Angus Gill and Melinda Schneider add some sparkle to Christmas | Brilliant Christmas | Brilliant-Online
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Angus Gill and Melinda Schneider add some sparkle to Christmas

Updated: Nov 9, 2022

✦ Golden Guitar winners Angus Gill and Melinda Schneider have teamed up to bring some sparkle, joy and all round good fun to your Christmas!


“Don’t Get Your Tinsel In A Tangle” is taken from Angus’ brand new Christmas EP “The Gilly Season” and proves yet again that there is nothing this young talent can’t do!


Co-written by Angus and frequent collaborators Bill DiLuigi and Kirsti Manna, “Don’t Get Your Tinsel In A Tangle” is slightly edgy, quirky and off the wall.


“We originally wrote it as a male/female duet and the first person I had in mind to do it with was Melinda. I’ve always been a fan of her work, her songs and incredible voice. I was thrilled when she agreed to sing it with me,” says Angus.

“When Angus reached out to me a couple of months ago and sent me the song, I fell in love with it on first listen! It is the catchiest tune and cutest lyric and makes you feel good,” says Melinda.


It’s no secret the pair had a ball recording the song, that is clearly evident from the opening moments. Angus, who is a past ARIA nominee for his comedy work, showcases his humorous song writing flair on “Don’t Get Your Tinsel in A Tangle”.


The EP, “The Gilly Season”


Perfectly captures the gamut of emotions that can accompany Christmas – the joy, the crazy fun and, of course, heartbreak.



“I decided to write The Gilly Season as I love Christmas music, but I haven’t heard a lot of original Christmas songs lately. It was a great creative challenge to come up with these songs and by tapping into my own Christmas experiences, I think we were able to find fresh ideas,” says Angus.


Once again Gill has assembled an A-team of musicians including Stuie French (Guitars), Jeff Taylor & Russell Dick (Piano), Michel Rose (Pedal Steel), Glenn Wilson (Drums), Jeff McCormack (Bass), TC Cassidy and Templeton Thompson (Backing Vocals) and Pixie Jenkins provided character voices.


“I love the stuff Angus is putting out there, he is a wonderful songwriter and true creative spirit. His voice is pure and his energy is electric,” added Melinda.


“Don’t Get Your Tinsel In A Tangle” is the key single from the EP “The Gilly Season”, both released Thursday 10th November through Rivershack Records / MGM Distribution.


2022 Golden Guitar Winner Angus, has released his fifth album "The Gilly Season" just in time for Christmas. It is an exciting collection of fresh, original Christmas songs, from the wry and witty appeal of Cheapskate Christmas and Mistletoey, to the fun Present Time and Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle (featuring Melinda Schneider), to the heartfelt ballad First Christmas Without You.


Angus perfectly captures the gamut of emotions that accompany The Silly Season. Or rather, The Gilly Season!


TRACK X TRACK from Angus


Cheapskate Christmas (Angus Gill/Bill Whyte)


Mood: fun, witty, wry, upbeat, humorous, festive, light, lively, playful, theatrical.


Every year at Christmas, Nan would always turn up to our house with a big old sack overflowing with presents. She’d dole them out to us like a deranged Mrs. Claus and watch our faces to see how delightfully disappointed we were! Somehow, we thought they’d get better, but we were clearly kidding ourselves! My good friend, Nashville songwriter and comedian, Bill Whyte and I wrote this song about every crappy Christmas present we’ve ever been given.


Don’t Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle [feat.Melinda Schneider] (Angus Gill/Bill DiLuigi/Kirsti Manna)


Mood: fun, witty, upbeat, light, festive, cheerful, happy, lively, playful, bright.


Tinsel is a sleek combination of witty and silly all rolled into one festive package! It’s actually quite a hard song to sing, due to the tempo and the deliberate tongue twisting nature of the words. I wanted to write a song like this, as I’ve often covered The Auctioneer & Ive Been Everywhere in my shows. I wrote it as a duet, with my good friends and collaborators Bill DiLuigi and Kirsti Manna. I instantly had Melinda Schneider in mind to sing it with me, as I’ve always admired her as an artist and vocalist. Thankfully, she loved the song and agreed to do it with me.


Mistletoey (Angus Gill/Randy Brooks)


Mood: humorous, playful, witty, wry, fun, festive, happy, jazzy, cheerful, lively.


For an idea like this, I thought it was only fitting to collaborate with Randy Brooks, who is best known as the writer of the Christmas smash hit Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. I had the title first and thought it was quite an amusing idea to play off the two meanings of being “toey” at Christmas. It was a blast rhyming this with Randy! We managed to namecheck the Christmas song I loathe the most, Deck the Halls and include a scat section where I could release my inner Roger Miller. It’s pure fun!


First Christmas Without You (Angus Gill)


Mood: reflective, poignant, melancholy, nostalgic, heartfelt, wistful, gentle, intimate, delicate, earnest.


Christmas usually comes with a gamut of emotions: joy, happiness, anxiousness, excitement, but there’s also a melancholy side, thinking of the ones who would usually be there with us celebrating, but sadly can’t be. I wrote this in 2020, after losing my dear Grandma. I walked outside on a rainy day and glanced over to Grandma’s Garden and thought, “this’ll be our first Christmas without you” and the song basically wrote itself. It’s a song very close to my heart because it’s 100% true.


Present Time (Angus Gill/Stuie French)


Mood: Fun, silly, playful, festive, happy, wry, children, innocent, whimsical, lively.


This was the catalyst for this original Christmas EP project, which is something I’ve always wanted to do and something you don’t see done too often. It’s a difficult thing to do, extracting fresh ideas and angles from well trodden topics, such as Christmas, but with these songs, I think we’ve achieved a unique ‘Angus Gill’ take on Christmas. Stuie French and I wrote this song about 7 or 8 years ago. It captures the fun, silliness, bickering and humour that comes with a household of energetic kids waking up on Christmas Day. It features legendary Pixie Jenkins voicing the characters of Mum, Dad and the kids.

 

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