Christmasland Jubilee by Dan Blakeslee

In a rustic one room school house in South Berwick, Maine at the age of five I played sleigh bells alongside my father to The Chipmunks song “Christmas Don’t Be Late”. It has always been one of my favorite childhood memories around the holiday season and I have been an avid Christmas music enthusiast ever since.

In 2006 I started writing Christmas songs for my family as gifts on my meager home recording gear. I’ve been wanting to make a full length studio Christmas record with my band for the past decade. Every December would go by feeling too busy with the hustle and bustle of the holidays to record an album like this. Then five days before Christmas in 2019 I called my studio engineer friend Chris Chase to see if he could get me in to record before December 25th that year. he said yes! So this album was recorded with snow on the ground and the magic of Christmas in the air. I hope this album brings enchantment to your holiday season.

Warm Regards,
Dan Blakeslee

Tracklist

1.	Mister Candy Cane	3:51

2.	Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree	2:18

3.	Glowin', Blowin', Jumpin', Swayin', Wishin', Swingin', Dancin', Rockin', Fishin', Laughin' Christmas Tree	3:16

4.	We Three Kings	5:40

5.	The Somerville Lights	3:01

6.	The Reindeer Boogie	2:30

7.	It's Almost Christmas Morn	1:54

8.	To Be An Elf	2:55

9.	Christmas Tree Calling	4:26

10.	Silver Bells	3:38

11.	Santa Claus Is Coming To Town	3:03

12.	Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem	4:11

13.	Let's Start Again	4:30

Credits

released December 1, 2020

1 Mister Candy Cane **
2 Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree (Johnny Marks)
3 Glowin', Blowin', Jumpin', Swayin', Wishin', Swingin', Dancin', Rockin', Fishin', Laughin' Christmas Tree **
4 We Three Kings
5 The Somerville Lights **
6 The Reindeer Boogie (Peanut Faircloth, Hank Snow, Cordia Volmar)
7 It's Almost Christmas Morn **
8 To Be An Elf **
9 Christmas Tree Calling **
10 Silver Bells (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)
11 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie)
12 Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem
13 Let's Start Again + **

All songs ( ** ) written by Dan Blakeslee © 2020
+ bonus song recorded by Dan Blakeslee

The Calabash Club:
Dan Blakeslee: vocals, acoustic guitar, bells, glockenspiel (10)
Mike Effenberger: accordion, organ, piano
Nick Phaneuf: upright bass, electric bass
Jim Rudolf: drums

Additional Musicians:
Scott Matthew Pittman: glockenspiel, vibes, xylophone
Dave Blakeslee: accordion (2, 5, 9, 11)
Chris Klaxton: trumpet
Eric Klaxton: clarinet
Bruce Derr: pedal steel
Tim Moore: mandolin
Dave Talmage: fiddle

Backing vocals:
Jenee Halstead: (3, 5, 8, 9)
Amy Kucharik: (3, 5, 7, 8)
Juliet Nelson: (1, 3, 7, 8, 9)
Audrey Ryan: (1, 3, 5, 8)

All art and design by Dan Blakeslee © 2020
Engineered by Chris Chase at The Noise Floor in Dover, NH
Dan Blakeslee engineered Audrey Ryan and Jenee Halstead's backing vocals
Bruce Derr engineered all pedal steel tracks
Amy Kucharik engineered all of her vocal tracks
Tim Moore engineered all mandolin tracks
Mixed by Dan Blakeslee and Chris Chase
Produced by Dan Blakeslee and Chris Chase with assistance by Andrew May
Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East in Cambridge, MA
Vinyl pressed at Burlington Record Plant in Burlington, Vermont
CD's pressed at Imprint and Ross Ellis

Thanks to my musical friends and comrades The Calabash Club (Mike
Effenberger, Nick Phaneuf, Jim Rudolf) and all the musicians who leant
their talents for this record! Chris Chase, Leland Chase, Mary Dellea,
Amanda Kowalski, Michaela Phaneuf, Andrew May, Lynny Bryan, Bob Haines, Kari Sciera, Aaron Jule, David Balkin, Lisa Coppola, Jessica and Marni Thibault, Erin Parsons, Brian Sullivan, Jeremiah Hayward and Kathleen Dooher, Colleen Kennedy Mulligan and Stephen Mulligan, Burlington Record Plant. Dover, NH delights: Adelles Coffeehouse, Flight Coffee, Chapel + Main, Katz's Deli, Janetos Market. Bob's Candy Canes, Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa and of course to all of you reading this and for listening!

Thanks to my family Mom, Dad, Jonathan, Christopher, Karen Robblee (Katie, Stephen, Lori, Nicholas) David Sanborn!

Christmas album inspiration: Gene Autry, Stevie Wonder, Charles Brown, Bing Crosby, Johnny Cash, Ken Griffin, The Chipmunks, She & Him, JD McPherson and A Christmas Story.

This album is dedicated to my parents Dave and Karen for the continued enchantment and magic they bring of which is very abundant during the holiday season.

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