December 10, 2025 • 16 mins
Pat Monahan from Train joins Behind the Christmas Hits with Drew Savage for exciting chat about the new version of ‘Christmas in Tahoe' album and all the new songs that have been added to it.
Pat Monahan tells Drew the possible recipe for writing a Christmas hit. Pat chats about some of his favourite things to do during Christmas time. He shares more about the iconic album ‘Christmas in Tahoe' getting turned into a hallmark movie and how most of it was filmed in Canada.
Pat uncovers his Mount Rushmore of Christmas music including some iconic hits from Donne Hathaway and Bing Crosby. Pat finally leaves us with what his plans are for end of year and hat’s next including ‘Train’ joining Barenaked Ladies and Matt Nathanson on tour in 2026. #elfmovie #ChristmasinTahoe #ChristmasinTahoemovie #trainband #MattNathanson #BarenakedLadies
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In 2015, Train released their album Christmas in Tahoe, an
album they've revisited for its 10th anniversary. Train's lead singer
Pat Monahan joins us to talk about writing original Christmas music,
how best to cover a classic, and all things Christmas
for this episode of Behind the Christmas Hits.
Behind the Christmas hits with Drew Savage.
(00:24):
Train had their first top 20 hit in 1998 with
Meet Virginia, but it was drops of Jupiter in 2001
that really put them on top. As we record this,
Train will do a 25th anniversary tour for that song
and album next summer with Barenaked Ladies and Matt Nathanson.
Along the way to recording more than a dozen albums
and releasing 34 singles to date, Train released their Christmas
(00:48):
album in 2015, Christmas in.
Tahoe to talk about it and the 3 new songs
added to the album for its anniversary edition, lead singer
Pat Monahan is with us for this episode of Behind
the Christmas Hits. Happy anniversary. How does it feel to
know that, uh, you know, with all the Christmas music
that's out there, you guys made something that people want
to revisit or even discover every year at Christmas
(01:11):
time.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
It's pretty cool. It's actually mine and my family's favorite
Christmas record to listen to, even though it's, uh, my voice.
I think the choice of songs is uh really lovely
for people, because we have, you know, several originals on there,
but also a bunch of standards, and even non-standards that
are covers, like from the band, uh, that people don't
(01:34):
aren't as familiar with, but they sound great.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I, that was actually one of the songs that I
wanted to, uh, to talk to you about as a Canadian.
I mean, I must compliment your choices of Canadian songwriters
to cover.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
There were some amazing ones. Bryan Adams, man, he's still amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Brian's great, and Joni Mitchell, of course, a number of
different artists have, uh, done an interpretation of River over
the years, but Christmas Must Be Tonight, the Robbie Robertson, uh,
band song, that's, that's one you don't hear as often.
What was it about that song that, uh, that really
kind of spoke to you?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
You know, my music director, keyboard, guitarist, uh, Jerry Becker
found that song, and he, he sent it to me,
and I was like, yeah, this is, this is definitely
gotta be one of them.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
It's, it's an absolute classic, and before we talk about the, uh,
the new editions, uh, uh, a couple of other questions
about the original release. First, um, is there a Christmas
song more fun to sing than Donny Hathaway's This Christmas?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
No, no, there's not, there's not a more fun song.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I mean, Shake Up, uh, Shake Up Christmas by, uh,
this band Train is, is pretty fun too, but Donny
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Hathaway, that's, uh, that's also pretty fun, but man, trying to, uh,
be anywhere close to as good as Donny Hathaway is
very challenging, but it's such a great, beautiful song.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
How do you
decide what themes to explore through that Christmas lens when
you're writing new music, new Christmas
music?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
You gotta talk about Mistletoe.
You gotta talk about Santa Claus, you know, it's uh,
it it it's, there's no real formula, but, uh, there's
so many things that you can talk about, but I,
I think relationships are always the core of any song,
whether it's about Christmas or um uh about a breakup
(03:21):
or whatever you want. Um, it's, it's all about some relationship.
And so these
These 3 songs are definitely about relationships during Christmas.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Did they start off as relationship songs, or did they
start off as, let's write a Christmas song?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well, I think one of the first things I can
remember is there was a lyric that I just kept singing,
he's on his way, and just about Santa, and uh
basically asking Santa to bring me someone who will love
me right, and, uh, like, that's just basically, uh, you know, we,
we looked at covering other people's songs, but
(04:04):
It's so, you know, there it's been, it's been done
so many hundreds, if not thousands of times, you know,
that there's not, why would you listen to our version
of White Christmas if there's 400 others that are, you know,
so incredible.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Under the Christmas Moonlight, one of the, uh, the 3
new songs, Rainy New York Christmas. I live in Vancouver,
we get a lot of those, but Rainy New York Christmas, uh,
is one of the other new songs, and
Let's stay in tonight. What is, what is your idea
of a perfect stay-in night around Christmas? People are usually
kind of running around all over the place at Christmas,
(04:42):
but if you want to stay in at Christmas, what's
the perfect night for a, for a stay in Christmas?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Well, I'm originally from Erie, Pennsylvania, so it would have
to do with snow and being snowed in.
And having a fireplace and just being with the people
that you want to be with, that's the perfect.
Uh, I gotta be at home for Christmas kind of moment.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
You're
a West Coast guy now. Do you miss the snow?
Do you like to revisit snow for like a day
or two, and then you're happy to kind of leave
it behind? Yeah,
Speaker 2 (05:12):
yeah, I know snow too well to like think of
it romantically. Uh, I, I do like to, uh, have
some moments of snow sports, but 23 days tops, and
then back on, uh, regular freeways without.
Ice and salt, like I prefer that. It seems like,
(05:36):
it seems like you you Vancouver, Seattle, have been getting
more Alaska weather.
And like San Francisco is starting to get Seattle weather.
It's raining more there, it's snowing a little more here
in Vancouver, like, maybe 23 times a year, right? And
it'll stay for a couple
Speaker 1 (05:55):
weeks. There, uh, the first couple of winters that I actually,
I've been in Vancouver for 22 years now, and the
first couple of winters here, I don't think we had
snow on the ground for more than like a day
or two. I remember the first time it snowed, and
they literally closed the downtown mall at 3 in the afternoon.
And as like an Ontario guy, I was like, what
is going on? um, but that was, that was, that
(06:16):
was before I knew that people in Vancouver are not
terribly comfortable driving in snow. The saddle
drivers
Speaker 2 (06:23):
like in the difference really is.
The amount of hills that are significant in Vancouver as
opposed to Ontario.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yes, yes.
Uh, I didn't live on a mountain, uh, when, when
they were, the mall is not on the mountain itself,
but still, I mean, it is, uh, it is a thing,
snow on the west coast. Do, are, do you, are
Seattle drivers good in the snow or not so
Speaker 2 (06:48):
much? No, not so much, no. OK,
Speaker 1 (06:50):
yeah, it's a West Coast thing. Uh, Christmas in Tahoe,
10 years, I mean, part of the journey of this
album was turning it into a Hallmark Christmas movie a
couple of years ago. I I do find the Hallmark
Christmas movie machine.
So interesting. They make so many of them here.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
We shot, we shot most of it in Canada.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
OK. Was it, uh, was it Toronto or
Vancouver that?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
No, we were in Vancouver for half of it, and
then we were in, uh, what is the incredible ski
resort that I'm blanking on.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
With like in British Columbia,
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Whistler Whistler, yeah,
Speaker 1 (07:26):
if you stayed in BC it would be
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Whistler. Yeah, we, we were in Whistler for maybe 10
days.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
As an executive producer, I mean, you were in the
movie obviously as well, but, uh, as an executive producer,
do you have input on the story, uh, that was
put together? No, no,
Speaker 2 (07:41):
executive producer means nothing. It's
Speaker 1 (07:43):
like, uh,
Speaker 2 (07:45):
I think it's just to make me feel better.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Maybe an extra paycheck or
Speaker 2 (07:50):
an extra,
not even that. Maybe an extra cup of coffee.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
What
was it from being inside that Hallmark Christmas movie machine? What,
what was it like? What was your experience with
that process?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Uh, it was really great, uh, and I think the
greatness came from all of the Canadians that were such
a big part of us making that movie. They, they
were very smart.
I knew how, I mean, it was, this was during
COVID shutdown, so getting over the border was, uh, was
not as easy as it, it should be or could be,
(08:23):
and they just made it, you know, very easy to
shoot this movie. Everyone was super pro, but also very kind.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Any thoughts on doing another one?
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, well, George Lopez is in it, cause I said, George,
he's been a good friend for a long time. I
was like,
How do you feel about making almost $0 and getting
to the hardest place in the world to get to,
to spend 2 days on a movie? And he was like,
I've been dreaming of this moment.
But George and I have talked that we would love
to uh shoot another one where the two of us.
(08:58):
Maybe have left the hotel that we were working at,
and pursue, you know, maybe he's my music manager or something, but, uh,
we're trying to figure it out, because we also need
a bunch of young people to have the romance part,
you know,
Speaker 1 (09:12):
details. You get, somebody will come from a small town
and you'll run into them, and they'll be reunited with
somebody from their past. It's, it's such a simple formula,
but oh my God, the hit rate on these things
is phenomenal. Like every single one of them
Speaker 2 (09:24):
is, you know what, you're guaranteed.
And everything's gonna work out. Yes,
Speaker 1 (09:30):
that happy holiday ending
Speaker 2 (09:31):
that everybody, there's no horrific ending coming your way at all.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Has there been any thought, maybe you did around the, uh,
the time of the album's original release, and I'm, I'm
just kind of blanking on it, but, you know, with
the success of this album and now the new editions,
any thoughts about doing like a Christmas-specific tour with the band?
Speaker 2 (09:51):
You know, we've talked about it, it's um,
I, I don't, we've done a few Christmas shows in
the past, but it, it's very expensive.
And what I learned from those shows is that
Unlike Mannheim, is it steamroller? Am I saying that right?
(10:13):
So unlike them because they play, you know, they're so
well known for Christmas songs, and we have a Christmas album,
but we also have, you know, 12 other albums that
Could these Christmas shows end up being like 4 Christmas songs,
cause everybody wants to hear everything else, and so it
doesn't end up really being a big Christmas
event.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Makes sense. I mean, but so many great, as you say,
Christmas originals, and your spin on some Christmas classics. What
do you, when you do, and I take your point
about White Christmas that you made earlier, but when you
do decide, when you were picking the songs to cover,
some maybe,
You know, hidden gems, some other, some of the others
(10:53):
very popular and very well known. Um, how do you,
as a band, how do you make those classics that
people know so well, how do you make them your own?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Well, you know, choosing the right key for my voice
is crucial in any song, whether we're writing it or
covering somebody's song.
Because we all, all of us dumb singers, we have
a kind of a sweet spot. So that's the key is, like,
I can't sing high like Mariah Carey, so we'd probably
(11:24):
want to take that down a half of a, a
half of a step or something. But, uh, there are
other people like Bing Crosby that I don't want to
sing that low, so I would, we would change the key,
you know, maybe go up a couple of steps. So,
That's the biggest part of any Christmas song. I think
Donny Hathaway and I share a similar range, so I
think we kept that in the, in the same key.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
What is your, you said you, you and your family,
your favorite Christmas album is Christmas in Tahoe, as it
should be. Um, beyond your own, uh, what is, or
maybe it includes your own, what is your Mount Rushmore
of Christmas music? Four songs that really define the season
for you.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, when I was a kid,
I, I don't remember if I had even heard Nat's
version of, uh, Nat Cole's version of it, but I
saw Mel Torme on a PBS special playing the Christmas song,
cause he wrote it, and I just really fell in
love with the man and that song, so that would
definitely be up there. I think Donny Hathaway's, Donny Hathaway's
(12:24):
This Christmas for sure. Something with Bing Crosby, probably White Christmas, uh.
And something with Ella Fitzgerald. She's, uh, the greatest singer
of all time. So whatever she would want to sing,
Speaker 1 (12:36):
where her version of Winter Wonderland is spectacular. I think, uh,
that's a pretty solid collection right there. Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby,
Mel Torme slash Nat King Cole, and Donny Hathaway. I
think that's a, that's a pretty tip-top list there. Uh,
growing up, growing up in Erie, Pennsylvania, what did, what
was the toy or gift?
That Pat Monahan wanted the most when he was 78
(12:59):
years old.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
You know, I don't remember, there were GI Joes and
Hulks and things like that, Big wheels. I, Big Wheel
was a really cool item for me back in the day.
Those were my younger years, and then I remember when
I was about maybe 13, I didn't, so I
I, uh, I, I didn't get a gift that I
(13:23):
thought I was gonna get, and so I pouted.
Uh during Christmas, and my mom.
She was
Pretty bummed out at me, and that was my last
ever not being grateful. I just needed my mom to
be disappointed in me and it worked.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I, I think you and I are about the same age.
So when you were talking big wheels and hulks and
stuff like that, I had a flashback to an Oscar
Goldman action figure from the $6 Million Man, which I think.
Around that,
Speaker 2 (13:53):
I'm familiar with that
Speaker 1 (13:54):
as well. Uh, Christmas in Tahoe was turned into a
Hallmark movie, which we already have, have talked about, but
in terms of other Christmas movies, what Christmas movie do
you think you've seen more than any
other?
Speaker 2 (14:06):
A Christmas Vacation. And even when that song plays, like
I just get happy. Uh, there's, I never watched it
as much as I do since I've been with my wife.
It's their Christmas movie, but I mean I could watch Elf.
Continuously. Uh, I heard this great story. We were just in,
(14:27):
we were just in New York doing TV and stuff,
and we went to the top of the Empire State
Building to do some.
Social media things, and there was a woman who was
at the very top, who's like, she's security, but she's
mostly just uh a greeter. She's super lovely and I
found out that about uh maybe a year after Elf
(14:50):
was out.
That Will Ferrell in the month of May, went to
the Empire State Building.
And this woman, who's been there for 30 years, uh,
she saw Will in the elf costume, and she called
security to get him out because she was like, there's
a crazy person in the Empire State Building. And then
(15:11):
they were like, uh, honey, that's, that's Will Ferrell, like
he can do whatever he wants. And, and so whenever
Will goes to the Empire State Building, he goes and
finds her and gives her a big hug, cause uh
he thought that that was a great time.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
That's fantastic. Uh, what's, uh, what's on your holiday schedule for,
for this year? What, how, how are your family spending
the holidays?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
We will have Christmas at home, and then my family
and I will fly to Oahu and spend New Year's there.
You know, for me, I would rather just be home
for the next 6 months, but
You know, my family, they haven't traveled as much as
I do, so they would like to go
places.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Well, I mean, those are good places to go, so, uh,
enjoy your travels, enjoy your holidays. Uh, congratulations on the
10th anniversary of Christmas in Tahoe and the 3 new
songs that are out now, with the re-release of the
album Under the Christmas Moonlight, Rainy New York Christmas, and
Let's Stay In Tonight. And, uh, I guess we'll see
you on the road with the Barenaked Ladies and Matt Nathanson.
(16:12):
Uh, come
summertime,
Speaker 2 (16:13):
yeah, how do you like that Canadian combination? That's gonna
be fun. Pretty
Speaker 1 (16:17):
solid lineup there, Pat. Thank you so much. Happy holidays.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. See you.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
I'm Drew Savage. You can find me on Instagram at
Drew Savage on Air. If you enjoyed this conversation with
Pat Monahan, please leave us a rating and review. It
does help other people find the show. And before you go,
please hit subscribe so you never miss a story behind
the Christmas hits.
In 2015, Train released their album Christmas in Tahoe, an
album they've revisited for its 10th anniversary. Train's lead singer
Pat Monahan joins us to talk about writing original Christmas music,
how best to cover a classic, and all things Christmas
for this episode of Behind the Christmas Hits.
Behind the Christmas hits with Drew Savage.
(00:24):
Train had their first top 20 hit in 1998 with
Meet Virginia, but it was drops of Jupiter in 2001
that really put them on top. As we record this,
Train will do a 25th anniversary tour for that song
and album next summer with Barenaked Ladies and Matt Nathanson.
Along the way to recording more than a dozen albums
and releasing 34 singles to date, Train released their Christmas
(00:48):
album in 2015, Christmas in.
Tahoe to talk about it and the 3 new songs
added to the album for its anniversary edition, lead singer
Pat Monahan is with us for this episode of Behind
the Christmas Hits. Happy anniversary. How does it feel to
know that, uh, you know, with all the Christmas music
that's out there, you guys made something that people want
to revisit or even discover every year at Christmas
(01:11):
time.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
It's pretty cool. It's actually mine and my family's favorite
Christmas record to listen to, even though it's, uh, my voice.
I think the choice of songs is uh really lovely
for people, because we have, you know, several originals on there,
but also a bunch of standards, and even non-standards that
are covers, like from the band, uh, that people don't
(01:34):
aren't as familiar with, but they sound great.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I, that was actually one of the songs that I
wanted to, uh, to talk to you about as a Canadian.
I mean, I must compliment your choices of Canadian songwriters
to cover.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
There were some amazing ones. Bryan Adams, man, he's still amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Brian's great, and Joni Mitchell, of course, a number of
different artists have, uh, done an interpretation of River over
the years, but Christmas Must Be Tonight, the Robbie Robertson, uh,
band song, that's, that's one you don't hear as often.
What was it about that song that, uh, that really
kind of spoke to you?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
You know, my music director, keyboard, guitarist, uh, Jerry Becker
found that song, and he, he sent it to me,
and I was like, yeah, this is, this is definitely
gotta be one of them.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
It's, it's an absolute classic, and before we talk about the, uh,
the new editions, uh, uh, a couple of other questions
about the original release. First, um, is there a Christmas
song more fun to sing than Donny Hathaway's This Christmas?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
No, no, there's not, there's not a more fun song.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I mean, Shake Up, uh, Shake Up Christmas by, uh,
this band Train is, is pretty fun too, but Donny
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Hathaway, that's, uh, that's also pretty fun, but man, trying to, uh,
be anywhere close to as good as Donny Hathaway is
very challenging, but it's such a great, beautiful song.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
How do you
decide what themes to explore through that Christmas lens when
you're writing new music, new Christmas
music?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
You gotta talk about Mistletoe.
You gotta talk about Santa Claus, you know, it's uh,
it it it's, there's no real formula, but, uh, there's
so many things that you can talk about, but I,
I think relationships are always the core of any song,
whether it's about Christmas or um uh about a breakup
(03:21):
or whatever you want. Um, it's, it's all about some relationship.
And so these
These 3 songs are definitely about relationships during Christmas.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Did they start off as relationship songs, or did they
start off as, let's write a Christmas song?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well, I think one of the first things I can
remember is there was a lyric that I just kept singing,
he's on his way, and just about Santa, and uh
basically asking Santa to bring me someone who will love
me right, and, uh, like, that's just basically, uh, you know, we,
we looked at covering other people's songs, but
(04:04):
It's so, you know, there it's been, it's been done
so many hundreds, if not thousands of times, you know,
that there's not, why would you listen to our version
of White Christmas if there's 400 others that are, you know,
so incredible.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Under the Christmas Moonlight, one of the, uh, the 3
new songs, Rainy New York Christmas. I live in Vancouver,
we get a lot of those, but Rainy New York Christmas, uh,
is one of the other new songs, and
Let's stay in tonight. What is, what is your idea
of a perfect stay-in night around Christmas? People are usually
kind of running around all over the place at Christmas,
(04:42):
but if you want to stay in at Christmas, what's
the perfect night for a, for a stay in Christmas?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Well, I'm originally from Erie, Pennsylvania, so it would have
to do with snow and being snowed in.
And having a fireplace and just being with the people
that you want to be with, that's the perfect.
Uh, I gotta be at home for Christmas kind of moment.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
You're
a West Coast guy now. Do you miss the snow?
Do you like to revisit snow for like a day
or two, and then you're happy to kind of leave
it behind? Yeah,
Speaker 2 (05:12):
yeah, I know snow too well to like think of
it romantically. Uh, I, I do like to, uh, have
some moments of snow sports, but 23 days tops, and
then back on, uh, regular freeways without.
Ice and salt, like I prefer that. It seems like,
(05:36):
it seems like you you Vancouver, Seattle, have been getting
more Alaska weather.
And like San Francisco is starting to get Seattle weather.
It's raining more there, it's snowing a little more here
in Vancouver, like, maybe 23 times a year, right? And
it'll stay for a couple
Speaker 1 (05:55):
weeks. There, uh, the first couple of winters that I actually,
I've been in Vancouver for 22 years now, and the
first couple of winters here, I don't think we had
snow on the ground for more than like a day
or two. I remember the first time it snowed, and
they literally closed the downtown mall at 3 in the afternoon.
And as like an Ontario guy, I was like, what
is going on? um, but that was, that was, that
(06:16):
was before I knew that people in Vancouver are not
terribly comfortable driving in snow. The saddle
drivers
Speaker 2 (06:23):
like in the difference really is.
The amount of hills that are significant in Vancouver as
opposed to Ontario.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yes, yes.
Uh, I didn't live on a mountain, uh, when, when
they were, the mall is not on the mountain itself,
but still, I mean, it is, uh, it is a thing,
snow on the west coast. Do, are, do you, are
Seattle drivers good in the snow or not so
Speaker 2 (06:48):
much? No, not so much, no. OK,
Speaker 1 (06:50):
yeah, it's a West Coast thing. Uh, Christmas in Tahoe,
10 years, I mean, part of the journey of this
album was turning it into a Hallmark Christmas movie a
couple of years ago. I I do find the Hallmark
Christmas movie machine.
So interesting. They make so many of them here.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
We shot, we shot most of it in Canada.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
OK. Was it, uh, was it Toronto or
Vancouver that?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
No, we were in Vancouver for half of it, and
then we were in, uh, what is the incredible ski
resort that I'm blanking on.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
With like in British Columbia,
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Whistler Whistler, yeah,
Speaker 1 (07:26):
if you stayed in BC it would be
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Whistler. Yeah, we, we were in Whistler for maybe 10
days.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
As an executive producer, I mean, you were in the
movie obviously as well, but, uh, as an executive producer,
do you have input on the story, uh, that was
put together? No, no,
Speaker 2 (07:41):
executive producer means nothing. It's
Speaker 1 (07:43):
like, uh,
Speaker 2 (07:45):
I think it's just to make me feel better.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Maybe an extra paycheck or
Speaker 2 (07:50):
an extra,
not even that. Maybe an extra cup of coffee.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
What
was it from being inside that Hallmark Christmas movie machine? What,
what was it like? What was your experience with
that process?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Uh, it was really great, uh, and I think the
greatness came from all of the Canadians that were such
a big part of us making that movie. They, they
were very smart.
I knew how, I mean, it was, this was during
COVID shutdown, so getting over the border was, uh, was
not as easy as it, it should be or could be,
(08:23):
and they just made it, you know, very easy to
shoot this movie. Everyone was super pro, but also very kind.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Any thoughts on doing another one?
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Yeah, well, George Lopez is in it, cause I said, George,
he's been a good friend for a long time. I
was like,
How do you feel about making almost $0 and getting
to the hardest place in the world to get to,
to spend 2 days on a movie? And he was like,
I've been dreaming of this moment.
But George and I have talked that we would love
to uh shoot another one where the two of us.
(08:58):
Maybe have left the hotel that we were working at,
and pursue, you know, maybe he's my music manager or something, but, uh,
we're trying to figure it out, because we also need
a bunch of young people to have the romance part,
you know,
Speaker 1 (09:12):
details. You get, somebody will come from a small town
and you'll run into them, and they'll be reunited with
somebody from their past. It's, it's such a simple formula,
but oh my God, the hit rate on these things
is phenomenal. Like every single one of them
Speaker 2 (09:24):
is, you know what, you're guaranteed.
And everything's gonna work out. Yes,
Speaker 1 (09:30):
that happy holiday ending
Speaker 2 (09:31):
that everybody, there's no horrific ending coming your way at all.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Has there been any thought, maybe you did around the, uh,
the time of the album's original release, and I'm, I'm
just kind of blanking on it, but, you know, with
the success of this album and now the new editions,
any thoughts about doing like a Christmas-specific tour with the band?
Speaker 2 (09:51):
You know, we've talked about it, it's um,
I, I don't, we've done a few Christmas shows in
the past, but it, it's very expensive.
And what I learned from those shows is that
Unlike Mannheim, is it steamroller? Am I saying that right?
(10:13):
So unlike them because they play, you know, they're so
well known for Christmas songs, and we have a Christmas album,
but we also have, you know, 12 other albums that
Could these Christmas shows end up being like 4 Christmas songs,
cause everybody wants to hear everything else, and so it
doesn't end up really being a big Christmas
event.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Makes sense. I mean, but so many great, as you say,
Christmas originals, and your spin on some Christmas classics. What
do you, when you do, and I take your point
about White Christmas that you made earlier, but when you
do decide, when you were picking the songs to cover,
some maybe,
You know, hidden gems, some other, some of the others
(10:53):
very popular and very well known. Um, how do you,
as a band, how do you make those classics that
people know so well, how do you make them your own?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Well, you know, choosing the right key for my voice
is crucial in any song, whether we're writing it or
covering somebody's song.
Because we all, all of us dumb singers, we have
a kind of a sweet spot. So that's the key is, like,
I can't sing high like Mariah Carey, so we'd probably
(11:24):
want to take that down a half of a, a
half of a step or something. But, uh, there are
other people like Bing Crosby that I don't want to
sing that low, so I would, we would change the key,
you know, maybe go up a couple of steps. So,
That's the biggest part of any Christmas song. I think
Donny Hathaway and I share a similar range, so I
think we kept that in the, in the same key.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
What is your, you said you, you and your family,
your favorite Christmas album is Christmas in Tahoe, as it
should be. Um, beyond your own, uh, what is, or
maybe it includes your own, what is your Mount Rushmore
of Christmas music? Four songs that really define the season
for you.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, when I was a kid,
I, I don't remember if I had even heard Nat's
version of, uh, Nat Cole's version of it, but I
saw Mel Torme on a PBS special playing the Christmas song,
cause he wrote it, and I just really fell in
love with the man and that song, so that would
definitely be up there. I think Donny Hathaway's, Donny Hathaway's
(12:24):
This Christmas for sure. Something with Bing Crosby, probably White Christmas, uh.
And something with Ella Fitzgerald. She's, uh, the greatest singer
of all time. So whatever she would want to sing,
Speaker 1 (12:36):
where her version of Winter Wonderland is spectacular. I think, uh,
that's a pretty solid collection right there. Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby,
Mel Torme slash Nat King Cole, and Donny Hathaway. I
think that's a, that's a pretty tip-top list there. Uh,
growing up, growing up in Erie, Pennsylvania, what did, what
was the toy or gift?
That Pat Monahan wanted the most when he was 78
(12:59):
years old.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
You know, I don't remember, there were GI Joes and
Hulks and things like that, Big wheels. I, Big Wheel
was a really cool item for me back in the day.
Those were my younger years, and then I remember when
I was about maybe 13, I didn't, so I
I, uh, I, I didn't get a gift that I
(13:23):
thought I was gonna get, and so I pouted.
Uh during Christmas, and my mom.
She was
Pretty bummed out at me, and that was my last
ever not being grateful. I just needed my mom to
be disappointed in me and it worked.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I, I think you and I are about the same age.
So when you were talking big wheels and hulks and
stuff like that, I had a flashback to an Oscar
Goldman action figure from the $6 Million Man, which I think.
Around that,
Speaker 2 (13:53):
I'm familiar with that
Speaker 1 (13:54):
as well. Uh, Christmas in Tahoe was turned into a
Hallmark movie, which we already have, have talked about, but
in terms of other Christmas movies, what Christmas movie do
you think you've seen more than any
other?
Speaker 2 (14:06):
A Christmas Vacation. And even when that song plays, like
I just get happy. Uh, there's, I never watched it
as much as I do since I've been with my wife.
It's their Christmas movie, but I mean I could watch Elf.
Continuously. Uh, I heard this great story. We were just in,
(14:27):
we were just in New York doing TV and stuff,
and we went to the top of the Empire State
Building to do some.
Social media things, and there was a woman who was
at the very top, who's like, she's security, but she's
mostly just uh a greeter. She's super lovely and I
found out that about uh maybe a year after Elf
(14:50):
was out.
That Will Ferrell in the month of May, went to
the Empire State Building.
And this woman, who's been there for 30 years, uh,
she saw Will in the elf costume, and she called
security to get him out because she was like, there's
a crazy person in the Empire State Building. And then
(15:11):
they were like, uh, honey, that's, that's Will Ferrell, like
he can do whatever he wants. And, and so whenever
Will goes to the Empire State Building, he goes and
finds her and gives her a big hug, cause uh
he thought that that was a great time.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
That's fantastic. Uh, what's, uh, what's on your holiday schedule for,
for this year? What, how, how are your family spending
the holidays?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
We will have Christmas at home, and then my family
and I will fly to Oahu and spend New Year's there.
You know, for me, I would rather just be home
for the next 6 months, but
You know, my family, they haven't traveled as much as
I do, so they would like to go
places.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
Well, I mean, those are good places to go, so, uh,
enjoy your travels, enjoy your holidays. Uh, congratulations on the
10th anniversary of Christmas in Tahoe and the 3 new
songs that are out now, with the re-release of the
album Under the Christmas Moonlight, Rainy New York Christmas, and
Let's Stay In Tonight. And, uh, I guess we'll see
you on the road with the Barenaked Ladies and Matt Nathanson.
(16:12):
Uh, come
summertime,
Speaker 2 (16:13):
yeah, how do you like that Canadian combination? That's gonna
be fun. Pretty
Speaker 1 (16:17):
solid lineup there, Pat. Thank you so much. Happy holidays.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. See you.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
I'm Drew Savage. You can find me on Instagram at
Drew Savage on Air. If you enjoyed this conversation with
Pat Monahan, please leave us a rating and review. It
does help other people find the show. And before you go,
please hit subscribe so you never miss a story behind
the Christmas hits.
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