On the record....
8 Late Nights in November
In December of 2011, I took a break from the initial promotion for Days
Amidst the Dust to go back into studio mode and sketch out basic arrangements for a record I've been carrying around in my head for
years: a Christmas album. Yes years, and yes a Christmas album.
It seems weird to write that, as most musicians who embark down that road have their ONE Christmas record. It's something of a final endeavor,
the type that can play tricks with a creative mind. It's a daunting project: easy, impossible, fun, serious, bright, dark, joyous,
solemn......you get the idea.
Regardless, for many Decembers I've been playing a good number of songs
I've written inspired by the Christmas holiday. Sometime around mid-November of this year, the drive to release at least some of them came on like a fabled Nor'easter. Eight long nights in November later,
I held the solitary master of the 4-song EP "Lights and Snow" in my hands, pondering whether I should listen to it again before my eyes
closed or wait until the sun hit the skyline. The implied option C won out without too much of a struggle. I love what I heard, and hope any
listeners out there will as well.
Here's a little narrative to help
you along:
"Santa's on the Chimney" - I've played this song to audiences of one (yes, as in one person) to several hundred. I've played it with my band the Gecko Club. I've played it solo. I've played it with an acoustic duo. I've played it with a trio. And each and every time, I have played it with a big smile on my face. It is a song of belief come true, and it is a true
story. Check your watch........
"True Holiday" - A song of being in love with the day, the world, the girl! Breathe in the brisk, minty air until it courses through your soul, and shout it from the mountains.
"Sinterklaas' Sidekick" - When I was a boy my sleepy eyes would wade through page after page of stories of St. Nicholas traditions from around the world. Oh how he traveled! Sometimes a sleigh, sometimes a ship (or three), sometimes just by foot. And often with a sidekick - elf, man, animal, or otherwise. What a
job, but even St. Nick must grow weary. And what then?
"Lights and Snow" - "more than lights, more than snow....." Proudly
wearing my faith upon my sleeve.
So the ONE Christmas album? The "Lights & Snow EP" brings the tree into the
house, and with any luck the decorations will get on the branches in a Christmas yet to come.
Merry Christmas until then ~
Andrew D. Huber
Andrew D. Huber + the Gecko Club + NorthLight Records
Lights & Snow EP