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Backstory on A Song For Christmas A Song For Christmas started with a little idea I had about 13 years ago. A Christmas Gift: A card and a gift in one, expressing my genuine holiday spirit through music. The idea hit me on my flight home to San Diego, CA in December of 1993. I had been attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA where a little piano melody crept into my practice routine. I visited my old school, Palomar College in San Marcos, CA, and recorded “First Snowfall”, a jazz piano ballad. I duplicated about 40 cassettes (remember cassette tapes?) and gave them away to my friends and family. The end of 1994 marked a new beginning in my life. After the New Year, I took my first step in pursuing my music career by moving back to the east coast. On the eve of this move, I wrote “No One Should Be Alone Christmas Day”, a song inspired by my international friends at Berklee who were unable to leave for winter break. This song had the honor of being performed at San Marcos State University with my former Palomar colleagues and later recorded by my long-time friend and talented vocalist Julie Eisenhower for A Christmas Gift 1994. In 1995, I spent much of the year working several day jobs and playing in cover bands. As Christmas neared, I realized I hadn’t had much time to write. As Christmas quickly approached, I put some time aside and the playful and nostalgic “The Night Before (I Can’t Wait For Christmas)” was written as well as an instrumental piece entitled “Moutainside Overture” (which eventually became the basis for “Finally Feels Like Christmas”). A Christmas Gift was now officially a tradition. 1996 became a significant turning point for me as a close friend of mine by the name of Larry Bentley breathed new life into my music as recording engineer. With his help in recording I was inspired to write more. As the year ended, I made many resolultions to start putting more focus on my music. “Bring On The New Year”, along with the romantic ballad “Christmas Morning”, came soonafter. By December of 1997, I realized I had enough Christmas songs to make up an entire album. Feeling that it wouldn’t be complete without a new Christmas song, I took my personal theory about why most people aren’t visited by Santa Claus and wrote “You Better Watch Out”. A Christmas Gift Anthology 1993 to 1997 was compiled and recorded. That’s when the biggest turning point in my life took place. The idea of doing an intimate performance of these Christmas songs at a small coffee house near my hometown in San Diego quickly developed into a new tradition: The Magical Mystletoe Tour. My intimate performance was packed with friends and family who had learned of the event. As the show ended, I looked out into the audience and realized that I wanted this feeling all the time. A few months later, I quit every day job I had and started working as a full-time musician. The Magical Mystletoe Tour became a new tradition. Five more performances followed with the last two including my private piano students and a choir I directed at the Waldorf School of Orange County. The choir performed four of my original pieces: “ Sing A Simple Carol”, “Reborn”, “The Man Who Stole From Santa”, and “Christmas Past”. In the fall of 2005, I composed music for The Golden Dream, a musical written by Joe Syiek. Through this project, I met director Stephen Reifenstein, choreographer Edward Bangasser, and many of the cast members that are in this production. Before long, I was part of the musical theater world. Rumor got out that I had a Christmas show, however it was interpreted as being a “musical”. Instead of correcting them, I thought, “Why not?” With the help of my friends Steve Troop and Sarah Stevens, we were able to thread these songs into a fully staged musical. Every time I think I’ve exhasted all the Christmas cheer I can possibly express through song, something as wonderful as this production happens and I am simply amazed. So many people have contributed to making this happen and I wouldn’t be here without their love and support. 13 years, 16 songs, from one coast to the other and many Christmases in between, A Song For Christmas is just the beginning. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! - Erik Przytulski |
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