Phoebe began her public singing career in a Little Rascals-style neighborhood show she and Nick and their dad put together on an improvised stage in the basement of their home. That was 1997; the Pheebs was seven. The little family band went on to perform as The Stubblepuppies in countless shows (well, hundreds, all told) over the years, some as volunteers at rest homes and churches, some as paid, professional performers at fairs, business and private functions, and other venues. Meanwhile, Phoebe began performing in school musicals, taking the role of Gretel in Hansel and Gretel as well as other featured roles, both singing and dramatic.
No stranger to the recording studio, Phoebe cut her teeth on an SM58 mike plugged into her dad’s Tascam four-track every Christmas as the family put together a musical album to manufacture and give away as Christmas gifts. By 2000, the family was using PC-based digital recording to create CDs instead of cassettes, and in 2003, with new software and a digital movie camera, the Christmas “album” tradition gave way to a DVD complete with studio recordings accompanied by videos. With brother Nick acting as techno-maven in all this, Phoebe’s acting and presentational skills blossomed even further, and these creative, entertaining vignettes now attest to her success as a video performer.
Recently, a panel of judges notable for their stature in the music and broadcast business selected Phoebe’s video “Learn to Love” as a finalist in the Speak New Words contest sponsored by the American Students Fund. Like other videos Phoebe has performed in, this one was a collaboration with Nick in which Phoebe created melodies, harmonies and lyrics set to Nick’s musical composition.