Tis the season for tidings and joy and we here at TVDLA are thrilled to exclusively share a rock ‘n’roll Holiday treat, “The Anti Social Young American Christmas Lover’s Brigade” by Gary Calamar.
“I set out to write a Christmas song but wanted to give it some edge. So I came up with this sub-culture of punky, gothy kids who hate everything—except Christmas. I was inspired by The Kinks “Village Green Preservation Society, T-Rex’s “Children Of The Revolution,” and David Bowie’s “Young Americans.” My 12-year-old daughter Zoe does some lovely background vocals and I also got help from James Combs and Steven Stern who produced the track. It’s dedicated to the infamous Kim Fowley and the Spirit of Rock and Roll!”
This song comes of the heels of Gary Calamar’s debut EP, “You Are What You Listen To,” released this fall on Atlantic Records. Many of you are probably familiar with Gary’s name and voice from his Sunday night radio show on KCRW and his music supervision work on award-winning shows such as True Blood, Dexter, House, and Six Feet Under.
Gary’s love for music started with radio. He grew up in NY and started out listening to WABC during the British invasion, slept with the transistor radio under his pillow, and served as the music expert in his Yonkers High School. In between record store jobs in the early ’90s, Gary started volunteering in the KCRW music library and begging then music director Chris Douridas for a slot—and he got that shot.
Chris advised Gary to only play music that he loved since chances were that if he loved it, others would too. Gary anointed his first few minutes of air time with James Brown’s “Night Train.” KCRW always prides themselves on bringing new music, but Gary told us, “It’s often an old favorite that will really grab people. I try my best to be cool, but not TOO cool. I am not afraid to play the hits.”
Although never wearing the nametag, Gary has always been a songwriter, working on his own material just for fun, channeling his musical muses Warren Zevon, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Pete Townshend, and Bruce Springsteen. While working on True Blood, Gary had the great fortune of having Mr. Iggy Pop record one of his songs who encouraged him to continue writing…and the rest is history.
In the spirit of giving, Gary is offering “Anti-Social Young Americans Brigade” above for free download! Enjoy—and have a very Happy Holiday!
