"Not Only In Her Dreams", 1987 Chicago Sun article transcription

[Woops]

from defunct Deb.org and thankfully was posted on another board

"Not Only In Her Dreams: The Real Life Success Story of Debbie Gibson"

by Miriam Epstein


Slim and perky, Debbie Gibson bops into the living room of her Long Island
home wearing her ID number shirt and jeans. She rearranges the unfolded laundry
strewn about the couch and sits near the baby grand. While she talks, her
miniature dachshund, Sam, barks excitedly at the steady stream of friends who
let themselves in and head downstairs to watch MTV. In the kitchen, two phones
are ringing and a television crew busily sets up lights and cameras downstairs.
The energy in the house is contagious. This year has been a very Sweet Sixteen
for Debbie Gibson.

With the release of her debut album "Out of the Blue" and the Top Ten
success of her single "Only In My Dreams," Debbie is on her way to rock
superstardom. Hailed as the next female pop sensation, Debbie's music and image
are somehow both sexy and innocent. Imagine the unlikely combining of Madonna's
funkiness with Amy Grant's warmth and you have the beginnings of Debbie
Gibson's appeal. Not only does she have an engaging voice, she writes all her
own music and is an accomplished classically trained pianist.



As a toddler Debbie used to listen to the radio and pick out songs by ear.
"I'd put my ear to the speaker in my bedroom." says Debbie pointing down the
hall, "and run back here to the piano and play - left and right hands together.
Classical music gave me a good foundation. When I was little I could play 15
classical pieces. I would put a ragtime beat to jazz them up for fun."
Songwriting also came naturally to Debbie at a young age. At 12 she won a
songwriters contest for her song "I Come From America," inspired by one of her
summer vacations spent traveling with her family.

Debbie's songwriting became so prolific that anything and everything turned
into subject matter for her songs. "I'm very observant of everything that goes
on around me," says Debbie. "I get ideas form reading teen romances, movies,
friends, my older sisters - and sometimes a phrase will spark me to make up a
story." Now, it takes Debbie 15 minutes to write most of her songs. It's not
surprising for this album she choose from her library of over 200.




LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION.......

The studio where Debbie writes and records is crammed with electronic
equipment including a stack of three keyboards, synthesizers, and a multi-track
recording device, and (backed against the wall) the family's washer and dryer.
The television crew has her cornered under Billy Joel, George Michael, and Paul
Young posters, while her friends tell "Debbie Gibson" stories in her room.

"It's weird to see someone you've been friends with all your life on TV and
in magazines and stuff: it's really strange, People are like, you know, did she
change and stuff, like her attitudes - she hasn't changed at all," says Melissa
Nader, 16. "She's still really thoughtful. She goes places and brings us back
gifts. I mean she doesn't have to do that, you know. Some people wouldn't
remember to do that ordinarily and meanwhile she's so busy and she's doing it."

"Deb hasn't changed at all since I've known her," says Mike Provenz, 17.
"She still likes to go to the movies when she has time. The questions come a
lot: 'Is she still the same person? How much money does she make?' Her success
really hasn't affected her in any way." During a break from the taping

Debbie pokes her head in to Check on her friends. "Hey Deb, got any food?"
asks Ron. "Yeah," she answers. "I think we have some chocolate chip cookies
upstairs." "Great, can you get me some milk with that?" Imagine Madonna's
friends asking HER for milk and cookies. Debbie has no problems with this.

"My friends and I are kinda like your typical all-American teens," she
says. "We have fun going to movies, malls, and just hanging out at someone's
house. They haven't changed towards me, 'cause I haven't changed towards them.

Everyone has their own interests, you know, some of the guys are into their
sports - we all go cheer them on. I have friends that are into tennis and we'll
go watch their matches. So, I'll perform and my friends will come see me. It's
all kind of the same thing."

[Woops]

continued...

Debbie also gets a lot of support from her family. In fact, her career is
something of a family business. Her sister Michelle, 20, designs her costumes
and Karen, 22, is her sound engineer. Mom actively oversees the business while
Dad is always ready with one-liners to keep things on the light side.

"My goal from the start," says Mom, "has always been to keep the family
together." Debbie's doing more than her part. Amid all the hoopla of planning
her first major tour, Debbie takes time out to plan a surprise party for
13-year-old sister Denise.

Beyond family and friends, Debbie can rely on her many fans for support.
"If I ever want to be cheered up," says Debbie, "I read my fan mail. It's a lot
of fun. I've been pretty much keeping up with the writing back, even if it's a
short note to thank them.

The age group is 10-24. One young girl wrote, "I like to sing and now I
know I can make it at a young age if I work hard." It's good, kids relate to me
because I'm close to their age and it gives them hope to keep following what
they want to do."

====================INSERT CAPTION==============
DEBBIE HAS ONLY WRITTEN ONE FAN LETTER IN HER LIFE AND THAT WAS TO GEORGE
MICHAEL. "I know I would have died if I would have gotten a response, but I
didn't, I understand that he must get 1,000 letters a day." Debbie Gibson
===============================================

SHE KEEPS IN TOUCH.......

Debbie's fans are vitally important to her. Thats obvious from seeing her
on stage. At a recent show in New York's Palladium, she often leaned into the
audience to grasp the hands of all within reach.

Despite having spent the two weeks shooting the "Shake Your Love" video in
Los Angeles and performing in England. Debbie worked the crowd like an old pro.
"It's fun," she says. "I'm not an untouchable person, I often pull people on
stage to dance, Or, I'll jump into the audience in the middle of a number like
'Only In My Dreams.' "

Anticipating performing at larger venues, Debbie intends to "keep in touch"
with her audience. "I saw Kenny G open for a Whitney Houston concert," says
Debbie admiringly, "and he walked around the stadium playing his saxophone - it
was wild!"

If she appears totally at home on stage, thats because she is. Debbie has
worked in the entertainment business since age four. She started in community
theater productions, participated in school choir, appeared in TV commercials,
and even auditioned for Broadway plays - all the while continuing with her
music and learning lessons about the value of pursuing your goals despite
obstacles.



Debbie remembers the difficulty she had breaking into commercials. It took
two years before getting her first part, but Debbie refused to accept failure.
Instead she saw every audition that didn't result in a call-back as a hidden
opportunity. "One thing opens the door for another," she says of her never give
up attitude.

Her motto proved correct. Some heave decisions though, came up along the
way. "Some people don't realize what's involved," says Debbie. "They think you
wake up one morning and fins an envelope with Ed McMahon's picture on it saying
'You have won a recording contract,' What they don't realize is that how much
work you put in you get back."

At age 14 she was offered a contract by Atlantic Records to record an album
- but not of her own songs. Debbie kept her desires in check and like she
always does, "thought through to what would be the best in the long run."
Though anxious to record, she waited to strike a deal for her first album of
her OWN songs with an agreement to do as much of her own production as
possible.

The demands of a career in the music business keeps Debbie furiously
flexing her decision-making muscles - constant exercise of which she welcomes
with the responsibility of being her own boss. Besides hiring her musical
director, choreographer, and dancers, she keeps a close eye on her placement in
the music charts and manages her budget. Right now all the money comming in
goes back into the business to cover current expenses and provide a cushion for
future costs like promotional gigs and new equipment.  

[Woops]

conclusion...

Debbie is confident that if she sticks to her game plan, "there will be
time for spending money on flashy things LATER." After all this hard work and
having come so far, Debbie doesn't plan to fade back into the blue. She has
pointedly observed the qualities of those in the business who have sustained
themselves over time. "They don't have attitudes," she says, "They've been
around a long time because they didn't get wrapped up in it - they know what
their responsibilities are, they know why they're doing it - because they love
music. The people who have attitudes are the ones you run across who have one
record out and suddenly think they're it.

Even having your picture in magazines is meaningless unless you've really
know that it's still a lot of work and there are responsibilities and you're not going to make instant money, then you're not going to get caught up in it.
My real concern is being in the studio and being on stage - that's the fun."

=======VITAL STATS==========


CURRENT FAVES
Favorite Movies - Dirty Dancing, Grease.
Favorite Musicians - Billy Joel, George Michael, Whitney Houston, T'pau,
Robbie Neville, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson.
Dream Cars - '57 Pink Cadillac, '55 Red and White Corvette.
Motto To Live By - "Never Sacrifice Your Beliefs."
Family Tradition - To spend every New Year's Eve at home.
Pick Quote - "I still love teddybears and I get embarrassed talking
about guys."
Advice - Be honest with your parents.
Commercials - (appeared from ages 11-14) Mandy's, Commodore Computers,
Wendy's Hamburgers, and others.
Career Goals - Continue recording music and performing. Play a role in
Les Miserables.
 

After High School - Attend college close to home to study languages and music.
Favorite Classical Piece - "Russian Picnic"

[Out of the Blue]

I remember when that article came out.  At that time there hadn't been that many articles or interviews with or about her.