A follow-up to 2009’s WE ARE THE JUNCTION West Seattle holiday album, TINSELITIS: A WEST SEATTLE CHRISTMAS ALBUM continues in the tradition of bringing together West Side musicians.
A family-friendly collection of original holiday songs, TINSELITIS: A WEST SEATTLE CHRISTMAS ALBUM, is being given away. Just visit the link and click under each artist listing, and download the song in MP3 format.
Here is the Tinselitis link to access the songs.
Helping to put the album together were Ben Jenkins, The Bend, Jay Cates, Hondo II, The Pleasure Elite, Gunn and the Damage Done, Chloroformula, The Black Bangs, Groggy Bikini, Gary Corrington, The Navins, Kill Room Studios, Elliott Bay Recording Studio, Ron Nine Studios, Brian Nelson, Tim Jones, and Stumbletown Steve Adams.
This community project is presented by Shadowland, The Feedback Lounge, Mission, West 5, Locöl Barley & Vine, The Bridge, Beveridge Place Pub, Easy Street Records, Big Al Brewing and Company. Feedback Lounge co-owner Jeff Gilbert put the project together and designed the album.
Ben Jenkins
West Seattle guitar player Ben Jenkins of the band Bend operates a Georgetown recording studio, Kill Room Studios, where he recorded four of the album's 10 tracks. In addition to the Bend trackWassail, written by band leader and vocalist Jay Cates, he recorded Gunn and the Damage Done's Alone At Christmas, another Jay Cates track, Comfort and Joy, and a solo by Charlie Beck who also plays for Bend, called Christmas Eve. Many in the area know Beck from the bands Memphis Radio Kings and Hondo II. He is also known in West Seattle as he emcee's Feedback Lounge's trivial pursuit nights and volunteers with AARF, the Animal Adoption and Rescue Foundation which fundraises locally.
"I think Wassail comes across to some as a little dark but it's really not trying to be, said Jenkins, who lives by Arbor Heights. "There is a positive message. Charlie (Beck) definitely wanted to do a light hearted fun song. Kind of opposite of what he does naturally."
Before Kill Room Studios, Jenkins had a smaller studio in West Seattle.
"It was two blocks behind the Nursery & Garden Center," he said. "When it was like the hottest day on record (July 29, 2009) our studio burned down. Then we took over this big warehouse in Georgetown that belonged to the same landlord."
Charlie Beck
"I'm a huge fan of Christmas," said Charlie Beck. "I love Christmas music. It was one of the first kinds of music I got into. I'm a huge Andy Williams fan, even to this day. The guy can sing. I used to listen to his albums playing under the Christmas tree as a kid. I grew up in Arizona and Florida, not very 'white Christmasy' places."
Tommy McMullin
Artist Tommy McMullin, with Gunn and the Damage Done, wrote their track, Alone at Christmas. He grew up in White Center, where he still lives. He's known Jeff Gilbert for over 25 years.
"It was a little bit about me," he said of his lyrics. "The lines in it are basically that you never married, and women come and go. You never settled down, and now you're alone with no family. But I do have a family, so don't feel sorry for me," he laughed. "It's not as bleak as it sounds. We added bells to it."
He doesn't feel sorry about where he lives and plays.
"West Seattle really a magical place," he said. "The Junction was pretty happening when I was a kid. There was a big slot car place. You walk in and are like, 'Holy crap!' I did my teen years here in White Center and West Seattle. It was rock and roll. It was a good time."
