The 12 Gigs of Christmas '07
November 15^th through December 20^th – Various Houston Area Locations

     Tonight marks the end of the band’s Christmas/Holiday music season. Lee is packing away the jingle bells, Matthew’s Christmas suspenders and Santa hat will go back in the trunk (hopefully), and the lighted garland on the piano is being unplugged and stowed for the last time of ’07. The trio leaves the final holiday performance to head home to celebrate the season with their families. It’s been a good run – the guys have been playing better than ever and have made many new friends along the way. As GP3 looks towards the 2008 year, they also reflect on some of the highlights of the Christmas gigs over the last month.

Here are some of the more amusing moments:

Nov 15^th : Mall of the Mainland 
This is the first of the holiday events that the trio has been hired to perform at. The guys watch as ‘Christmas Town’ is constructed before their very eyes... well, almost constructed. Very light customer traffic, but the Corn Dog 7 seems to do well.

Nov 29^th : Mall of the Mainland
After the Thanksgiving holiday, the guys return to a finished Winter Wonderland at the mall. Patrons line up for pictures with Santa across from the trio's stage. Matthew and George think that Lee looks more ‘Santa-esque’ than the fellow they’ve got in the red suit. The mall’s owner visits the bandstand and is delighted by the band’s banter with the audience. The guys play right up until a few minutes before closing time when a breaker blows and takes down their sound system and giant reindeer display behind them - oops.

Dec 4^th : Duke Energy Christmas Party @ Courtyard on St. James 
Lee gets stuck in traffic before the event as he picks up Quizno's sandwiches for Matthew and George. A frustrated Lee stomps up the balcony where they’ll play exclaiming “Never again! Don’t ever send me out for food before a gig EVER again!” George and Matthew can’t resist the chance to push a little harder by laughingly, asking “Where are the chips?” “Chips???” The scowl on Lee’s face resembles the many nutcracker center pieces in the restaurant. More laughter from George and Matthew (Even though they enjoy Lee’s rant, they are grateful and suspect that Lee's not too mad).

     The music is solid – the guys have played holiday tunes for weeks and have their footing. The food is great. It's a buffet that could feed all of Santa’s workshop: dark and white chocolate fountains gushing at full speed, giant shrimp the size of small boomerangs. Matthew drinks the iced tea like he’s trying to set a world record.

     The guys slip in a few parody songs that loosen up the room. Everyone gets so loose in fact, a few ladies come up the balcony to sing FELIZ NAVIDAD with the band. George’s puckish nature gets the better of him, as he sways two of the older ladies to compete in a ‘Christmas Song Dance-Off’. An act of mischievousness that would make Robin Goodfellow proud, but no one seems to mind.

     Matthew concludes the party by announcing “You Duke Energy guys are great… but I’m still not changing energy providers.” (Laughter)

Dec 6^th : Mall of the Mainland
Meanwhile, back at the mall…The first set is interrupted when George receives a citation from the Texas City police for being double parked in a fire zone. Later the trio plays the theme from NEW YORK, NEW YORK over and over for the mall’s owner (what a bunch of kiss-ups). During a break much later in the evening, the guys sneak into Santa’s area (closed at 7:00 PM) to take some action photo’s of their own. After it's all done, the three load the equipment in their sleep.

Dec 7^th : Craft Show 
Matthew and George play a 2 ½ hour ‘unplugged session’ at Administaff’s annual Holiday Craft Fair. Local rapper, IBC joins them for a weird version of Adam Sandler's HANUKKAH SONG. Shoppers are delighted to hear live music as they buy everything from handmade birdhouses formed from beer cans, whiskey cake, and poorly painted driftwood that is suspiciously shaped like Rudolph.

Dec 8^th : StarBucks Coffee
The trio performs on VERY windy evening outside on the patio. The monthly rummy tournament is interrupted by a gust of wind that sends the playing cards towards the parking lot. In the middle of the first set, Matthew is called away to visit a patient across town. He returns to launch the group into the Christmas parody songs of their alter-ego, Camryn Manheim Steamroller. Parody CDs are awarded to the band’s near-hypothermic guests who stuck around to answer holiday trivia.

Dec 13^th : Mall of the Mainland
“Didn’t we just leave here?” The guys return to the mall and are pleased to see the crowds are building. George and Matthew pass out musical instruments to the kids in the audience including jingle bells, triangles, and tambourines. The children (and some parents) play along. Jingling and holiday clanging echo out of the food court and fill the mall. Later, the trio nail a new jazz version of LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (Matthew sings the 'David Bowie' part). When Lee has to take a personal call, Matthew and George try to get Sameer, the kiosk vendor to play drums. But Sameer has too many customers (yes, it's true! The mall has customers - It's a Christmas miracle! God bless us, everyone.). The guys play almost all of the Christmas parodies tonight. George tells Matthew "...If anyone here were listening to what we're singing, they'd string us up. I mean after all...most of these songs are about waiting to the last minute to Christmas shop, holiday credit card debt, Santa's obesity, being too cheap to buy good presents and so on." "Feeling guilty?" "Maybe just a little... yeah, I do." and the group plays five more parodies before calling it a night.

Dec 14^th : Jaguar Exploration Christmas Party @ Brenner’s Steakhouse 
George is lost...Which is not uncommon - his lack of a sense of direction is legendary. Only this time he's been driving for close to 2 1/2 hours. It's not that he doesn't like maps or anything - he does, he thinks they're pretty and all. The problem is that the maps never have a tiny picture of where his car is at a given moment. Even if it did, it probably wouldn't matter. In truth, George could get lost operating a train on railway tracks.

     Matthew arrives to the steakhouse to find only Lee in the parking lot. "Where's George?" "I don't know. He should have been here by now." "What do you mean?" Lee explains, "I talked to him over 45 minutes ago, and based on where he was he should have beaten both of us here." "Hmmm." "What?" Matthew cautiously admits, "He called me too... for directions."  
Click here to listen as this conversation continues

     Lee attempts to call George's cell again, but there's no answer. Lee dials again. "Lee, if he's not answering, it's probably for the best. You won't want to talk to him if he's frustrated." Lee ignores the warning and calls one more time. But George doesn't answer because he's on the line with his wife, Sabrina. She has logged on to her home computer and 'Mapquested' where he is, and is painstakingly directing him street by street towards the destination. The whole experience is a little like the movie Airport 75 except George is in the Karen Black role instead of playing Chuck Heston's part.

     George finally arrives with just minutes spare. Although he doesn't deserve it, Matthew and Lee are amazingly gracious to George about taking so long. Since this is an 'unplugged' venue, the three are playing again as soon as the piano is plopped down in position. This particular event is unique because the trio has been hired to perform instrumental only versions of the the Christmas music they've been playing -no singing. The dining area is small and quaint, but because of its size and volume constraints, Lee is forced to play more softly than ever before. Matthew and George are impressed that he's able to keep the tempo on the upbeat songs while remaining so quiet.

     And even though the group is supposed to only be background music, they still receive polite applause throughout the evening.  Matthew is surprised by this since it's equal to clapping for the restaurant's wallpaper. The only other time that the trio are officially acknowledged is when some of the dinner guests who are seated in front of the closet where the cases are are asked to move so the guys can pack up. The trio leave, but this time George follows Lee home to the interstate.

Dec 20^th : Mall of the Mainland
The guys setup in front of a group of people already seated and ready to 'get their jingle on'. Knowing that this is the last scheduled event of the year for the trio gives the boys an extra burst of enthusiasm which shines through the music. Song highlights include an extended (and very dynamic) jazz instrumental of ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH evenly tempered with a New Orleans style version of FROSTY THE SNOWMAN.

     The audience senses this loose, no-holes barred attitude that defines the evening, and many approach the stage. Some talk to the group, some ask to sing, some even are invited up to play. A troop of League City Intermediate School students get into the act when George finds out that they are in the school's band program. He and Matthew pass out the jingle bell instruments. The youngsters instantly chime and jingle along as the GP3 plays THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (a song perfect for the extra percussion). As soon as the middle school pupils leave, a young man named James asks Lee if he could play the drum kit with him. Lee agrees and the two rock out on RUDOLPH. Lee takes a seat in the audience as James plays CHEAP and HOUSTON CHRISTMAS BLUES. Matthew and George don't seem to mind. The final 'special guest performance' is given by Jennifer (A.K.A.Jingle Belle) from the shoe store. The band met her  last Thursday and invited her to come back and sing tonight. She chooses Nat King Cole's THE CHRISTMAS SONG and SANTA BABY with the band serving as backup.

     The trio is delighted that everyone is feeling at home enough to be a part of the show. But all of the 'extras' make the time pass very quickly tonight; it's almost time to go. Matthew suggests that the three finish with AULD LANG SYNE since the trio won't play together again until after the New Year. Lee says "That was nice, but we can't go out on slow song tonight. Let's play something upbeat. What's that Eagles' song? You know that Christmas song from the Eagles?" George and Matthew are shaken loose from the sentimentality of AULD LANG SYNE and comply. The night finishes with a rousing COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. As the final 'chimes' of the song are played, George's smile can not be contained. He is warmed by the fact that these are the final notes to be played by the trio this year. He smiles first at Lee, then Matthew who return the gesture then punctuate the end with a big rock n roll G7 chord punch. And with that, the GP3 Christmas music season closes for 2007.

We'd like to conclude the last blog of the 2007 year with a message from George himself:

Thanks to everyone who has lent support to us over the past year. Whether this was demonstrated by coming out to participate at an event, hiring us,  heckling us, or simply, reading these blog pages every week, the gift of your friendship and encouragement has urged us on. When we look back over what our little rag-tag trio has been allowed to do over the first five months, we are both humbled and astonished. We look forward to new adventures in 2008 and invite you come along.

'Have a merry Christmas and a wonderful start of the New Year.'
George, Matthew, and Lee 

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