It is that time again, when you deck the halls, pull out the decorations, pour some Eggnog and sing Holiday songs. It is a time to get nostalgic and remember the past holidays. How about others? We are ready to deliver a whole new batch of musicians sharing their responses to our Holiday Q & A! In Part 6 we are pleased to feature the following:
- My Body Sings Electric
- Bruno Agra – We Are Harlot, Drummer
- Chalsey Noelle – The Rabid Whole, Keyboards/Vocals
- Andrew Saman – Pushing The Sun, Vocals
- Miranda Miller – Cherri Bomb
- Aaron – The Stampedes
- Joceyln Arndt – Singer, Songwriter
My Body Sings Electric
https://twitter.com/MyBodySings
What is the oddest gift you have ever received?
Jason made me write this. The oddest gift he’s ever received was the gift of life from his mother, because HE DIDN’T ASK FOR IT. Also, Jeff’s dad gave him a dead gator head for Christmas one time.
What is your favorite Holiday Food Item?
Brandon’s wife is super Italian. They make homemade braciole every year for Christmas dinner and it is the best thing you will ever stuff into your face.
What is your favorite Holiday family tradition that you still do today?
Every year Jeff’s family give him a full set of pajamas and everyone is required to wear them most of the day. It’s a full-on, grown-up, adult family pajama party.
Do you have a favorite holiday movie or song?
This is a stupid ass debate. The obvious answer is that National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is the greatest holiday movie ever created. The Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special comes in a close second.
Do you have a specific memory of a certain ornament or holiday decoration?
Brandon made a wreath in 5th grade that is still hung on the tree every year. The wreath is made from 5 different types of beans glued to a piece of cardboard. There is a goofy picture of him in the middle. It’s very embarrassing.
Bruno Agra
Drummer, We Are Harlot
https://twitter.com/TheCatBruno
What is the oddest gift you have ever received?
A pink dildo wrapped with a bow with a phone number on it.
What is your favorite Holiday Food Item?
First things first, the Holiday Booze rules. You slam a couple of those Winter IPA beers and trust me, it feels like you’ve eaten 2 pigs by yourself. The bloat is insane. I mean, it’s the time of the year that you really can let loose and free your thoughts from everything, it’s very cathartic. You just know everyone’s being a piece of s* – just drinking and eating their asses off. I love it. Let’er fly ol’ boy!
What is your favorite Holiday family tradition that you still do today?
We don’t have a specific tradition besides decorating the tree. We try to do something different and cool every year. It was awesome 2 years go when I took my wife to Rio (Brazil) to show her how we do Christmas in the southern hemisphere. It’s TOTALLY different. You get there and it’s 110ºF, everyone is at the beach partying like maniacs. I love it. I’m not a huge fan of the snow myself. My perfect Christmas is having a cold crisp coldie by the beach. Nothing wrong with that eh?!
Do you have a favorite holiday movie or song?
BTW they should do a crazy remake of Lampoon or a weird sequel. Lampoon rules! My favorite for sure. Music: I love to listen to Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Tony Benett, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, old school jazz/big band jams. I turn into this 65 year old grandpa that loves pounding Scotch on Christmas Eve and creep.
What is your fondest Christmas memory?
I was 8 years old. I remember waking up on Christmas morning and seeing 2 HUGE wrapped up presents under the tree. I was like: WOW. What is that?!!!! BTW I had been bugging my parents – ok stop for a second. What I meant by bugging is: I had this voice recorder with me saying non stop: “I want a drumkit, I want a drumkit, I want a drumkit, I want a drumkit, I want a drumkit…..” I had that recorded for about an hour straight and I would follow my parents around the house playing that full volume. I did that for about 6 months. BTW my dad got so mad at me once that he got it off my hands and smashed the damn voice recorder into pieces. But anyway, I still had my hopes up. I opened up the presents and there they were: 2 brand new guitars. One for me and one for my sister. Even though it wasn’t what I wanted, I loved it. Then I started learning how to play (my sister quit after 2 weeks) then I immediately got a band together. We used to play The Ramones, Pistols, punk rock in general. And that’s how I started playing rock ‘n’ roll.
Do you wanna leave a Christmas message to the fans?!
Merry Christmas everyone!!! We love you guys. The Harlot Army has been with us for so long and I can say that first hand: We have the BEST FANS on the planet. For f* sure. And I’m not saying that just to sound cool. You know who you are and how much we’ve all been through together. Even though everything got pushed back by the label (the good ol’ MUSIC INDUSTRY) and all that jazz, we get so many emails, likes, comments, tweets, I mean; these guys give us so much love and that’s what keeps that big smile on our faces when we wake up everyday. Believe me, we’ve been dealing with so much bs it’s UNREAL. So THANK YOU VERY MUCH. But hey!
Rock ‘n’ Roll Santa will be cruising down your chimney all hammered (and a fashionably late of course) with some very cool stuff for 2015. Stay tuned! Big love x
Chalsey Noelle
Keyboard/Vocals, The Rabid Whole
https://twitter.com/ChalseyNoelle
What is the oddest gift you have ever received?
Soap on a rope. My grade 10 secret Santa gave it to me. Wtf.
What is your favorite Holiday Food Item?
Stuffing and gravy!
What is your favorite Holiday family tradition that you still do today?
We aren’t one for traditions, but I started one about 5 years ago. I would put a shot in everyone’s stocking and we would shoot it back Christmas morning. Breakfast of champions.
Do you have a favorite holiday movie or song?
I love The Christmas Story. Still makes me laugh as hard as the first time.
Do you have a specific memory of a certain ornament or holiday decoration?
We made almost all of our Christmas tree ornaments as kids so they all hold a special memory
Andrew Saman
Vocals, Pushing The Sun
https://twitter.com/pushingthesun
What is the oddest gift you have ever received?
Oddest gift was probably receiving a three wheel ATV when I was 4. It was from my real dad and was a full size ATV. I couldn’t reach the handlebars. My mom was pissed. It was used and sat in the yard. Lol
What is your favorite Holiday Food Item?
Food always comes down to pastries, cookies and pie. It a staple in my life. Pumpkin pie is amazing. But any holiday cookie is great with coffee and coffee happens all day and night.
What is your favorite Holiday family tradition that you still do today?
My only family is my son but my favorite thing is waking up with him and seeing his face that Santa came. It brings me back to the feelings I had at his age. There’s still something magical within that innocence.
Do you have a favorite holiday movie or song?
Favorite holiday movie is Scrooged. Bill Murray can make me laugh just by seeing his face.
Do you have a specific memory of a certain ornament or holiday decoration?
My mom would get me an ornament every year with the date on it. I have one from when I was 3 that every time I see it I can remember when the family was alive and together. It a glass orb with a red ribbon around it and inside is a kid looking into a toy story. Almost as if it’s a time capsule and if I was to break the glass I would be 3 years old again running around the tree while Bing Crosby played on the record player.
Miranda Miller
Guitar/Keyboards, Cherri Bomb
https://twitter.com/MMCherriBomb
What is the oddest gift you have ever received?
I think it’s kinda funny…half the presents my parents get me are my favorite foods. I will straight up have a jar of macademia nuts and a bag of Flipz chocolate covered pretzels in my stocking, and my dad has sent a fair share of jumbo pickles through the mail.
What is your favorite Holiday Food Item?
Same as my everyday favorite food item…mac and cheese! (Does that count?) Of course I can always go for some pumpkin pie.
What is your favorite Holiday family tradition that you still do today?
My family back home gets together on Christmas Eve for dinner, then we line up Christmas present piles for me and my cousins in order from youngest to oldest and we open up one gift at a time and take turns. To me it’s always been a reminder that watching others’ faces light up at their gifts can be even better than opening them.
Do you have a favorite holiday movie or song?
Elf is the bomb. Of course I love A Christmas Story and the older claymation classics. And I’m a huge proponent of Christmas songs and I know too many for my own good.
Do you have a specific memory of a certain ornament or holiday decoration?
Not a specific ornament, but I made lots of homemade ornaments as a kid that my dad still throws on the tree. I even have some of my homemade ornaments on my own mini pink Christmas tree.
Aaron
The Stampedes
https://twitter.com/The_Stampedes
What is the oddest gift you have ever received?
A BMW Bird Feeder, Don’t Ask.
What is your favorite Holiday Food Item?
Stuffing.
What is your favorite Holiday family tradition that you still do today?
Stockings. At age 26.
Do you have a favorite holiday movie or song?
War is Over-John Lennon, and as for a movie… Rudolph, because of bumbles.
Do you have a specific memory of a certain ornament or holiday decoration?
My great, great grandmothers ornament collection which I still hang every year. They are pieces from the 1800s.
Joceyln Arndt
Singer, Songwriter
https://twitter.com/JocelynSongs
What is the oddest gift you have ever received?
Hmm… I got a banana-flavored lollipop with a real scorpion inside of it last year. I still haven’t eaten it; it just sits on my desk and taunts me. I’m actually kind of hoping it expires soon so that I have an excuse to wimp out.
What is your favorite Holiday Food Item?
Hands down, gingerbread cookies. They have to be good ones, though. Accept no substitute. None of that store-bought, hard-as-a-rock stuff. The whole gingerbread experience is why I love them; rolling out the dough, having a flour fight, sitting at the dining room table waiting for that oven timer to go off. That awesome sweet-spicy smell fills up the whole house. And then you’ve got to decorate them! This year, my plan is to decorate my cookies like famous musicians. Elvis, Janis, Slash… my brother Chris and I are going to make our dream band out of gingerbread. It’s going to be epic.
What is your favorite Holiday family tradition that you still do today?
We go skiing every year on Christmas as a family. It’s the best way I can think of to spend the morning. After a few runs, we head back to the house for hot chocolate, Christmas music, and cuddling on the couch with the dogs. Oh, and we always get one of those chocolate oranges you have to smash before you unwrap. Those are great.
Do you have a favorite holiday movie or song?
Die Hard! A little untraditional, but that’s definitely our go-to Christmas movie. Christmas lights, caroling, and explosions… the perfect combo. As far as Christmas music goes, Chris and I wrote our own original Christmas song as a gift for our parents a few years ago. It’s called “Still”. And we were finally able to record and release it just last week, which is just amazing. We decided to make “Still” a family song, so my cousin Kate played violin on it and cousin Don added the bass line. The whole recording process was incredible, and having our family chip in made the song that much more special. Now it’s out there on iTunes! When it comes to more traditional music, though, nothing beats a soulful rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.
Do you have a specific memory of a certain ornament or holiday decoration?
Yes! We have this feathery little gold ornament that looks sort of like a weather vane. It’s very small, very light, and very easily lost among the other ornaments. When we put it on the tree, we always remind ourselves that we’ve got to remember where we put it so we don’t accidentally throw it out with the tree at the end of the holiday season. Every year, though, we forget where it is, turning the tree disassembly into a scavenger hunt for that wily little golden weather vane. That’s what makes it my favorite ornament, though; it makes taking down the tree a whole lot less sad. Circling around looking for that darn thing makes it easy to enjoy the last bits of Christmas cheer before real life starts up again.
Now that we have all of you in the Holiday spirit, check out Jocelyn’s Christmas song, Still. It is absolutely heartwarming, touching and will have you enjoy and appreciate each and every moment.
That is it for Part 6 of our Holiday Q & A, we will bring you a whole new batch of artists and musicians soon. Stay tuned~
~ Marisol, Rockin’ Ryan, Rachel, Steve, Larry, and Music Junkie Press!
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