Photo credit: Joshua Black Wilkins
JD McPherson
When it comes to determining how early is too early for Christmas music, JD McPherson tends to say, “respect Thanksgiving.” It’s something his neighbor, Mr. Henry, used to say while he was growing up. McPherson is making an exception, however, with the recent release of his new Christmas-themed album SOCKS, and an accompanying tour that starts weeks before the holiday. “Let’s say I’m on the fence,” McPherson says. “I’m slightly hypocritical.”
When he set off to create a Christmas album, McPherson knew it might seem like an odd choice. He’s not oblivious to the bad rap that Christmas albums get. In many cases, a Christmas album serves as an easy stop-gap between traditional album releases.
“There are some Christmas albums that don’t have much effort put into their production,” he says. Not so with SOCKS. He’s proud of the hours he poured into writing and recording original compositions for the album. Song titles include “Ugly Sweater Blues,” “What’s That Sound” and “Santa’s Got A Mean Machine.” The album, which features a heavy dose of unfiltered rock ‘n’ roll, doesn’t feel out of place next to his other albums, including last year’s Undivided Heart & Soul.
“When you’re making Christmas music, it’s easy to make something that’s nostalgic instead of trying to find a new angle to Christmas-themed songwriting,” he says. “[This album] feels more like a regular album to me than a Christmas album. I hope the listeners feel the same way.” For example, “Holly, Carol, Candy & Joy” features four separate verses and four corresponding choruses. “It was a challenge to create a chorus tailor-made for each verse,” he says.
A lot of the album’s lyrics also features his sense of humor. “It’s a pretty close approximation of my humor, which is mostly dad jokes,” he says. When McPherson and his band recorded the album in Nashville last spring, at recording studio Alex The Great, the weather was far from a White Christmas. “It was tough because Nashville at the time was pretty hot and sultry,” he says. “I put up a Christmas tree up in the studio and only allowed myself to listen to Christmas music for a good, little bit of time.”
The recording experience was different from Heart & Soul in almost every way, he says. This time, they had a studio booked. “The Christmas record was one of the smoothest recording experiences I’ve ever had in making an album,” he says.
While writing the songs, he occasionally thought of his own Christmas memories growing up in Broken Arrow, Okla. “I lived out in the country, so it was a big deal since there wasn’t a lot going on,” he says. “It was a golden age of toys and video games. I remember getting my first Masters of the Universe action figures and first Empire Strikes Back gear. I remember getting a Nintendo for Christmas and playing Duck Hunt until the gun broke. As a kid, I was disappointed with getting clothes,” he adds.
On “All the Gifts I Need,” a song he co-wrote with his friend Trent Dabbs, McPherson focuses on more recent Christmas memories. “We tried to write from the perspective of being fathers getting ready for Christmas,” says McPherson. “Getting things out of the attic, and just observing people getting ready for Christmas and putting up a tree, that kind of thing.”
McPherson has become a very prolific writer of late. He attributes part of this flood of creativity to his move to Nashville, where he spent a lot of time writing and playing with other musicians. “Productivity breeds productivity,” he says. “So maybe just working all the time helps kick it into gear. Right now, the last thing I want to do is make any more music for a minute. We made one record and then made another right after that, so I’m just enjoying being ahead of the game a little bit for once.”
For the time being, everyone is in high spirits, despite the storage space where they stored their equipment flooding before the tour began (“We may have all new gear when we visit Milwaukee.”) “Working on the new show has ejected a new enthusiasm in the band,” he says.
JD McPherson plays Turner Hall Ballroom on Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 8 p.m.
