Deb Cavanaugh – Thanks for Asking!

Deb Cavanaugh – Thanks for Asking! – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: What was the very first reaction to your music, from the first person to ever hear so much as a practice jam or the demo of your first song?

DC: This is a tough one because I’ve been singing my whole life. When I was fourteen, a neighbor heard me sing and pressured my parents to get me voice lessons. That led to meeting Duke Ellington and starting to get gigs. Later on, my first two long term partners told me they fell in love with me when they heard me sing. I wasn’t so sure I liked that.

RRX: “The best laid plans of mice and men…” I don’t really know the quote, but I know this one; sh*t happens. When we least expect it, calamity befalls us. Sometimes just comic inconvenience. Please tell us a story about some comic inconvenience that happened to you whilst performing?

DCI haven’t had many mishaps but have struggled with electronics constantly. I’m totally ignorant about them. I didn’t start playing guitar until I was forty and started using electronics even later. When playing Lena-Go-Round at Caffe Lena with Erin Harkes, Ryan Leddick and Jacob Shipley, the battery in my guitar pickup went bad in the middle of the show and made horrible noises. I had no idea what was wrong with it and ended up using Jacob’s guitar. I was embarrassed afterwards when Joe, the sound guy, told me about the battery.

RRX: My singer punched my drummer out. Memorable moment, though nothing to brag about. But we have these things that, when summing up your endeavor, an incident comes to mind. What do you got?

DC: I remember playing at the Chateau Lounge in Albany with General Eclectic when Paul’s guitar strap came off and sent his guitar flying up and away from him. He managed to hold on with  his chording hand and spent the rest of the song hopping around on one foot and holding the guitar up with his other knee while I took over the vocals.

RRX: We have to play somewhere, and sometimes those places have more going for them than a stage and a power outlet. What is a memorable place you played, and bonus points if it’s not a well-known place.

DC: Cavanaugh & Kavanaugh played at an art gallery in Windsor, Connecticut. It  was an old train station and was small enough that we really didn’t even need amplification.  The acoustics were amazing, and the place was packed with a very enthusiastic crowd. We made more money that gig than any other between merch, donations and ticket sales.

RRX: Playing out is tricky because you never know what’s going to happen when you get there. Sometimes everything goes wrong. What was your worst show like?

DC: My husband (Paul) and I had recently arrived in the area from Oregon and were invited to be part of a Battle of the Bands somewhere in the rural area around Albany. The other bands were not very friendly, and we felt out of place not knowing anyone. THe first thing that happened during our three song set was our drummer fell off the stage into a table full of bikers who just picked him up on his stool and set him back on the stage. Minutes later, we realized that the monitors had been disconnected. The stage was a weird L shape with the drummer on the short end and everyone else in a straight line. We couldn’t hear a thing. I looked up and realized Paul was singing the chorus while I sang a verse. We were mortified at the end, sure that we had no chance of winning. Despite the craziness, everyone raved about our unique arrangement, and we ended up placing in the top three.

RRX: Would you rather have one of your songs blow up and make you a one-hit wonder and household name, or would you rather have all your songs be solidly received, but no chart-climbers? (You have to pick one or the other here.)

DC: I would definitely rather have them all received well. I have no aspirations of fame and fortune.

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