.
But after a solid 20 year career as a touring musician, I found myself becoming disillusioned with the industry. Touring was no longer lucrative. there was a new business model: Streaming music. So, in 2005 I moved to LA in hopes of finding a niche as a film composer & music writer, to capitalize on the new streaming industry, and while I did pretty well, a part of me still longed for the days of my childhood, acting and dancing. I AM a born performer… it’s just in my blood. While I love being in a recording studio and working on music, I really need to be on stage or in front of a camera.
So, I took a break from touring and took the leap of faith and jumped into an acting class in Hollywood. Again, I truly believe that what you set your intention on becomes reality. Within a month I had been cast as a series regular in an upcoming new TV show and found an agent and manager. While Covid-19 has put a hold on my plans, the entertainer in me has not stopped. I continue to do online concerts and self-taped auditions for film & TV. I find opportunities wherever I can.
Has it been a smooth road?
I have had quite an amazing life. I feel what some call failures or setbacks, I see as learning experiences. Of course, being a self-employed artist has many challenges. You never know where your next paycheck, or meal is coming from. Over time industries change, you have to adapt. But I find, no matter how low I get, I always land on my feet. It’s about always following your gut, your inner guidance system. That’s the thing that keeps me afloat.
My lowest point was probably around 2016 when I realized that my touring days were probably coming to an end. It’s just not as lucrative as it was back in the day. So, I had to adapt. It took about a year of having a pity party and feeling bad about myself to finally kick myself in the butt and get off the sofa and CHOOSE to live my life to the fullest by getting back into acting, and finding new ways to continue to entertain.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Doña Oxford story. Tell us more about the business.
I feel as if I’ve lived nine lives, which makes for some great stories/memories. When I was nine years old my mother got a job as the Registrar for a theater arts school of a professional theater company in Albany, NY. Whenever the adult productions needed a kid in the show, they always grabbed me. I got to work alongside top professionals like Orson Bean, James Whitmore & Broadway actress Lynnie Godfrey at an early age. When you are surrounded by that level of professionalism at an early age you can’t help but grow quickly.
When I was 17, I was the first White Female Rapper signed to a Major Label. Rap was all the rage. Run DMC and LL Cool J were at the top of the charts. The Beastie Boys had just broken out. So, The Arsenio Hall show was looking to debut a white female rapper. Around that time, I was waitressing at a nightclub and was dabbling in this new genre. One day I jokingly rapped a verse about my name to a customer who, unbeknownst to me, happened to work for Fever Records and who was scouting for the TV show. All was going great until they wanted to change my name, dye my hair, change my eye color and make me something completely different that who I was. I freaked out. At 17, I just wasn’t ready to have my entire identity dismantled. While I didn’t follow through, it was a great insight into the inner workings of the industry.
Then when I was 20, I auditioned for Bob Fosse a month before he died. He was casting chorus girls for the revival of Sweet Charity at the Kennedy Center in DC. While floating across the stage with 50 other girls, he approached me and singled me out to do a solo. While ultimate he didn’t cast me, I feel as if he saw something special in me that drew him to single me out.
I’ve got amazing stories about Keith Richards, Prince, Van Morrison & Roger Daltrey, too. Drummer Ginger Baker even threatened to kill me!! There are embarrassing moments that made me stronger, failures that encouraged me to go on and successes that even took me off in different directions than I intended. I’ve had so many opportunities to meet and perform in front of these ‘life teachers’. While the outcomes are not always what I hope for, the paths that they have laid for me is an education that is invaluable.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The music industry has already changed so dramatically over the last ten years with the disappearance of CD’s and the introduction of streaming & downloads. Many artists are shifting to a subscription-based platform or selling other types of merchandise to replace CD sales. Since Covid-19, the music industry has virtually come to a stop. Venues are closed so there’s nowhere to play. Some artists have taken to playing in the streets and doing online concerts with a virtual tip bucket through PayPal or Venmo. I myself am taking this time to reassess and to find ways to keep my entertaining spirit engaged.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.donaoxford.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/donaoxford
- Facebook: facebook.com/donaoxford
- Twitter: twitter.com/donaoxford
Image Credit:
Goatious Foot, Mike Kendall, David Sobel, David Chan, Eric Varenne, Matt Tregenza
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