Getting to Know . . . Deborah Holland (from the Refugees)
 by Kathy S-B  ·  20 September 2009

Deborah Holland is the Refugee that I knew the least about so it was fun researching her and asking her these questions for the blog. Deborah teaches at California State University at Los Angeles and has been recording and touring with the Refugees this year. Check out Deborah and her solo recordings at www.deborahholland.net. And get to know the Refugees.

You were part of a trio called Animal Logic (jazz great Stanley Clarke, Stewart Copeland from the Police and Deb Holland). I read that Stanley and Stewart auditioned hundreds of singer/songwriters and found you eventually and before you knew it you were writing and singing all their songs and on tour with them. That must have been a pretty wild adventure.

I think the “hundreds” was a bit of an exaggeration but it’s true that I went from total obscurity (largest audience maybe 50) to playing in front of 8,000 people in Brazil in a matter of weeks! I was completely green as to the workings of the music business and had two amazing teachers.

Your latest solo CD “Bad Girl Once” is such an interesting collection of songs that do actually blend and blur so many different genres. I hear a lot of recordings that successfully merge blues and folk and even jazz but I have to say that yours is the first one that I’ve heard that also includes electronica. I don’t think I’ll ever hear “Hard Times Come Again No More” quite the same way. What inspired you to add electronica to your repertoire?

Budget (meaning lack of)! all kidding aside, I’ve always enjoyed pushing my own envelopes. I didn’t intend for it to be completely “un-natural” but the more I played with the vocal samples and loops the more I liked the idea of taking a song from the 1800s and giving it a 2000 production

Many of your songs have a real intelligent humorous flavor to them. Are you naturally witty and wise or do you have to work on it? ;-)

I’m naturally dull and depressing! I definitely have to work on it.

You have written scores and songs for a number of film and TV projects. Can you tell us a bit about that type of work? It must be a pretty precise kind of work — timing and atmosphere are key, I imagine.

Writing music for film and TV is very different than writing just for yourself in that the person you have to please is the director and/or producer. If you’re lucky, you will have pleased yourself as well but that’s not always the case.

We definitely want to know more about your current band, the Refugees. How did that come about? What’s it like working with Wendy Waldman and Cindy Bullens?

With due respect to Animal Logic, The Refugees is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. We have a tremendous amount of fun on and off stage and when you reach a certain “maturity,” nothing that doesn’t have the element of joy is worth doing, especially when it involves a whole lot of hard work and sacrifice. We met through various connections over the years and came together hoping that strength in numbers would be a good career move. We didn’t know how much we would enjoy each other’s company both socially and musically.