Debrissa onstage with her tenor saxophone

The career archive

Where the music has taken me.

The bands. The records. The stages. The places. The people I met and the music we made along the way.

Some of it lasted years. Some of it was one show, one recording session, one festival, or one unexpected collaboration.

There’s a lot here, and I’m probably still forgetting some of it. This is where I’m putting it all together.

Caught on camera

Years in motion.

Shows, studios, festivals, tours, and some moments I probably would’ve forgotten if somebody hadn’t taken a picture.

Debrissa singing into a microphone during a live performance
01 / 10Live performance · Asheville, North Carolina

01

Bands

I found my place
in all of it.

There were a lot of bands along the way. This is where they fall in the timeline.

And to be honest, I feel like I’m missing a few…

Debrissa sharing a microphone with George Clinton onstage
Debrissa with George Clinton · Photograph by David Oppenheimer

02

Collaborations & guest appearances

One mic with
George Clinton.

The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown

I was performing as one of the backup singers with a project band called The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown. More than thirty-five musicians filled the stage that night, including George Clinton, Belita Woods, Garry “Starchild” Shider and his wife Linda, Kendra Foster, Sidney Barnes, Laura Reed, and John Heintz.

When we arrived, I still hadn’t met George Clinton. I kept hoping he would come out and perform with us, but no one seemed to know where he was.

At one point, I slipped backstage to look around. I opened a curtain and there he was, sitting beside my friend Erica. Both of them had their eyes closed, completely still, meditating. I got such a kick out of it, quietly left them alone, and went back to the stage.

Then it was time for George to sing.

He came out, walked over, and jumped right onto the microphone with me.

Asheville photographer David Oppenheimer happened to capture that exact moment. When I saw the photograph, I was overjoyed. I had grown up listening to George Clinton’s music with my dad, so I immediately sent it to him.

Before my dad passed, he got to share that picture with all his friends.

Debrissa singing onstage with Gov’t Mule at Island Exodus in Jamaica

An archive moment

Let’s Go Crazy
in Jamaica.

Gov’t Mule Island Exodus · Jamaica · January 17, 2017

I joined Gov’t Mule onstage in Jamaica to sing Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.”

Empire Strikes Brass performing before a large crowd at the Asheville Civic Center
Empire Strikes Brass opening for Umphrey’s McGee · Asheville Civic Center · February 14, 2020

A planned collaboration

Umphrey’s
Strikes Brass.

Two stages · One night in Asheville

On February 14, 2020, Empire Strikes Brass opened for Umphrey’s McGee at the Asheville Civic Center. During Umphrey’s set, the Empire Strikes Brass horns joined them onstage.

After the main show, the music moved to Asheville Music Hall for a planned collaboration called Umphrey’s Strikes Brass.

Joel Cummins joined us on keys and Ryan Stasik on bass. I played saxophone and sang as the two bands were brought together for songs such as Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

By the time we got to Asheville Music Hall, it didn’t feel like an after-party or an extension of the first show. It was its own thing, and it was a blast.

WATCH “NO QUARTER”  →
Umphrey’s Strikes Brass performing at Asheville Music Hall
Umphrey’s Strikes Brass · Asheville Music Hall
Concert poster for Rakim with Free Radio at The Orange Peel
Rakim with Free Radio · The Orange Peel · December 11, 2022

Free Radio

Opening for
Rakim.

The Orange Peel · Asheville · December 11, 2022

Free Radio opened for Rakim at The Orange Peel in Asheville. We performed songs from our album Earthworms, along with some of Free Radio’s older material.

We loved doing mashups live. We would take popular hip-hop beats and perform our own songs over them, giving the set a different shape every time.

It was a great night. Real hip-hop heads come out for a Rakim show, and the room was full of them.

Debrissa and fellow musicians facing a festival crowd

Stages & places

I followed the music.
It took me everywhere.

Across states, across oceans, through cities I’d never seen and onto stages I’d only heard about.

I couldn’t have known everywhere the music would take me. These are some of the places it did.

BonnarooHulaweenJam CruiseWoodford Folk FestivalBuddy Daddy FestivalFloydFestJam in the DamLollapaloozaMiami Art BaselAustin City LimitsSXSWWinnipeg Folk FestivalLevitt Pavilion stages

The archive continues

There is always more to remember.

Some stories come back through photographs. Others through recordings, old flyers, familiar names, or a memory I hadn’t thought about in years.

As I remember them, I’ll keep adding them here.

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