We have reached a significant day in the year. October 1st is the big kickoff to Christmas for the Baranovics. At midnight I played Mannheim Steamroller’s version of Joy to the World  Mannheim Steamroller is compried of the following Mannheim Steamroller: Arnie Roth (violin, alto vielle); Jackson Berkey (harpischord); Chip Davis (hammered dulcimer, recorder, cornamus); Bobby Jenkins (oboe).

Renaissance Le Doo Dah Band: Arnie Roth (alto vielle); Ron Cooley (lute); Gregory Clinton (cello); Chip Davis (recorder, cornamus, hammered dulcimer, drums); Jackson Berkey (harpsichord).
They take standard Christmas music and put their own rythmic spin on it. Their first four albums are in my opinion their best. They also feature songs from the middle ages where they do some of the original instruments from the period. Their latest LP is Christmasville which features many songs fron The Grinch.  http://shop.mannheimsteamroller.com/ you can find them at this link. They will be on tour and appearing at EJ Thomas in Akron on Nov. 18th. We have seen them 3 times and they are something special

Another favorite of our is Transsiberian Orchestra. They are the former heavy metal band Savatage. To find out more about them here is a link to their bio page http://www.trans-siberian.com/about/biography.shtml

I met the creator of TSO Paul O’Neil at one of their concerts. I wanted to sneak down and by the TSO Christmas ornament for our kids. When I got to the souvenier stand I was standing next to a guy in a full length leather jacket. I ordered the ornaments from the guy at the stand and the guy in the leather asked me if I would like to meet Paul O’Neil. I said sure. He moved a foot to his left and there was Paul O’Neil. The guy in the leather was the road manager. Paul shook hands and then asked if I would like him to autograph the ornaments and I said great so he did. As I was leaving he told the guy working the stand to give him a souvenier program. He autographed it and gave it to me. These guys are special people. After their show the come down to tables and talk to fans and sign autographs. They also usually start the show by presenting a check to a charity from the city they are playing in. I can’t recommend their shows enough. The last time I saw them Ian Hunter made a special guest appearence with them and they closed the show with Cleveland Rocks. They have an incredible light show allong with a sufficient anount of pyro. Christmas Eve in Sareajo is one of my favorite Holiday songs. They are in Cleveland Dec 19 and 20th. They rock the holidays. The Baranovics already have tickets for the 3pm show on the 20th.  Lastly here is a holiday gif for ya