Wrap This Feeling Up

Seasons greetings! It's been the usual mad dash for the holidays around here, with lots of party mix, puppy chow, and orange slice cookies being prepared in our kitchen as gifts, and the usual decorating, party going, and shopping (although we're trying to minimize our shopping this year, along with many places we're boycotting). 

I had the ambitious idea to have not just one holiday party here in Sacramento, but an additional party in Los Angeles. And of course each party would feature a special performance by yours truly, since I haven't performed my own music live in over three and a half years. This year being particularly productive for me, as I released a full-length album in August along with four single EP's that featured bonus tracks and remixes. I also filmed four music videos which I had a great time doing. But I hadn't performed any of these songs for anyone other than Dylan and our cats, so I really wanted the opportunity to dust off the keytar and stage lights!

Now, as if all this didn't sound like enough work, I decided a couple of months ago that I wanted to release a new holiday song. My previous holiday song, "Make the Yuletide Gay," was released in 2019 and I worked very hard on that - maybe putting too much thought into it? At that time I was thinking it would be my only holiday song, and I wanted to get it just right and really represent myself and my feelings about the season. I wanted it to sound classic and modern at the same time, with all the bells and whistles associated with holiday music. Although I'm the only vocalist on it, I worked with Craig Levy at Little Pioneer Cider House to make it sound like a whole choir was backing me (even though it's just me playing different "characters" and recording many, many different vocal tracks).

This time, I only had a few weeks to write and record the song, so at night when I was in bed I would try to come up with the concept. Initially I wanted it to be called "Secret Santa" but then I looked online and realized many other people already had that idea. So I thought about what's really important about the holiday season, and decided for me it's about spending time with friends and family. I came up with the idea of wanting to share the feelings I get when I'm with my loved ones on the holidays because I know not everyone is fortunate as I am to be able to have those moments, and I think we should not take for granted if we have a place to go and people to see this time of year. 

"Wrap This Feeling Up" was written very quickly, mostly in my head over the course of a few nights before drifting off to sleep. I recorded the piano, bells, bass and drums and then my vocal takes and harmonies and sent it off once again to Craig and he worked his magic quickly and then Dylan took the cover photo for me in our living room, just like we did for "Make the Yuletide Gay." It all came together, and I performed it live for the first (and so far only) time at our Sacramento holiday party on December 13. I'll be singing it again tomorrow in Los Angeles. I hope people like it, and I felt honored to be releasing a holiday song the same year that Kylie Minogue scored the UK Christmas #1 song with her addictive tune "XMAS."