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‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ so that was required! And we put in three originals worked

up just for this album.

We rejected a few classic songs, choosing to stay with secular tunes and not venture into messing
with ‘Oh Holy Night’ or others with a religious base. We began work on some songs that just didn’t
pan out, we couldn’t get them to feel right, some were dropped during rehearsals but one was
rejected after we recorded it, simply because it didn’t fit with the others—it was kind of an over the
top original that was packed with a lot of inside jokes that we felt would detract from the rest of the

tracks which, frankly, came out so much better than we had hoped. We realized the album could be
bigger than just a little novelty thing that we envisioned.

What is your favourite
performance on the
album?

Honestly, the opening track,
our take on Mariah Carey’s
‘All I Want For Christmas Is
You’ tops my list—that song
was made to be bluesy and I
love the way we did it. Our
take on ‘Jingle Bells’ is a

close second!

Are you planning live
shows for the album? Will
Memphis Zoo at Christmas (2020)
you wear your Santa hat?

We are working on one or

two potential shows. Because we all have our own gigs with other bands we won’t tour to support it
but there are a couple of Christmas shows planned! As for the hat, that’s a red fedora with far too
much fur on it, but I would most certainly wear it for the shows! (see the CD sleeve above.)

What is Christmas like on the Memphis blues scene?

As someone not native to the South—I’m originally from Michigan but have lived in several regions—
I tend to notice more differences than similarities with my traditions. First, there is typically much
less snow, and if there is snow everything shuts down! But the city is decked out in Christmas
decorations, both secular and religious, and they certainly do embrace the Christmas spirit. There

will be Christmas parties going on throughout the month, and I intend to get to several!

Anything else you want to add?

I want to wish everyone in our global blues community a happy and blessed holiday season—whether
you are across the table, across the street or across the ocean from me, we are all brothers and
sisters bound together by our love of the blues, one of the greatest gifts an oppressed people could
possibly give to the world! Happy Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas, Mick, and thanks!

Norman Darwen