2013 Christmas Stories.
Wake up! Here you’ll find all the Christmas Stories recorded exclusively for the 2013 edition of my 25-Hour Holiday Radio Show on WPRB. I’ve posted them in the order they originally aired during the marathon.
Please click on the links provided and support these musicians, artists and talented individuals who were so kind to tape remarkable original pieces for the show. Follow them on Twitter! Like them on Facebook! Buy their records and books! Watch their movies and TV shows! Support their events!
2012’s Christmas Stories can be enjoyed here. 2011’s Christmas Stories are here.
Rick Rizzo – Shut It Down
Rick Rizzo is a founding member of Eleventh Dream Day, who celebrate 30 years as one of America’s finest, most consistent rock institutions in 2014.
My Bloody Christmastime – Christmas Ain’t Like Christmas Anymore
Three talented friends assembled under the MBC moniker to record this Kitty Wells cover.
Jeff Zeigler is a musician and record-maker who lives in Philadelphia and enjoys soup dumplings and dense sonic landscapes.
Mikele Edwards, a longtime Philly resident and member of Arc in Round, has most recently formed a new group called Myrrias.
Mary Lattimore is a harpist based in Philadelphia and is currently working on a Lattimore/Zeigler Duo record to be released sometime in 2014.
Sadie Dupuis – X Actually (demo)
Sadie Dupuis is the guitarist and singer in Speedy Ortiz, as well as a Massachusetts-based writer. Two many beers is too many beers to write a biographical blurb.
Speedy Ortiz are also on the Facebook and inexplicably, the LiveJournal.
Modern Hut – Jingle Bells
Playing “extreme loner folk” with a 2013 album on Don Giovanni Records titled “Genetic Treasure,” Modern Hut for this recording is Joe Steinhardt with guitar solo assistance from and backing vocals by Screaming Females’ Marissa Paternoster.
Glenn Mercer – Blue Christmas
The first of two covers recorded by Glenn Mercer of The Feelies for this year’s marathon is a re-working of a song made famous by Elvis Presley.
Screaming Females – I Got A [ ] For Christmas
Brief story: I received a call during the show on Christmas Eve from Marissa of Screaming Females. She and Jarrett of this tremendous New Jersey trio had been listening in and were inspired. They wanted to know if they could record a song on the spot and if they did, would I would be interested in playing it? The answer to both questions was an easy “yes” and this cleaned-up rendition of a Nerf Herder song arrived in my inbox a couple hours later. It rules. – JS
Screaming Females are recording a live album later this month at The Hideout in Chicago, due for subsequent release on Don Giovanni Records.
Josh Kantor – Christmastime Is Here
Since 2003, Josh Kantor has had his dream job, which is playing the organ for Boston Red Sox games at Fenway Park. He plays organ, piano, and accordion in the Baseball Project, the Split Squad, and Jim’s Big Ego. He has played organ on ESPN and at Boston Symphony Hall on multiple occasions. In 2013 he performed with members of R.E.M., Blondie, the Plimsouls, the Posies, Bad Company, the Silos, and Drivin’ ‘N’ Cryin’, and with the Dream Syndicate, the Fleshtones, the So So Glos, Chuck Prophet, Ben Gibbard, Jon Langford, Erin McKeown, Jon Wurster, Robyn Hitchcock, Susan Cowsill, Joseph Arthur, G.E. Smith, Joan Osborne, Trombone Shorty, Paula Cole, and a bunch of other folks. Josh takes song requests (and replies to feedback) via Twitter during Red Sox home games.
Minibeast – Thing For Xmas
Minibeast is the musical creation of Peter Prescott (Mission Of Burma, Volcano Suns, Kustomized, Peer Group). Minibeast combines surf, psych, punk, easy listening, 60’s children’s music, and soundtrack influences to create instrumental soundscapes.
Stephen Sowley – Christmas Story
Stephen Sowley is much nicer than he appears when he’s on stage with his band, Fake Limbs. He used to write about records in a couple places. He has a blog but it’s weird and embarrassing so, forget all that. He once sent Tom Scharpling a YouTube clip advertising ICP’s “The Gathering Of The Juggalos.” He lives in Chicago, he has a wonderful partner, two cats, a bike, a debilitating taco addiction and occasionally Steve Albini will make him lunch. He doesn’t do the namedropping thing as much as this bio implies.
Because it is mentioned in Stephen’s story, here’s Bert and Ernie’s “Gift of the Magi” for reference. – JS
Jon Daly and Nick Thorburn – Surfin’ Santa
Comedian and actor Jon Daly can be seen on Amazon’s Betas, Comedy Central’s Kroll Show and in the motion picture The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty.
Nick Thorburn is a member of the band Islands. Their most recent album is 2013’s “Ski Mask.”
Jes Skolnik – Christmas Story
Jes Skolnik plays in the band Split Feet and writes on music, politics and the personal ramifications of culture for The Media, and other cultural institutions you might have heard of. They’re currently working on organizing Fed Up Fest, a queercore fest in Chicago, with some other fine folks, and analyzing romantic comedies to death at Killed By Romcoms. (They’re also hitched to Stephen Sowley, who also contributed to this program.)
Plywood – Old Toy Trains
Mason Pitzel plays baritone guitar and bass in the rock band These Estates, and plays the Beyer M81 in the smaller-format rock band Plywood. He’s from Regina, Canada and is about six feet tall.
The Greenberg Family Workshop – G&A Silent Night / Holiday Door To Door / Jingle Bells Georgia / Holiday Marimba / I Love M&Ms / Greenberg Bells / See The Snow / Under Blankets – 2013 Christmas Stories
Mark, Ann-Marie, Georgia, August, and Frankie Greenberg make art and music at the Greenberg Family Workshop. In their spare time they laugh, eat sandwiches, and shovel snow. Future plans include making more artwork, music, and animation and saving up for a snow blower.
In addition I should add that Mark Greenberg was a member of The Coctails and presently runs Mayfair Workshop, a custom music composing and music supervision service. – JS
David Nagler – Wenceslas Meditations
David Nagler is the founder and frontperson of New York metropolitan area pop group Nova Social. He is the guitarist and keyboardist for Wesley Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders variety show, he arranged a Welsh men’s choir for Jon Langford’s Skull Orchard, and he has toured, recorded and/or performed with Mark Eitzel, Tanya Donelly, The System, Chris Mills and more.
The most effortlessly talented dude I know? Quite possibly. – JS
Kyle Glide – An Extreme Snowtuber Who Used To Manage David Sedaris At The Time Of The Santaland Diaries
Kyle Glide is one of the top-ranked extreme snowtubers in the world. A native of Glens Falls, NY, he prides himself on his mastery of the slopes as well as increasing the brand awareness of Nantucket Nectars and Oikos Greek Yogurt, his two sponsors. He was assisted in telling this story by Gregg Gethard, a writer who lives in Philadelphia.
Doug Gillard/David Gillard – Jingle Bells With Dad
Doug Gillard is a songwriter/guitarist/solo artist/mutli-instrumentalist who is/has been a member of…Guided By Voices, Nada Surf, Death Of Samantha, Bambi Kino, Lifeguards and Robert Pollard with Doug Gillard. He’s a sometime Mascott collaborator, a sometime Sally Crewe collaborator, and we haven’t yet mentioned Cobra Verde, Children’s Crusade, My Dad Is Dead, Gem and The Oranges Band. That doesn’t even include his work as an occasional music producer, occasional soundtrack recorder and as an ex-college radio DJ. Phew.
Therese Mahler and Amedeo Turturro – Let Them Know It’s An All Talk Christmas
All Talk is a podcast made up of the mic break that transitions between the early Sunday morning WFMU programs of Therese Mahler and Amedeo Turturro. This “mini-episode” of All Talk is non-canonical, recorded especially for the marathon.
Clay Cole and Sleepy Volcano – Christmas In Oakland
Rebecca Clay Cole plays keyboards in bands with her friends, such as The Minders, Wild Flag, and Telekinesis. She records her own music as Clay Cole, and believes in music, magic, science, and the next good time.
This song was originally performed by Advanced Base.
Edith Frost with James Dering – O Little Town of Bethlehem
Edith Frost can be found on her website and/or Twitter.
James Dering hosts the Better Piano podcast.
Since Edith didn’t mention the albums she released on Drag City, I will! – JS
David Hill (produced by Cameron Fleming) – Gift of the Magi(cian)
David Hill writes and performs sketch comedy with both The Charlies and the UCB house team Ripley. He is a regular contributor to Grantland and his writing has appeared in such places as McSweeneys, New York Magazine and The New York Times. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two kids. Keep up with him on Tumblr or Twitter.
Kyle Whelliston – The Year I Ran The Marathon
Kyle Whelliston is a DJ on CHIRP Radio where he hosts Foxbase Gamma. He was the founder of the Mid-Majority and is a systems analyst and information designer who presently resides Chicago’s Logan Square.
Seth Herzog – Wrong House
Seth Herzog is a popular New York City comedian, who is currently a regular sketch performer and the resident comedian for “Late NIght with Jimmy Fallon.” He’s also about to be the co-host of Nat Geo’s new comedy/science show “Duck Quacks Don’t Echo.” He’s also been a regular commentator on VH1 for the last nine years, and has had some memorable parts on NBC’s “30 Rock,” Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show” & “Stella” CBS’s “Love Monkey,” and E!’s “Number 1 Single.” On the big screen, you may have seen him in “Role Models,” “Prime,” “The Baxter” “The Ten,” “In the Weeds,” and “Safe Men.” He’s the producer and host of the popular long-running downtown New York comedy showcase Sweet. This year, he’s appeared on the new season of Comedy Central’s “John Oliver’s NY Stand Up Show” and was a pop culture satirist for E! News and is a part of Jimmy Fallon’s “Clean Cut Comedy” Tour.
Wild Carnation – The Praise of Christmas (To Drive the Cold Winter Away)
Brenda Sauter (The Feelies, Speed the Plough, The Trypes), Richard Barnes, Christopher O’Donovan and Anne Hopkins are Wild Carnation. Feel free to befriend the band on Facebook.
The first two verses of this song were written by Tom Durfey (1653-1723). It was recorded by combining vocals, pump organ, sleigh bells, drum, Roland keyboard, acoustic guitar, electric EBow guitar and a mandola.
The Rutabega – Every Time A Bell Rings, An Angel Falls Apart
South Bend, Indiana’s Joshua Wayne Hensley has been writing, recording, and birthing quirky sad-bastard songs under The Rutabega moniker since early 2002. In 2011 Joshua joined forces with multi-instrumentalist Garth Mason, and The Rutabega evolved into a bona fide Carp Rock power-duo (minus the blues, plus the creepy). Their newest album “Brother The Lights Don’t Work,” is the culmination of two+ years of sweaty rock shows, plasma sales, and tears. This eight song LP is available on vinyl, CD, and as a download through the band’s Bandcamp site.
Betsy Herbert – Santa’s Creepy
Betsy Herbert is a writer living in Philadelphia with her partner and her dog. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University. She’s had a short story published in Philadelphia City Paper.
She is working on a novel — along with other short stories, screenplays, plays, fiction and non-fiction. She also loves to make radio pieces. And, she has a new Soundcloud account.
Glenn Mercer – White Christmas
The second of the two covers recorded by Glenn Mercer of The Feelies for this year’s marathon is a re-working of a tune written by Irving Berlin.
Rick Rizzo – Christmas Eve 1988
In addition to the original song posted near the top of this lengthy post, Rick Rizzo of Eleventh Dream Day also recorded a spoken word piece for the marathon.
Joel R.L. Phelps – And In Come The New Born Kings
Joel Phelps is a member of The Downer Trio, who released the incredible album “Gala” on 12XU last year. He also plays with the group Thine and is a Recovery Facilitator at Vancouver Coastal Health. Joel is the only artist to record a “Christmas Story” for the show each of the last three years. Many demos and new recordings of his have been posted on Soundcloud.
Carmine MacKaye (with Amy Farina) – Christmastime Is Over
Carmine lives with his family in Washington DC, and works for Ms. Anderson’s Kindergarten at Phoebe Hearst Elementary School.
Wow. That’s it! Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone. Thank you for your support during the show’s 25th-annual installment. You made my holidays exceptionally special and I’m deeply honored that I could be the soundtrack to yours.
Warmly,
Jon Solomon
103.3 fm WPRB