Last Fall, local singer Debbie Davis talked to OffBeat’s Brett Milano about her Christmas performance project with her husband, Matt Perrine. Davis told Milano, ““Christmas is a complicated time for a lot of people…The times we live in are certainly terrifying. So Christmas has a lot of gravitas, but it’s also a simpler thing: It’s a chance to be a better version of yourself, to think of others a little more. Sometimes I feel like I’m saving Christmas with this show, and sometimes I feel like Christmas is saving me.”
Locals and OffBeat fans will recognize Davis for her annual Christmas extravaganza where she gathers an all-star ensemble of friends to perform less than obvious holiday songs. Originally inspired by her 2014 album “Oh Crap, It’s Christmas,” Davis has performed her New Orleans Christmas spectacular for the past five years. Last December, Debbie Davis and Co. presented the fifth edition of their PROJECT at Café Istanbul but, as all things 2020 must be done a little differently, Davis is returning to her 2014 holiday album roots, hoping to record the second installment of “Oh Crap, It’s Christmas!”—this time with a family-friendly twist.
“[The] show was originally inspired by the album we released in 2014, “Oh Crap, It’s Christmas!” and was little more than a record release party gone wonderfully awry. For the next 5 years, the show took on a life of its own and, while still sourcing the record, grew to become a close knit group of musicians, guests and audience members, all of whom feel like family that you count on seeing once a year, no matter how good or bad that year was. This has been a rough year and, more than ever, we want and need that feeling of family and belonging. It is in that spirit that we hope to create ‘Oh Crap, It’s Christmas! Volume 2: A Family Album,” says Davis.
In order to fulfill her goal, Davis is hoping fans of the show and album will contribute financially to make her Christmas dream a reality.
“As the first performance was inspired by the original recording, the next recording will attempt to capture the warmth, fun and musical range of the performances that have occurred over the last 6 years. I’m pleased to say that we have become a new tradition for many people, musicians and audience members alike. We’ll be recording with the house band we’ve been using in large part since day one: Josh Paxton on piano; Alex McMurray on guitar; Andre Bohren on drums; Jack Craft on cello, glockenspiel and acoustic guitar; Matt Perrine on bass, sousaphone and music director and Debbie Davis (hey, that’s me!) as the erstwhile mistress of ceremonies. Our special guests will include local luminaries Susan Cowsill, Paul Sanchez, and Dayna Kurtz as well as members of my immediate family, Barbara Smith-Davis (my mother and operatic soprano singing “Oh Holy Night”); Darwin Davis (my sister and Dallas Indy darling performing her original song, “Grandmother Christmas,” written about ourgGrandmother); Ben Perrine (my son and multi-instrumentalist student at NOCCA who has appeared at NOJHF and FQF with Bonerama, Gretna Fest with Paul Sanchez, etc playing guitar and drums); and JB Davis (my father and operatic basso profundo who passed away in 2017 singing Sweet Little Jesus Boy).”
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