Have Yourself a "Scary Little Christmas;" Solo Pianist Captures the "Spirit" of the Holidays

San Francisco, CA, September 08, 2008 --(PR.com)-- The holidays generally are regarded as a time to dream of sugar plums and sparkling tinsel, but Bay Area pianist Kris Knight likes her holiday celebrations to have a bit more bite to them. So, tossing a gothic twist into the usual Christmas mix, she wrote a variety of musical arrangements that may add a bit of chill to an already cold winter's night.

"With the current interest in the holiday-related overlap between the gothic and the sublime - Tim Burton's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' comes to mind - Knight's album offers fans of this niche some surprisingly elegant arrangements," said Jeff Baham, owner of YourHalloween.com, a Halloween resource website. "Knight has managed to create music that proves to be pleasing to the ear, chilling to the spine, and even tickling to the funny bone. She's also managed to create a soundtrack to the entire fall holiday season that will appeal to a lot of people."

Scott McQuiston, a theater producer in Pacific Grove, CA, describes Knight's tunes as a "beautifully haunting treatment under an artful imagination." McQuiston licensed the songs for use as pre-show and intermission ambience for a production of "A Christmas Carol" held near Monterey, California last year.

"Holiday music doesn't always need to be more of the same," said Knight, a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. "I decided to have a little fun with the genre. I thought I could find a way to humorously - yet artfully - add a layer of intrigue to some of the more popular tunes, without traipsing on the more sincere hymns of the season. I think my new album successfully manages that, and I hope people enjoy it."

Knight recently released her new EP album, which is titled "A Scary Little Christmas." Containing a selection of seven very familiar Christmas tunes, "A Scary Little Christmas" turns convention on its head and offers the listener compositions performed in an adult-contemporary vein, with clever titles and interwoven themes from other famous compositions. For example, Knight's version of "Frosty the Snowman (Gets a Tan)" blends a grim performance of the familiar "Frosty" theme with the famous "Funeral March" by Chopin. "Woe, Christmas Tree" skillfully blends the familiar carol with passages from Grieg's "Hall of the Mountain King." Interesting arrangements such as these make the album an intriguing package.

"I just hope Knight continues to add songs to her oeuvre of crafty arrangements," said Baham. "Her sophisticated tunes offer an intriguing alternative to the typical holiday fare, whether it be over-the-top spook house sound effects or sticky-sweet Christmas carols. Somehow, she has improbably and seamlessly bridged that gap."

You can find Kris Knight's "A Scary Little Christmas" at iTunes or on Amazon.com, or visit www.scarylittlechristmas.com to listen to samples.

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