Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks' Crazy for Christmas out now

Hailed as, “The eternal hipster, purveyor of the drollest and most swingin' tunes the rock generation ever enjoyed” (Minneapolis Star Tribune), Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks have hijacked the holidays and created a Christmas album you’ll enjoy all year long. Released on October 12, 2010 through Surfdog Records, Crazy For Christmas is classic Hot Licks, full of the same dry wit and musical brilliance that has defined Dan Hicks’ music for the past four decades and established him as one of American music’s true cult heroes.

“We wanted to have the Hot Licks sound going, with our signature violin and guitar and two girls backing me up and the tongue-in-cheek approach to the material and the delivery. Keeping it swingin’, keeping it light, with lots of good solos and some cool scat stuff,” explains Dan Hicks. “It’s a Christmas album, yes, but first and foremost it’s a Hot Licks album.” Crazy For Christmas covers it all - with Hicks originals “I’ve Got Christmas By The Tail” and the humorous “Santa’s Workshop” nestled in with classics (done Hicks’ style) like “Here Comes Santa Claus” and an amazing original take on “Carol Of The Bells.” Of course, no Dan Hicks holiday album would be complete without a few irreverent parodies including “Christmas Mornin’” (done in the tune of Hicks’ hit “Where’s The Money”) and “Santa Got A Choo-Choo” (a Hicks re-write and salute to “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie”).

Crazy For Christmas comes on the heels of Hicks’ critically acclaimed 2009 release Tangled Tales. The recording, dubbed an “irreverent, rowdy, even dangerous distillation of real American music,” by the East Bay Express, proved once-and-for-all that Hicks’ undeniable musical legacy is still evolving. “Talk about a rugged, all-American individual,” the LA Weekly reviewed, “Dan Hicks has plowed deep furrows through some of the most fertile pop music territory known to man, and during it all has maintained both his own distinct, light yet emphatic touch and a pace that's always kept him more than a few steps ahead of his colleagues.”

Dan Hicks began his career in 1965 as the drummer for psychedelic San Francisco rock band The Charlatans before forming the acoustic ensemble Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks. His unique songwriting and blend of styles, masterful folk-swing guitar playing, and unmistakable sense of humor have made him a cultural icon, landing Hicks on the cover of Rolling Stone twice and provoking Tom Waits to say, “Dan Hicks is fly, sly, wily and dry” while Elvis Costello proclaimed him “an American treasure.”

Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks are on tour this fall with their always over-the-top “Holidaze in Hicksville” extravaganza.

The complete list of tour dates is as follows:

Friday, November 19 O'Shaughnessy Center Whitefish MT

Saturday, November 27 Appel Farm Arts and Music Center Elmer NJ

Sunday, November 28 The Turning Point Piermont NY

Tuesday, November 30 City Winery New York NY

Wednesday, December 1 Barns at Wolftrap Vienna VA

Thursday, December 2 Greensburg Garden and Civic Center Greensburg PA

Friday, December 3 Sellersville Theater Sellersville PA

Saturday, December 4 The Met Cafe Pawtucket RI

Tuesday, December 7 Wood Fire Dowagiac MI

Wednesday, December 8 Wealthy Theatre Grand Rapids MI

Thursday, December 9 Kent Stage Kent OH

Saturday, December 11 McCabe's Guitar Shop and Concert Hall Santa Monica CA

Wednesday, December 15 Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach CA

Friday, December 17 The Center for the Arts Grass Valley CA

Wednesday, December 22 Yoshi's Oakland CA