As December marches on, so too do the familiar songs of the season. And while they don’t show signs of stopping, Austin’s very own Graham Reynolds is giving our beloved holiday classics an unexpected twist in Graham Reynolds Ruins the Holidays. The already-sold-out Long Center performance will feature recomposed holiday standards in alternate keys and instrumentations, making these oldies sound as they never have before. 

In addition to composing music for clubs, orchestral ensembles, films, operas, TV shows, theatres, and everything in between, Graham is the executive director of Golden Hornet, a non-profit that supports the work of new composers. Next year, KMFA and Golden Hornet will collaborate on several projects, including the annual SXSW ATX Composers Showcase.

Despite his busy schedule, Graham made time to answer some questions for KMFA about his upcoming holiday show.

Musically ruining the holidays is a hilariously bold idea. Exactly how did you come to the notion of doing your own holiday concert?

It’s something we’ve been doing on and off for twenty years. I’m not sure how it started but likely we had a show that was during holiday time and it seemed fun to play some covers.  This is the first time we’ve done a holiday show at the Long Center. We’ve usually done it at bars and clubs and I’m curious to see how it translates to the Long Center.

With all the holiday music that’s out there, how did you select pieces for the program? Did you do any holiday music research?

I have a couple big books of holiday music so I’ve just played through them until I find the ones that work best with what we’re trying to do. Also, since these are arrangements that veer pretty far off the traditional course it’s helpful if the audience knows the standard version. So I generally pick the most well-known hits so the crowd can hear and understand what we’re doing with them.

What was your process in rearranging and rethinking these pieces for the concert? In what ways was it difficult or easy?

This concert is about having fun so they were all easy in that way. The process is to make simple charts and improvise on them on my own and then with the group. Then we try it with an audience and see what works.
 

^{The laundry list of Graham Reynold’s local collaborators include Ballet Austin, Rooster Teeth, Rude Mechs, the Austin Chamber Music Center, director Richard Linklater, and so much more! (Graham Reynolds)}

Who will you be performing with and what instrumentation can we expect?

It will be a five piece band with four of my favorite players to work with. Alexis Buffum on violin, Ulrican Williams on trombone, as well as regulars Utah Hamrick on bass and Jeremy Bruch on drums. I’ll play piano and keyboards.

Which piece from the concert do you think will surprise audiences most?

A beautiful solo upright bass version of Silent Night featuring Utah Hamrick.  He’s amazing.

What’s one of the most surprising covers or reinterpretations of a piece of music that you’ve ever heard? Classical or otherwise.

There are so many amazing covers and reinterpretations I’ve heard! A few come to mind right away. A three turntable live remix of Moon River by Kid Koala blew my mind. The Kronos Quartet doing Jimi Hendrix changed the course of string quartets globally. And of course, Hendrix’s own version of the Star Spangled Banner spoke for and to a whole generation in a way that is still both debated and emulated.

Do you have any personal holiday music favorites?

Silent Night is my favorite so I’m a little jealous that Utah gets it to himself.  So, maybe we’ll play it twice.
 

^{Graham Reynolds, Utah Hamrick, Alexis Buffum, and Jeremy Bruch most recently collaborated on the bilingual cross-border opera Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance. (Pancho Villa Opera)}

Like other holiday institutions, could Graham Reynolds Ruins the Holidays become a yearly tradition?

I would love to do this every year. It’s a fun show to play.

As a lover of music yourself, what do you think makes audiences so interested in alternate versions of well-known music?

Whether it’s notated classical music being interpreted or a jazz chart being improvised on, the more the audience already knows the material, the easier it is to hear what the player is changing, expanding, and otherwise being creative with. Like seeing a Shakespeare production, there’s no mystery about what happens, it’s about what an artist does with materials that you already know.

Can you think of any other holiday seasons that could be suitable for musical ruin?

Halloween music would be a blast to do a show of.

Graham Reynolds Ruins the Holidays is sold out at the Long Center. Click here for more information about upcoming concerts at the Long Center and here to visit Graham Reynold’s official website.