Our Story begins as The Outlaw Orchestra guys, feeling a little festive on the build-up to Christmas 2021.
In November 2021 the Outlaw Orchestra were on tour, opening for Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons. After sound check in Nottingham, the boys ambled around the Christmas markets and the conversation turned to Christmas Songs. The long journey home to Southampton was soundtracked by every Christmas favourite Rock/Pop jingle, from the Darkness to Wizard, via Maria Carey, Bing Crosby, The Wombles and Slade. The conversation continued as the band drew up a mental chart of the “must have” hallmarks and tropes of the classic Christmas song. Somewhere between Coalville and Oxford someone said the inevitable; “we should write a Christmas song……maybe not the greatest Christmas song in the world, but…..a tribute”
From January to April, Dave and Pete dove even deeper into the huge catalogue of Christmas songs and began working on The Outlaw Orchestra’s contribution to the tradition. Banjo Pete said, “at one point my wife wandered into the studio where Dave and I were working and buried her head in her hands – It’s March for God’s sake, why are we still listening to Christmas songs?!” Dave replied all excited and proclaimed “there’s only 39 Fridays until Christmas, we’re running out of time!”. “We wanted the song to be classic Outlaw Orchestra, but we also wanted it to fit alongside all the Christmas songs we love. We’ve got it all: bells, a harmony guitar line, kid’s voices, a talking section….. even down to the vocal effect. We were searching for a specific sound synonymous with the old-school Christmas tunes”
They made the bold step to get in touch with musical maestro Mike Batt of The Wombles fame, who suggested that the band investigate the artificial double tracking used throughout the 60s and 70s by Noddy Holder and John Lennon. “As soon as we added that effect to the voices – we knew we were onto something” explained Rocker Dave.
Once the band had the song, it was time to shoot a Christmas video. “We have played a number of gigs with Kris Barras, and I even brought a load of his old guitar pedals so we’ve kept in touch,” says Dave. “We’ve liked the videos he’s done previously for other artists and knew he was the man for the job.” Ryan Thundersmith on drums adds; “it was the 14th August, the hottest day of the year and we were wrapped up in our Christmas jumpers, woolly hats and thick coats rocking out underneath a snow machine with dog walkers in shorts and t-shirts watching on, wishing us a Merry Christmas….in AUGUST. We knew we had a great song on our hands as we kept catching Kris whistling and humming the tune whilst he was setting up his lights and cameras”. “Ha ha we gotcha Kris….you can’t stop singing it can you!”
“Outlaw This Christmas” features the trio’s own stylings along with a melting pot of Christmas inflences with a whole lot going on to enjoy. The band have put in maximum effort to bring something unique that will stand up alongside all the other classic tracks that we know and love. Like classic Christmas tracks from Slade, The Darkness, Elton John, Wizard and John Lennon that get rolled out every year around the 1st of December and played on repeat until the shops shut on Christmas Eve; The Outlaw Orchestra have invested in their own Yuletide musical legacy, putting out a song that delivers with a very memorable offering that is as infectious as it is festive.
“Outlaw This Christmas” will be released on the 2nd December on all platforms and there will be a limited edition special two-track CD single available via the band’s website. The “Outlaw This Christmas” featuring an exclusive brand new B-Side “Can’t Fall Over Straight”, which keeps the party going well beyond Christmas.
Links
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https://www.facebook.com/theoutlaworchestra
Article by David Chinery (Chinners).
