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Rosie Thomas

About

A Very Rosie Christmas is brought to you by Rosie Thomas (Seattle based indie darling) and her merry band of fellow friends and musicians. Chock full of eggnog and grand spirits, Rosie, alongside her husband Jeff Shoop and longtime producer Josh Myers, called upon friends (Damien Jurado), family (Rosie's brother Brian Thomas, affectionately known to his friends as BT) and alter egos (the simply hilarious Sheila Saputo) to capture all the warmth and exuberance of the holiday season for everyone to share.

You'll find all their holiday favorites such as "Christmastime Is Here", "O Come Emmanuel", and "Winter Wonderland", cozy up next to the playful original "Why Can't It Be Christmastime All Year?" and the Prairie Home Companion style radio sketch "Sheila's Christmas Miracle".

So light the fire and mosey over to cuddle in front of the tree and enjoy a few of Rosie's (and Sheila's) fond holiday memories.

Rosie's favorite Christmas Memory -
Most of my memories of Christmas are tied to music one way or another. Where some families have Christmas traditions involving certain foods or games hanging lights or acting out their own nativity scene, ours was always singing together on Christmas Eve. It was the most important part of our celebrating, so when I think about Christmas it's always tied to music and singing with loved ones. I just couldn't wait to make a Christmas record and I, of course, wanted to do it with a big group of friends and loved ones.

Rosie's favorite holiday songs -
The ones I loved growing up that really remind me the most of Christmas are some classics records by Bring Crosby, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Phil Spector, as well as fun Motown Christmas records like the one from the Jackson 5.

"O Come Emmanuel" -
I always hated this song actually. It reminded me of old men with bad breath singing it in church, so slow and labored, but after reworking it I came to really love it and I saw the lyrics in a completely new way that was really beautiful to me.

"Christmas Don't Be Late" -
This was childhood favorite that always reminds me of the good memories of Christmas from the eyes of a child -very nostalgic. I always loved the melody, but there isn't too much to the song, what with all the talking parts and yelling at ALVIN!...so it seems like it could be expounded upon. We wanted to change the mood a bit and use it to recapture that childlike hope in Christmas as adults who have seen a lot of heartache people go through around Christmas too.

"Silent Night" -
Like "O Come Emmanuel", this was another classic that everybody knows and can be a bit predictable, so I wanted to try going a different route to perhaps give it a bit of a new life and keep it interesting. I was really please with the changes and additions in this arrangement.

"Winter Wonderland" and "Let It Snow" -
Duets were always very important to our family around Christmas and most of the songs we sang were in a group or duet, so it was very important to have some of these classic fun songs that remind me of our family hanging around, singing together on Christmas Eve. It was even more special that I was able to sing these versions with my brother Brian.

"Why Can't It Be Christmastime All Year?" -
I really wanted a song that sounded like a classic you already know or should know, that was dancey, fun...just a good-times Christmas song about all the fun and excitement that Christmas brings. It is such a happy magical time of year, and I wanted a song that would really capture that fun and excitement.

"Alone At Christmastime" -
On the other end of the spectrum, Christmas can unfortunately be a terribly lonely time of year for some folks to struggle through and I wanted to write a song to capture those feelings as well.

"Snow Day" -
I want to throw in an instrumental as a homage to Manheim Steamroller.

"Sheila's Christmas Miracle" -
Not only has music been such an important part of my memories of celebrating Christmas, but so have movies and stories. That's why I really wanted to have a sweet little radio story that showed that magic of Christmas and how little things can mean the world to people.

Sheila's Favorite Christmas Songs and Albums:
-"Come on Ring Those Bells" by Evie
"O Tannenbaum" by David Hasselhoff
"Jesus Christ Superstar"
"My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Deion
Anything by Manheim Steamroller

Sheila's Favorite Christmas Memory-
"Growing up my parents always threw a big Christmas party at our house for their friends and co-workers, and it was always my big chance to perform for a crowd. My favorite year was when I was 16 I decided to perform a one -woman nativity scene. It was awesome! I'd say the most challenging and rewarding part was making the birth look authentic."

And on that note, we'll leave you to experience A Very Rosie Christmas and we hope it will give you that special Christmas glow throughout the holiday season.

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