TYLER SHAW TALKS A TYLER SHAW CHRISTMAS
"It's the joy and excitement of the holidays"
Daniel John
With a mother playing the piano and an older brother in school bands, what do you remember Christmas sounding like growing up?
Christmas was definitely a musical time for me growing up. My mom was a piano teacher and my older brother and I both played instruments as well, there was a lot of music around the house, and especially during the holidays. What I remember most is playing the Michael Bublé 'Christmas' album on repeat. As soon as that first snowfall hits or December first rolls around, I immediately play 'It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas'. Whether we were wrapping gifts, making baked goods, or just hanging out as a family, Christmas music is definitely the soundtrack of our holiday, and still is.
What made you want to do a Christmas album this year?
In recent years I’ve done Christmas singles, and I have always loved covering Christmas songs, they’re timeless, and once I had my daughter just five days before Christmas last year, I decided I wanted to make a full-length album that I could share with her, for this year. The album combines some of my previous Christmas singles, a few new holiday favourites and some originals. One of which includes my daughter, Everly, called 'Christmas In Your Eyes'.
With how nostalgic of a holiday it is, I would imagine writing original Christmas songs is as ambivalent as Christmas itself. Did writing come easy for you?
Yes, these new original songs came fairly quick to me. The song 'Christmas In Your Eyes' was originally just called 'In Your Eyes', and I discussed the idea with my team of reframing the original demo-version of the song and re-imagining it from the perspective of seeing the magic of Christmas through my daughter’s eyes and how special everything is when you’re little. That wonder we all experience and seemingly loose over time, I’m reliving again as we gear up for the holidays with my baby girl. There is some quintessential elements of a good Christmas song but ultimately it is about connecting and building a story others can universally relate to and hopefully sing along to as well.
You usually have some genre influences we otherwise perhaps would not think of in this context, so when adapting the classics, did you feel you wanted to stay true to the originals because of the expectation of nostalgia?
I always want to make songs my own or add my own flare to the originals while maintaining the integrity of the song. It is not about recreating the wheel for me per se, the objective is to enhance. Melody is really key with Christmas music, you do not want to stray too far on that element but I think production is how I re-imagine Christmas classics.
So which of all Christmas songs is best, like ever. I'll assume it is on on ‘A Tyler Shaw Christmas’?
You said it! (laughs) In addition to the covers on my new Christmas album, anything Christmas focused Michael Bublé is on top of my list. His voice just suits the season and gets everyone in the spirit whether it’s a somber holiday or you need something more uptempo. I also covered 'Christmas Time' by Bryan Adams which I grew up listening to and think is such a great song. It's perhaps not as widely known but nevertheless, it's a great song!
Did you get every song that you wished for on the album?
I feel like this album will continue building for years to come. I have a lot of my favorite Christmas songs on there, but I can think of a handful more I’d like to add for next year. Maybe some more collabs and features and I’d love to continue writing some new original Christmas music as well. One song that I’ve always wanted to cover is 'Happy XMas (War Is Over)' originally by John Lennon. After touring across Canada this winter together with The Tenors, I’ve felt even more inspired to cover some new songs for next year.
We might of course be referring to your original songs as timeless and iconic songs in the years to come as well. I personally would not mind hearing them every Christmas from now on. ‘Christmas in Your Eyes’, not least, is so special?
This is my favorite song this year and will be forever because my daughter is on it. The song was written for and about her. I used a voice note of her speaking in baby talk and built it into the final recording and it was really special. It is all framed around the joy and excitement of the holidays that you live or relive through a child’s eyes.
Christmas will be quite different from now on, having a daughter. Is there anything, perhaps from your own childhood, you want to hold on to and bring into her life?
I used to play hockey all winter break, on the street or ice hockey. I am not sure if my daughter will be into that but that’s a treasured family-tradition of mine. Just a few weeks ago I actually took my daughter through a drive-thru Christmas-light spectacle in Toronto and she absolutely loved it. She’s obsessed with lights lately and she was just overwhelmed with colors, sounds and twinkling lights. That may be a new family tradition for us.
Are there any fun quirks to celebrating Christmas and being of Chinese, Polish and Ukrainian descent, and in Canada, no less. Is it a differently laid table, one of many flavors?
Lots of food! An endless supply of perogies from the Polish and Ukrainian side of things. We have lots of big meals as a family which I always look forward to and then also regret when I hit the scale in the early new year. Our major traditions on the Chinese side are traditionally Chinese New Year.
What do you wish for this Christmas?
I really hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday, regardless of where you are in the world. It’s been a difficult year and I know people just want to be celebrating with their loved ones at this point. Whatever that looks like, whether it’s virtual or small family gathering, my wish is that we can be connected with the ones that we love and reflect on all of the things we are grateful for.
