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| Debbie Curtis - Swing Band Leader |
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Totally mad & grateful for it!
I'm Debbie Curtis, I've been a musician all my life, actually I tell a lie,
when I first left school my Mum made me take a job in a local toy shop, I left one week later, no thanks, not for me, where's my
guitar & keyboards!
My Dad taught me piano from age 4, both my parents were successful in the
music industry. Dad was a well known Trombone Player, Big Band Leader and Music Arranger. Mum was a singer working with all
the big TV and Radio acts of the time.
As a child I was surrounded by musicians & entertainers, so my influences are extremely varied. Our
house, and next door, who were also musicians, was often full of people playing instruments and making all kinds of music.
What I was oblivious to at the time was that a great many of these people
were extremely famous, I look back now and think 'wow' but as a child it just seemed the norm.
As I grew up I started forming bands and playing music with friends from school, the usual sort of thing.
I was concentrating on keyboards, writing and singing and the guitar was then secondary as an instrument.
I got frustrated with the usual 'pop' type band problems and took a solo approach. My then
manager built me a home studio, and I wrote and recorded using electronic sequencers & drum computers etc. I
found this much too lonely and ended up bringing in other musicians to record and had a separate backing band for live work. For my solo work It's stayed that way pretty much since, although I now have
regular musicians who I work with both in the studio and for gigs. The big difference now is that the guitar has become my
main instrument. My current solo project is Debbie Curtis & D-Ranged
I find the guitar more interesting to play than the keyboards and I've approached it from the angle that
as a female, I need to play it like a bloke to get any respect! So I've spent many an hour studying other guitarists,
I've never had any actual lessons, I've learnt it all from watching, listening and simply working it out for myself.
I'm often asked about the guitars and equipment I have, so rather than bore
those not interested, I've added a page for that purpose. If you're interested then click here My Gear
When my Dad died, I took on his Big Band Swing Orchestra, I'm most at home musically speaking here.
I love the live sound of a Big Band, it's huge, especially as the musicians are all immensely talented
& experienced professionals. Although it's a very different style of singing and dress code for that matter, I really
enjoy it! I am also intrigued by the history of Big Band Swing, the Band Leaders and the musicians. I've built up
a large collection of books on the subject and am constantly looking out for more!
After music, my next big love is Animals, I currently have 8 cats, 3
dogs, 2 horses & 4 crazy chickens. The cats are great because of their independent attitude, I like that, dogs, well,
they're great company and really loyal, (unlike a lot of people)! The horses are quite different, they're powerful
and yet gentle, intelligent yet daft, oh but they're expensive to keep! It's worth it though! I have
a field with stables just minutes up the road from where I live and its a home from home, I've made sure of
that with an old caravan equipped with a kettle, there's also the BBQ, a summerhouse and all that
sort of thing! Many a great day has been spent there with friends and family.
Over time I've had the pleasure of working with a number of top UK
artists as a musician, singer & Big Band Leader and I feel lucky.
I hope you enjoy the site, thanks for visiting and feel free to
contact me anytime, I'd be happy to hear from you on any subject.
Cheers & by the way, mine's a dry white wine spritzer, in a pint glass,
with plenty of ice & soda, thanks!
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