5 Q&A With J.J. Chamberlain
What was the creative process like for “Tired of Christmas?"
It all happened pretty quickly actually. I was asked in mid-November if I’d ever consider writing a Christmas song. I immediately shot down the suggestion but added that if I did, it would be an alternative Christmas song about being separated from the people you love at Christmas, and an attack on the increasingly premature Christmas marketing period. I then walked away from that conversation thinking “That might actually be a good idea.”
That night I wrote some lyrics and over the following 3 days I spent time carving out the melody and the chords. I then recorded the whole thing over the course of an afternoon.
Were there any challenges or breakthrough moments during the songwriting process for "Tired of Christmas?"
There were lots of challenging moments in production as it was just me, and this is the first song that I’ve released that I’ve produced myself. I had to call upon a couple of friends and peers to listen and take notes, they gave me some really useful feedback. The most challenging thing for me was letting go of my insecurities and deciding to put the song out!
What did you enjoy most about making "Tired of Christmas?"
The most enjoyable part came with the street recording that you hear at the end of the track. I was walking through the street in York, listening to my first draft with headphones, and I could hear this strange organ music getting louder as I approached the local funeral parlour. I then walked across a scene where around 30 people stood outside a funeral parlour in Christmas hats, “Caroling” in silence as a man inserted the music cards into an automatic organ. It was bizarre. I then went home and tampered with the sample recording.
Can you share an instance where you felt a strong connection with the crowd during a show?
With my band, Box Time, we have been slowly perfecting the art of talking to the audience, we’ve had some really fun shows recently. As a solo artist, I really like to play in an intimate room and I’ve been lucky to have some really accepting audiences. I played Liverpool this year, and got a really encouraging audience response to a lot of my songs.
How do you continuously grow and evolve as an artist?
I think this happens naturally. I sometimes have quiet periods where I’m not writing, but generally I’m always jotting an idea down for a song. The important thing is to have people around you that can encourage you both mentally and technically. As I mentioned before, having specific feedback from the production is what got me over the line and allowed me to have the guts to let go and release this song. As a songwriter, I’m always hungry, and I have this chip that won’t let me ignore an idea once I think it’s worth the time. If that’s familiar to you, listen to that process! Persevere, it’ll be worth it in the end.
