I have a confession to make: I am the type of person who starts listening to Christmas music the day after Halloween. I keep my radio dial in the car set to the station that plays all Christmas all the time starting on Thanksgiving day. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a December tradition, and I DVR The Holiday Baking Championship so that I can watch it when my husband relinquishes the remote. My only redeeming quality around holiday time is that I do wait until Thanksgiving before putting up the tree.
So why, might you ask, has it taken this holiday nut so long to release my own Christmas music? I don’t have a really good answer, but I’m thrilled to say it’s happening!
Joy and Cheer, my new holiday EP, is available starting this week on Friday, November 8th. Here’s a little bit about it:
I teamed up with my friend, Park Chisolm (Kevin Costner & The Modern West/Aubrie Sellers), on production. Park played most of the instruments on this three song project, with the exception of the second track: a song I co-wrote with my friend, Matt Ridenour (Jonny Lang/Julie Roberts) called, “I’d Be Fine with Christmas Time”. Michael Rinne from Miranda Lambert’s band laid down a sweet upright bass part on the track, and Adam Wright (Lee Ann Womack/Bruce Robison), played the Rhodes piano. That’s me you’ll hear on electric guitar and Wurlitzer on a few tracks.
I’ve heard it said that a sculptor doesn’t chisel an image out of the rock. Rather, they chisel the rock away little by little and allow the image to appear. That’s how making this EP felt. We didn’t record in a big fancy studio. Most of the recording was done in my upstairs guest room over several weeks. We lit some candles that smelled like pine trees and hung a wreath on the door for some extra vibe. It was such a fun, relaxed and joyful way to create. We didn’t have a lot of answers going in. We allowed each song to come alive the way it wanted to.
Probably one of my favorite nights of recording was when a small group of friends came over for pizza and wine, and we all gathered around a microphone to sing layers and layers of choir-like vocals on the Ray Charles classic, “That Spirit of Christmas”. A huge “thank you” to Shannon Wright, Sara Beck, Kimberly Quinn, Matt Ridenour and Park Chisolm for lending your insanely talented voices to this project.
The final song on the EP is the Irish folk song to which no one ever knows the words, but is sung every year at New Years: “Auld Lang Syne". The haunting melody is so beautiful to me. We kept this track super sparse and let the melody and emotion be the stars of the show.
Beginning November 8th, you can download and stream the EP from your favorite digital retailer (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.). I’m also offering a holiday bundle on my website, www.laurenlucas.com, which includes a signed physical copy of the EP along with a hand-made custom ornament.
My hope for this project is that you will savor it over a cup of morning coffee curled up on the couch on the weekend; that it will be the soundtrack to your family opening gifts, or the music you play during your holiday dinner. Most of all, I hope this music brings you joy and cheer year after year.