Eight Years of Socks with JD McPherson

JD McPherson has a big heart for Christmas, but knows how to approach it with enough mischief to keep it honest. That balance shines through on Socks, his Christmas record that has as much fun celebrating the season as it does poking at its seams. 

You’ve said more than once you’d never make a Christmas record. What changed?

“Well, I know for sure that when Nick Lowe made his Christmas record, which was right about the time I was being asked to do one… he’s my hero… He did exactly what he would have done anyway. He wrote all these great songs and made something out of this tired old genre that was cool. I still wasn’t completely sold, but the gears started to turn.”

“I really love the Coasters records with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. They always had this cool sensibility and a silly sense of humor that somehow wasn’t corny. They never really wrote Christmas songs with the Coasters, and I started thinking, ‘What if they had made a whole Christmas album together?’ It just started falling out of me.”

The record feels affectionate but a little rebellious. Does that edge come from your punk rock days in high school with Slippy, Gladys, and The Fjords? (Alt: Where does that edge come from?)

“Oh, my God. I cannot believe anyone other person said those three names. I definitely have a rebellious streak. But I think there’s a way to do things where everyone’s in on the joke. Even little kids. They’re suddenly like, ‘There’s a tree in my house, there’s lights, you’re telling me there’s a man in a red suit who comes down the chimney and knows what I do?’ It’s insane.”

“Kids like being given permission to say, ‘What the hell is all of this?’ They always go for the ones that are a little more snarky. They know they’re supposed to be grateful, but it’s fun to complain about getting socks.”

So, worst Christmas gift? Was it socks?

“I’ve never felt any gift was a bad one. I’ve always been grateful for everything, and I love socks. I love getting them. It’s a secret ploy to get clean socks on the road. People throw socks onstage now. The whole reason behind all of this is that I wanted to tour in December and get free socks. And that’s exactly what’s happening.”

You talk about giving kids permission to question the magic a little. What does that look like at home with your girls?

“I think it’s about being able to laugh at yourself and laugh at serious things as an expression of love. Maybe it's like the Scots-Irish back stock I have. There’s a little salt in the sugar.”

“My kids have grown to be even bigger Christmas monsters than me. We go completely nuts every year. We start talking about it in September. We go completely crazy with the House and the decorations and food… we love cooking.”

“My youngest has a yearly text thread of everything she wants. It grows and grows, and lately she starts taking things away. She’s like, ‘You know what? I don’t really need a sixth hair color.’”

“It's our first year with our oldest daughter gone off to college, too. So we're really excited for her to come home and get the gang back together.”

You recently performed with her at the Philbrook. 

“That was my youngest. My oldest daughter is a great musician, too. She studied piano at the conservatory at the National School of the Arts when we lived in Nashville. Both my girls and my wife have a musical ear.”

“For the low down premiere in Tulsa, that was mine and my youngest’s first thing we did together. And she was very nervous, but not nearly as nervous as I was. And I was so nervous for her that I goofed up. I goofed up my part, and she nailed it. So I was proud.”

I personally, actually did get an alpaca wool belt for Christmas one year, so that line made me laugh out loud. Is that a real experience?

“No, not really. That was just a good rhyme. But I was a surprise kid. There are pictures of me at five years old wearing velvet tuxedos, giant bow ties, ruffly shirts. I was something for my mom to dress.”

“I remember her coming into my room and picking out what I wore every day. I remember thinking, ‘Man, I can’t wait until I can decide what I’m wearing.’ That’s kind of the thrust of that tune.”

“Every night we play that song, people laugh at the alpaca wool line. So maybe it touched something I didn’t know about.”

Which song was the hardest to get right?

“Probably ‘Holly’, just because each chorus is different. You know, each chorus is about a different girl.”

“I'll tell you a secret. That song is recorded out of order. Really, it's Holly, Carol, Candy, and Joy. But if you read the lyrics. It goes, Holly, Candy, Carol, and Joy. And nobody noticed it until it was off to the presses.

“That record was fast and furious. We had so much fun making it.”

‘Claus vs. Claus’ feels like a classic, bantery country duet. Very “You’re the Reason Our Kids are Ugly”. Was that intentional?

“That Conway and Loretta tune was is one I really thought about. Mrs. Claus doesn’t get her flowers very often.”

“And you know she's up there working hard. You know how it is when you're living with somebody, especially somebody you’ve been married to for a long time, there are points where you're bumping shoulders in their hall.”

“It was just one of those kind of classic country duets, airing of grievances, and then you make up in the end. But I really like, I really like that, that one, I think that might be my favorite lyrically on the record.”

“My friend Lucy Silva sang with me on that one. She helped finish the lyrics. She’s just great.”

You’re celebrating eight years of Socks.

“I can’t believe you just said that. I don’t understand how that’s possible. It feels like this brand new thing that we're still rolling out.”

“It was fun to take a break from the Night Owls record and do something completely different. Switch back into suits and saxophones.”

Do you like getting to shake up your set every year like that?

“It's always kind of a nice little reprieve. It’s just a real happy environment. The audience is happy. They know the songs. They’re bringing their kids now. It always feels like time well spent on the road.”

Do you read what people say about it?

“I avoid comments. I learned that a long time ago.”

I found only positive. It was a lot of people saying that it’s their staple every Christmas. It’s what their family puts the tree up to. A new classic. 

“Man, I love that. Awesome.”

What Christmas traditions have stuck with your family?

“My wife brought most of them. She loves traditions. Birthday cupcakes first thing in the morning. Ghost-shaped pancakes on Halloween.”

“We do a baking night. The girls bake. The guys stay out of the way.”

“There’s a place in Tulsa called Utica Square—we always go see Santa, get coffee, look at the lights. I married somebody who loves traditions.”

Appreciate you joining us. Happy Holidays. 

Thank you so much. Happy Holidays.