It’s gotcha covered over a wide spectrum of music. They play songs from The Beatles, Van Morrison, Sting, The Neville Brothers, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Duke Ellington, T-Bone Walker, Bill Withers and more. There are two new Debra Farris originals as well.

“We did the bulk of the recordings in 3 full band sessions. We put all the players in isolation booths so we could all see each other but the instrument sounds didn’t bleed together. That way Ed Layola (sound engineer at 7 South Studios) could keep the volume and EQ of each track separate for mixing later. We are used to playing live, so we just counted off and played the tunes. It didn’t take us more that 3 takes on any song to find a take we liked, so the initial recordings are essentially studio live. I went back and overdubbed my scratch vocal, sang all the harmonies, played harmonica and trumpet later, and Michael Hallstrom came back and redid a couple of his lead guitar solos. I like expediency in the studio. I think it gives a fresh sound that’s not overproduced. I like the clean, syncopated arrangements of the songs, and they are a combination of my style requests, and the nature of the players who played. Many of the songs are tunes I loved in my younger years, while others I learned directly from my Dad. (Don’t Get Around Much Anymore and Route 66).

It often occurs to me that people in an audience want to hear music that makes them feel good, and I find that upbeat, toe-tapping tunes do just that. It seems that songs that audiences can recognize and sing along with also is a good way to connect with people. Don’t get me wrong, I love to sing my originals more than anything, and by creating fresh new arrangements of old favorite songs, I have made them “mine” as well. It’s both unique and usual for all the backup harmonies to be sung by me. I grew up singing with the Beatles, Peter Paul and Mary, James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, Elton John, Toto, and friends and family. There was always multiple voices and parts to discern, and I got good at finding any part of the harmony, even if it was obscure. I think of singing simple harmony like synchronized swimming. One note is low in the tonic, one in the middle, and one up high, and they all move in the same pattern, up or down at the same time. Once I got that down, I began listening to songs with obscure harmonies where one line didn’t follow the pattern. It has always been a fun challenge for me. I once pulled my dad aside and sang a created harmony with James Taylor’s Millworker song. It was obscure, and beautiful. My dad listened intently and then said, “Deb, You sing amazing harmony. Heck, you could sing harmony with a fence post”… I’ll take that as a compliment!"-Deb

You can listen to samples on the Home page, purchase Gotcha Covered at the Store, or download mp3 files.