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Instant MP3 & WAV file downloads via Dropbox. (via Clive's PR agent Will McCarthy) https://www.dropbox.com/t/8E5AsLUg0Hz2bz1D Email Clive Carroll at: clivecarrollmusic@gmail.com |
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The phrase “Christmas madness” means different things to different people and for award winning British guitar virtuoso Clive Carroll, it’s been taken to heart this season. Carroll’s love of Americana, coupled with a dose of “lockdown creativity”, and a reckoning with his distant American relative Buckey Hendrix and band The Crackers, has given way to “Merry Christmas with Bells n’ Banjos!”, a holiday jingle that jangles with rollickin’ good ol’ fun.
The song is an explosion of sleigh bells and plucked strings that re-imagines the Slade classic “Merry Xmas Everyone” by way of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”—with a decidedly American feel.
Along with Hendrix, we see Carroll in the guise of the Banjo-picker Bocker Scraggs, whose off-the-wall playing is the driving force behind the song’s spirited whimsy, and mandolinist Stan de Still, whose rips into mandolin licks with poker-precision.
The worldwide pandemic has changed a lot of people’s plans this holiday season and, with “Merry Christmas with Bells n’ Banjos!”, Carroll—by way of his alter egos Hendrix, Scraggs, and de Still—wanted to give people something to laugh about. The fact that Slade and Queen generously—and readily—gave their permission to use their hits as the basis for “Merry Christmas with Bells n’ Banjos!” invokes the wonderful spirit of taking a classic hit somewhere uncharted—and “somewhere uncharted” is something we can all relate to this season. If we’re heading there, why not try to unleash some joy along the way?
“Merry Christmas with Bells n’ Banjos!” started out as a bit of fun for friends and family and now that it’s being released publicly Carroll hopes it will make people smile. When he’s not channeling his inner banjo virtuoso in the midst of a global pandemic, Carroll can be found playing solo concerts around the world and writing music. He is the protégé of British guitar legend John Renbourn (1944-2015), with whom he toured, collaborated, and composed scores for film (most notably “Driving Lessons”, featuring Julie Waters and Rupert Grint) and has also toured extensively worldwide with Australian guitar great Tommy Emmanuel.
The song is an explosion of sleigh bells and plucked strings that re-imagines the Slade classic “Merry Xmas Everyone” by way of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”—with a decidedly American feel.
Along with Hendrix, we see Carroll in the guise of the Banjo-picker Bocker Scraggs, whose off-the-wall playing is the driving force behind the song’s spirited whimsy, and mandolinist Stan de Still, whose rips into mandolin licks with poker-precision.
The worldwide pandemic has changed a lot of people’s plans this holiday season and, with “Merry Christmas with Bells n’ Banjos!”, Carroll—by way of his alter egos Hendrix, Scraggs, and de Still—wanted to give people something to laugh about. The fact that Slade and Queen generously—and readily—gave their permission to use their hits as the basis for “Merry Christmas with Bells n’ Banjos!” invokes the wonderful spirit of taking a classic hit somewhere uncharted—and “somewhere uncharted” is something we can all relate to this season. If we’re heading there, why not try to unleash some joy along the way?
“Merry Christmas with Bells n’ Banjos!” started out as a bit of fun for friends and family and now that it’s being released publicly Carroll hopes it will make people smile. When he’s not channeling his inner banjo virtuoso in the midst of a global pandemic, Carroll can be found playing solo concerts around the world and writing music. He is the protégé of British guitar legend John Renbourn (1944-2015), with whom he toured, collaborated, and composed scores for film (most notably “Driving Lessons”, featuring Julie Waters and Rupert Grint) and has also toured extensively worldwide with Australian guitar great Tommy Emmanuel.