***Turns out this was 1999 and I was 15. We had to do some heavy research. Oh well! I've updated the description...

To celebrate Bandcamp relinquishing their revenue share on May 1st 2020, and to celebrate the 21st anniversary of this recording, I present you with a "metal" rendition of Little Drummer Boy. I made it when I was 15, in my basement, with my dad behind the mixer, as a Christmas gift to my family. This recording has been floating around hard drives in the family for a while, so I gave it a little remaster, and here we are.

I have never liked Christmas music beyond Mannheim Steamroller's 1984 Christmas album, but my Dad thought I could lay down a metal version of sorts. I originally was going to record vocals but I didn't know how to do metal vocals very well and I think my Dad was a little hesitant about giving a failed attempt to my grandparents. Or even a successful attempt.

So I started writing a metal/thrash/hardcore version of the classic Christmas song everyone knows and everyone but me loves, Little Drummer Boy. I tried to make it into something I would've liked at the time. I was listening to a lot of Zao and Slick Shoes (yes I attended a Christian youth group, leave me alone), so you can hear some of that in the song.

Unfortunately I wasn't the most powerful drummer when playing super fast those days. So the drums kinda disappear during the double kick rolls. We didn't have the ability to automate or mess around with a bunch of compression and stuff, so it is what it is.

My dad set up his minidisc 4-track recorder, and I was using my Sonor Force 3000 kit. I recorded the drums, 2 guitar tracks with an Epiphone SG into a Peavey Transformer 2x12 combo, and bass track with who knows what bass (someone probably left one at my house). Then we bounced down to stereo tracks so I could add some Roland Juno 106 synthesizer, and that reverby snare beat at the end. That was my dad's idea, and he'll want me to mention that. As an electronic music producer, it's probably a crime that the Juno was the only hardware synthesizer I've ever owned aside from vintage Casios and childrens toys. But alas, I like computers.

My dad did a fantastic job with the limited gear we had, slowly rusting & growing things in our dank ass basement. It was fun to make, too. I really miss my dad.

Oh no, LOL, it's okay, he's alive! Mom, too. He's just halfway across the country right now, watching True Crime on TV with the cat I left him when I moved out. They're very happy together.

P.S... Dad says "I finished that skull when I was like 12 (1971) in a ceramics class my mom hooked me up with in the neighborhood. I was into crafts like model building when I was a kid so when one of our neighbors started a youth ceramics class my mom encouraged me to join (once a week on Wednesday - not sure why I actually remember that) and that skull was one of my favorite projects and it sat in my parent's attic for years until I retrieved it when I got out of the Navy right around the time you were born. Not sure how it ended up in your kick drum but it sure did look cool..."