'Twas the month before Christmas, and all through the house, a couple of musicians were bored with practicing their scales and arpeggios and began looking for other sources of amusement. A book of easy duets provided a few minutes of diversion, but once exhausted, it was subject to the whims of our now desperate duo. The simple exercises were transposed into different keys, played in various modes and tonalities (the locrian mode and whole tone scale were favorites) and played in canon at two measures, one measure, the quarter note and even the eight note. Much mirth ensued.
With the holiday season at hand, our now inspired musicians set their sights on some seasonal favorites. A formidable arsenal of instruments was assemble, including clarinet, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, and piano. These were augmented by some less legitimate instruments, such as slide whistle, penny whistle, a Casio electric keyboard (With auto-rhythm), a mildly functional ukulele, and the celebrated Toadophone. A couple of cassette tape recorders provided studio capabilities and even allowed overdubbing so that our duo could become a trio or quartet if inspiration so dictated.
Two sessions were recorded, amounting to about 20 or so tunes. The tapes were played for some close friends (those deemed to have poor taste, or at least to be non judgmental) but once the Christmas season was passed, the tapes were duly forgotten and apparently lost to history.
Now, nearly 20 years after the fact (and long past any statute of limitations), the lost tapes have been recovered, and the time may be ripe for a revival. Lovingly remastered and set to inspirational holiday scenes, Bad Christmas Music is again available for your enjoyment.
