You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, but do you know Chronic and Que-P and Doobie and Blitzy? Or perhaps even the most notorious of them all, Rudolph the red-eyed reindeer?
Grand Forks musician Johl Chato, known to friends as Jam, is hoping to introduce the alternative team of reindeer and his pot-based parody songs to new audiences this holiday season by releasing his holiday album, Dreaming of a Green Christmas.
Chato, who produces songs through the name Blaze of Grass, said that he鈥檇 been kicking around the idea for a Christmas parody album for more than a decade before he enlisted the help of a jazz singer from Victoria (who goes by the name High Grade on Chato鈥檚 project), a drummer from Vancouver and local music producer Sacha P茅tulli to reimagine the classic sounds of malls and coffee shops at Christmas time.
鈥淚鈥檓 hungry for a little bit of change and a little bit of evolution with our Christmas carols,鈥� Chato said. 鈥淟ike, who鈥檚 ready for breath fresh air here?鈥�
鈥淩udolph the Red-Eyed Reindeer,鈥� 鈥淟et it Grow,鈥� Little Trimmer Boy,鈥� 鈥淪ativa is Coming Around鈥� and 鈥淕reen Christmas鈥� (based off the classic 鈥淲hite Christmas鈥� and not Elvis Presley鈥檚 鈥淏lue Christmas,鈥� to be clear) round out a jazzy album that, were it not for its lyrical content, could well be played alongside Michael Bubl茅 at a mall.
Oddly enough, that鈥檚 how the idea first came to Chato.
Listening to radio playing at the store, he said, 鈥淚t just happens off the cuff,鈥� and the words begin to replace themselves. Though, Chato said, he tries to 鈥渕atch the spirit of the original鈥� with every parody.
鈥溾�橰udolph the Red-Eyed Reindeer鈥�, it sort of just fell into place,鈥� Chato said. While his version keeps the melody and general premise, the reggae infusion at the first chorus sets Chato鈥檚 song apart from the Christmas canon.
Painting the character through a hashy haze, Chato said, is his version of the chants that carollers mimicked as children 鈥� the 鈥渓ike Monopoly!鈥� line-ender in original version of the song he parodied, or even like the 鈥淛ingle bells, Batman smells,鈥� version of the holiday classic.
The other four songs on his debut Christmas album released online, though sung with a wry smile, came from a more serious place.
鈥淚 decided that I needed to do an album to really substantiate my platform that I鈥檓 not a one hit wonder like, I really am a cannabis parody man.鈥�
So, he thought through other Christmas songs and compared them to cannabis-based stories, language and humour and weeded out the ones that just wouldn鈥檛 fit the bill.
鈥淲hen it comes down to it,鈥� Chato explained, 鈥測ou only have so many synonyms and adjectives for cannabis.鈥� Some expressions just didn鈥檛 fit. Nevertheless, the lyricist said, 鈥淪ometimes I鈥檒l give up on them, but sometimes I鈥檒l just build and chip and chip and then it just comes out.鈥�
Chato鈥檚 repertoire expands beyond December songs too 鈥� he鈥檚 also got a parody of The Who鈥檚 鈥淏ehind Blue Eyes鈥� (鈥�Behind Green Highs鈥�) and the theme song to the 1970s sitcom Happy Days (鈥�Hashy Daze鈥�).
For the 鈥淲eed Al鈥� of Grand Forks, cannabis-related riffs on old classics is part of legalization and a second coming of social acceptance for pot, which was criminalized in Canada in 1923.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that [cannabis] will sort of be an industry that will grow 鈥� no pun intended 鈥� to have these spin-off industries too,鈥� Chato said.
@jensenedw
Jensen.edwards@grandforksgazette.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
