Fast rising Irish country/rock band The Rising have recently released their original Christmas single ‘This Special Time Of Year‘ and have just released the official music video for the festive track;
Here we speak exclusively The Rising’s guitarist Chris Logan and lead vocalist Chantelle McAteer about all things Christmas;
What are your happiest Christmas memories?
Chris: For me every Christmas was special. There’s just something in the air, a kind of magic and peace. But one of the pivotal moments for me was getting my first electric guitar. I had played my Dad’s guitars but I remember lusting after a Fender Stratocaster that some of my heroes played for ages. So when I finally got one it was magical. I think I may have slept with it on Christmas day… not much has changed since then.
Chantelle: I just always remember my granny and granddad coming to our house every Christmas and always bringing shortbread.
What are your families Christmas traditions?
Chris: For us Christmas lasts full 12 days. But on Christmas Eve we always go out for lunch/dinner, then back home to wrap presents. Around 8pm we go to Church then back to watch a Christmas movie with popcorn etc. Christmas day we get up around 9am to open presents by the open fire. We then relax the rest of the day until dinner which happens around 6pm when it gets dark. That way we can have dinner with candles and Christmas lights going. We also read ‘The Night Before Christmas’ at some point.
Chantelle: We don’t really have any… but opening gifts on Christmas morning, eating Christmas dinner together and watching Christmas movies on Christmas day is mostly what we do every year.. so i guess that’s a tradition.
What made you want to release a Christmas single?
Chantelle: The whole band are a bunch of Christmas heads and its personally my favourite holiday. We all love Christmas music so when we sat down and toyed with the idea it just flowed naturally. We all love Christmas.
Chris: Yes as Chantelle says, we are all crazy about Christmas. I’ve been trying to write a good Christmas song but never quite got one release ready. So when this song came so quickly we knew we were onto something and had to release.
What do you hope fans take from the track?
Chris: As with every song we hope that people will make the song their own and make the song part of their Christmas day playlists. Even better if they make it part of their Christmas celebrations all year around.
Chantelle: Hopefully there is something we have mentioned that relates to their Christmas stories and how they feel about Christmas. We wanted to put across the magic Christmas brings at this time of year so we hope that’s what happens.
Do you plan on releasing an annual festive single?
Chantelle: You’ll have to wait and see.. who knows… Christmas is a magical mystery… lets keep it a surprise hehe
Chris: I’m already working on ideas for the next one. I would prefer to release an original Christmas song instead of covering a standard.
What are your favourite Christmas classics?
Chantelle: ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’. 100%
Chris: For me its The Pogues – Fairytale Of New York or Chris Rea’s driving home for Christmas. They capture the magical feel of the season without being overly sentimental. Timeless songs too that sound like they were released yesterday. However, my favourite Christmas album is Phil Spector’s ‘A Christmas Gift For You’. We actually included many homages to this album in our single.
What are your plans for the New Year?
Chantelle: Releasing the new album. Going on tour… hopefully head over to Nashville at some point. Just keep working on new music.
Chris: As Chantelle says our main goal for next year is to get the new album out and get it to as many people as possible. Nationally and Internationally.
Will you be making any New Year Resolutions?
Chantelle: Get fit, be happy and enjoy the next year.
Chris: Get fit and also not to wait on people. Too many times I’ve put things on hold because someone wasn’t available. So this new year I intend to grab every opportunity.
Make sure you follow The Rising on Twitter @TheRisingMusic to keep up to date with all their latest music and tour news.
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