A Christmas Yuleblog

One night last month, my wife and son huddled around the computer, shopping for my Christmas gifts. When they came across this one , my son laughed out loud at the artwork and selected this one for me. Yep Roc Records was founded in Chapel Hill, North Carolina back in 1996 and has grown to be a quite reputable independent record label. Some of the artists who have released albums for them include Robyn Hitchcock, Los Straitjackets, The Minus 5, Paul Weller, Nick Lowe, The Fleshtones, Marah, and The Reverend Horton Heat. To quote from their website : "Every family has one, that Grinch who hates Christmas music, the humbugger that snarls at the mere mention of Rudolph or silent nights. During the holidays we here at Yep Roc have more than a few of these curmudgeons roaming the halls, so we decided to do something about it. "Oh Santa! New & Used Holiday Classics from Yep Roc features our favorite Christmas tracks from twelve of Yep Roc's best and brightest in...

A few months ago during the Christmas season of 2005, I purchased two new Christmas releases at my local Borders store with similar sounds but way, WAY different approaches. The first was Brian Setzer's " Dig That Crazy Christmas ". The second album is the one you see above. For those of you not versed in the ways of the good Rev. Heat, here's the backstory: Formed in 1985 in Dallas, Texas, the original members were Jim "Reverend Horton" Heath on guitar, Bobby Baranowski on drums, and "Swingin'" Jack Barton on upright bass. This manic trio began touring with a wild stage show that set them apart from other rockabilly groups like the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Imbibing plenty of Jagermeisters during performances (let's see Setzer do that onstage!), the band's antics - mixed with their incredibly hilarious lyrics and the sound of country, rockabilly, big band, and psychobilly - made them underground favorites. Shortly before they secu...