II: Music is a part of the Season
One of the things that most people love and hate about the holiday season is the music. When you're a kid, it's thrilling when you start hearing Christmas music being played on television and in stores because you know Santa's on his way. As we grow older, the repetition of the same old carols begins to grate on the nerves, and the inclusion of the newest batch of hoping-to-be holiday classics by the pop singers du jour does little to quell the nausea.
Despite the seemingly ever progressively early arrival of these jingle-bell laden tunes each year and the familiar sense of pressure and holidayphobia that often accompany them, they often provide a calming, nostalgic feeling that - with the right ingestion of cocktails and reminiscing - can lead to slight euphoria on certain occasions. After all, love them or hate them, the well-worn songs are part of our lives, part of our family, and a symbol of all that is good and bad about the holidays.
Being a musician myself, I perhaps have a heightened awareness of the music that fills the air during December and even the months directly preceding and proceeding it. As a former Christian, many of the religious ones get me worked up and angry when I hear them forced upon me, attempting me to reconcile, praise, or otherwise engage in a spiritual ceremony which I want no part in. But the secular ones can be just as bad, extolling the virtues of shopping, Santa, and snow (which I miss dearly when I'm stuck here in sunny California). However, just the additional amount of tunes in the air is music to my ears, as it kind of serves the same effect as all the noises, bells and whistles in a casino in elevating my mind to a sense of hyper-reality. I love hearing the songs, singing along, and having my mood lifted on an almost subconscious level.
Many years ago, the holidays always included my involvement in some type of musical production or another, whether it was a church Christmas pageant, a choir or band concert. After I entered adulthood and moved to LA, I almost instinctively picked the habit up again by booking "holiday shows" for my band, Shitting Glitter, even though we did not play holiday songs. I did at least manage to get a winter-inspired tune, titled "Sistere," to be written and performed once at our acoustic holiday show at Cafe Muse, although it was never performed since then (a demo does exist on my computer at least). Later when I ventured on my own, my band Devin Tait and the Traitors had a holiday show, once again at Cafe Muse, in 2010 where we performed a rendition of "Last Christmas" by Wham and "Fruitcake" by the Superions. This year, although I did play an acoustic show in December, I decided not to infuse it with any holiday spirit, instead opting to pay tribute to two artists who I attribute much of my inspiration and influence to: Voice of the Beehive and The Human League.
Days after the concert while I was sitting at Mickey's happy hour watching the video for "Heart Like A Wheel" (the Human League song I had covered), I realized that a full-circle had been achieved. In 2003, the year I met and befriended them, Marc Loren and I would meet as often as we could at Mickey's for happy hour while Myles Matisse would VJ and play our favorite videos. I remember excitedly telling them about my plans for my first trip overseas, when I went to the UK to see The Human League and Voice of the Beehive on their separate tours. It was also on that trip that I first visited Paris to see my friend Laura, who at the time had just separated from her husband and was living alone in a brand new apartment. Eight years later, Myles is back VJ'ing at Mickey's happy hour after a break of several years, and he's also picked up the drums and has been performing with me. He accompanied me at my recent acoustic show at The Palms where we covered those two songs by the two artists I saw on my first trip overseas. Just a month ago, I returned to Paris for the first time since then to visit Laura again, but this time also meeting her new partner, Lounis, and their boy Jacob, in their new apartment (which they are about to leave for a house).
Life offers so many chances to reflect and contrast the different milestones in our life, but there's nothing like the holidays to bring these moments full-circle and manifest the meaning of the customs, relationships, and memories that make live worth living.
Despite the seemingly ever progressively early arrival of these jingle-bell laden tunes each year and the familiar sense of pressure and holidayphobia that often accompany them, they often provide a calming, nostalgic feeling that - with the right ingestion of cocktails and reminiscing - can lead to slight euphoria on certain occasions. After all, love them or hate them, the well-worn songs are part of our lives, part of our family, and a symbol of all that is good and bad about the holidays.
Being a musician myself, I perhaps have a heightened awareness of the music that fills the air during December and even the months directly preceding and proceeding it. As a former Christian, many of the religious ones get me worked up and angry when I hear them forced upon me, attempting me to reconcile, praise, or otherwise engage in a spiritual ceremony which I want no part in. But the secular ones can be just as bad, extolling the virtues of shopping, Santa, and snow (which I miss dearly when I'm stuck here in sunny California). However, just the additional amount of tunes in the air is music to my ears, as it kind of serves the same effect as all the noises, bells and whistles in a casino in elevating my mind to a sense of hyper-reality. I love hearing the songs, singing along, and having my mood lifted on an almost subconscious level.
Many years ago, the holidays always included my involvement in some type of musical production or another, whether it was a church Christmas pageant, a choir or band concert. After I entered adulthood and moved to LA, I almost instinctively picked the habit up again by booking "holiday shows" for my band, Shitting Glitter, even though we did not play holiday songs. I did at least manage to get a winter-inspired tune, titled "Sistere," to be written and performed once at our acoustic holiday show at Cafe Muse, although it was never performed since then (a demo does exist on my computer at least). Later when I ventured on my own, my band Devin Tait and the Traitors had a holiday show, once again at Cafe Muse, in 2010 where we performed a rendition of "Last Christmas" by Wham and "Fruitcake" by the Superions. This year, although I did play an acoustic show in December, I decided not to infuse it with any holiday spirit, instead opting to pay tribute to two artists who I attribute much of my inspiration and influence to: Voice of the Beehive and The Human League.
Days after the concert while I was sitting at Mickey's happy hour watching the video for "Heart Like A Wheel" (the Human League song I had covered), I realized that a full-circle had been achieved. In 2003, the year I met and befriended them, Marc Loren and I would meet as often as we could at Mickey's for happy hour while Myles Matisse would VJ and play our favorite videos. I remember excitedly telling them about my plans for my first trip overseas, when I went to the UK to see The Human League and Voice of the Beehive on their separate tours. It was also on that trip that I first visited Paris to see my friend Laura, who at the time had just separated from her husband and was living alone in a brand new apartment. Eight years later, Myles is back VJ'ing at Mickey's happy hour after a break of several years, and he's also picked up the drums and has been performing with me. He accompanied me at my recent acoustic show at The Palms where we covered those two songs by the two artists I saw on my first trip overseas. Just a month ago, I returned to Paris for the first time since then to visit Laura again, but this time also meeting her new partner, Lounis, and their boy Jacob, in their new apartment (which they are about to leave for a house).
Life offers so many chances to reflect and contrast the different milestones in our life, but there's nothing like the holidays to bring these moments full-circle and manifest the meaning of the customs, relationships, and memories that make live worth living.
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