Don’t look now, but December 1 is tomorrow, and that means two things: Rent is due, motherfucker, and Christmas music is now law of the land. So as we navigate through the month trying to avoid omnipresent pop jingles from Wham and Mariah Carey, The Aquadolls are here to provide a SoCal ska-punk spin on one of the greatest ho-ho-holiday tunes of all time, The Waitresses’ “Christmas Wrapping.”
And hey, it’s pretty damn good.
Re-dubbed “Xmas Wrapping,” The Aquadolls’ version was produced by Fat Mike of NOFX and Jon Graber, with guest appearances by Fishbone’s Angelo Moore on saxophone and NOFX’s El Jefe on trumpet. And all that weary talk about how the year wore us down and we’re not sure we’re ready for Christmas surely hits different in 2021.
“Every year when the weather starts getting colder (and in California terms meaning we go from blistering hot weather to a breezy 70 degrees) it means it’s time for the holiday season,” says Aquadolls’ Melissa Brooks. “This leads to our not-so-friendly winter companion: Seasonal depression. Christmas time can be really difficult to navigate through, especially during a pandemic. The holidays can suck, but with the help of a good pal or two and some rock n roll, hopefully, it can suck a little less!”
Brooks adds: “It’s so exciting for us to collaborate with so many music icons on this and put a new twist on such an underrated and timeless classic. We hope you start a mosh pit to this and this makes your holiday season rock harder than before!”
Catch The Aquadolls tonight (November 30) at the Budtender Awards’ Budtender Sessions at 7 p.m. PST, streaming on YouTube or Cannabis Capitol’s Twitch, and December 11 at the opening night of Punk Rock & Paintbrushes sixth annual Holiday ART Show in Downtown Los Angeles.