As someone who loves all things Christmas, I’ve watched my share of holiday movies and shows. There is a very popular formula where Santa is met with obstacles or a nemesis that “jeopardizes Christmas.” When the characters start wringing their hands, I have a hard time getting into it. For me, the notion that Christmas can be “canceled” is silly. Many of those films came out after How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch was flabbergasted that Christmas came without packages and bows and all the other bells and whistles that enhance our experience of it. Those are accoutrements. They don’t define or make or break Christmas. I thought the Grinch story and A Charlie Brown Christmas years earlier made such a good case for the true meaning of Christmas, that I am surprised so many new stories get greenlit with that same old theme.
What did the Whos down in Whoville do when their decorations and presents were stolen? They gathered at the center of town in a circle, held hands, and sang. The spirit of Christmas is shared beautifully in wonderful music. We gather and sing.
Singer-Songwriter Jane Siberry is one of my favorites and crafted a song called “Are You Burning, Little Candle?” which seamlessly weaves a dreidel and universal themes of light into a Christmas song. It’s a lovely way of, in her words, “Putting all the magic of the season into one song.” It’s one of the songs on my Eclectic Christmas Playlists on YouTube and Spotify. It embodies the playful, eclectic, experimental approach I take to music, which is reflected in my choices on the playlists and on my albums.
Informative “Nos”
My friend Stefan Bolz has said that “God needs our no.” Looking at our blocks and obstacles and resistance without judgment and taking them to God without fear is actually the way to dissolve them. As Alanis Morrissette sings, “The only way out is through.” My friend Michele Brourman wrote a song with Amanda McBroom titled “Mary Said No” which takes us into Mary’s initial fear and resistance to the message of the Angel Gabriel that she should be the mother of Jesus. It is a moving depiction of her process of letting objections and resistance come up so they can be dealt with. As my friend Rich used to say, “We can’t skip steps.” Michele’s song is on my playlists, too.
Night Divine
“O, Holy Night” is many people’s favorite Christmas song. It has been sung by so many artists in very similar arrangements that I decided to take another angle. I contacted my friend, Grammy®-Nominated Jazz Harpist Carol Robbins, about arranging a jazz rendition of the classic song. She assembled Bassist Darek Oles and drummer Tim Pleasant, and we recorded in the amazing studio for the USC School of Cinematic Arts with Recording Engineer Buddy Halligan. The result is a quiet, joyful version of the song that I hope lets you hear the lyrics in a different way. While we were there, Carol and I also recorded the Bach-Gounod Ave Maria, joined by Cellist Hope Easton. You can see that video here, and a video about the experience of recording at USC here, all on my @hearjohnny YouTube Channel (I hope you’ve subscribed).
Joseph’s Prayer and Christmas at the Beach
The first time I worked with Multi-talented Producer and all-around musician Stephan Oberhoff is when I approached him with a song I wrote from the perspective of St. Joseph on Christmas Eve. There were so many songs about Mary that I wanted to put myself in Joseph’s shoes and explore what he might have prayed on the fateful evening. It’s a song about fatherhood and acceptance and surrender. Stephan had done amazing work with Melissa Manchester, Brenda Russel, Jason Gould and others and I felt like he had the right sensibilities to fully realize the song. He really got and added to what I was after! You can watch a behind-the-scenes video Paco shot in Stephan’s studio here. The lyric video for the “Joseph’s Prayer” is here.
Stephan also kindly went along with me on an experiment with lyrics I had written years earlier to the beloved tune, Finlandia, by Jean Sibelius. Stephan’s first love is Brazilian music, and he has a great group called Heartbeat Brazil. I thought it would be cool to give a Bossa Nova treatment to the tune. It was an odd juxtaposition, but I’m all about that. Stephan worked his magic and my talented friend Rodger Guerrero provided terrific background vocals. I gathered a group of some of my favorite people and we filmed a video at Roberts Cottages in Oceanside, CA. It was a magical day, and Paco really outdid himself filming the video and editing it. I am so grateful to have that Christmas at the beach, Finlandia Brasileira (Prayer for Christmas Eve) with my friends to look at whenever I need a lift.
My father’s favorite Christmas carol was “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella.” For my From Here to Nativity Christmas album, I put a lot of thought into creating a special arrangement he would have loved. Dad was a French Horn player as well as a baritone, so I featured a soaring French Horn solo in the interlude. Paco created a sweet Lyric Video that has become my most consistently viewed music video on YouTube all year long, even in Summer. I love that there are spots in the video where I can see my Dad in my face, which makes it very special. If you happen to watch this or any of the other videos on my channel, Likes, comments, shares and playlisting always help. Not just for me, but any of the artists whose work you enjoy. Every bit of engagement tells the algorithm it’s a video others might like. It also lets us know how you feel about our work.
Verizon and Apple Music
If you are a Verizon customer and have an unlimited plan, you get free Apple Music! Be sure to add my songs to your listening experience, and playlist. Don’t forget to say “Siri/Alexa/Google/Spotify play Johnny Schaefer” at least once a day. If you have a Roku TV with a voice-controlled remote, you can also say “Play Johnny Schaefer on YouTube” and it will bring up my channel!
If you got this far, you’re a trooper and I love ya! You get these emails because you have supported my music in the past. I hope you are enjoying this journey From Here to Nativity. You can always unsubscribe below, but I hope you won’t. In fact, I hope you’ll encourage others to go to hearjohnny.com and sign up, too. They’ll get a free song download when they join up.
Hugs and advent cheer,
Johnny