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Mannheim rolls into Rabobank Tuesday

The Bakersfield Californian | Wednesday, Dec 09 2009 04:26 PM

Last Updated Wednesday, Dec 09 2009 04:28 PM

Chip Davis, founder of Mannheim Steamroller, said he got nothing but a lump of coal 25 years ago when he was trying to pitch his group's unique style of Christmas music. Record labels and tour promoters just didn't get it.

But with a gazillion records sold, Mannheim Steamroller has become the soundtrack to many family Christmases.

It all began in 1984 with the release of "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas." Davis wanted to record an album of Christmas music combining the group's signature mix of renaissance instruments with rock 'n' roll beats. The resulting album not only propelled Mannheim Steamroller to become the biggest-selling Christmas music artist in history, but also one of the top 50 biggest selling musical acts ever (they've sold more than 35 million albums).

In addition to this year's tour, the group has released a retrospective two-CD set, "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas -- 25th Anniversary Collection," featuring 25 of the group's holiday tunes. Spanning Mannheim's entire Christmas catalog, the album includes "Joy To The World," "The First Noel," "Winter Wonderland" as well as "The Christmas Song," featuring guest vocalist Johnny Mathis. Other guest performers include Paul Winter, The Cambridge Singers and members of The Chicago Symphony and The Omaha Symphony.

Davis, who no longer tours due to the lingering effects of a car accident, produces not one but two Mannheim productions a year, one for each coast. The West Coast juggernaut of cheer rolls into the Rabobank on Tuesday.

The production company bringing the group to town provided this Q&A with Davis:

Why do you think Mannheim Steamroller's albums have been so popular?

Davis: At Christmas time especially, people want to have something familiar in their lives to listen to. And for the last 25 years, millions of people have grown up listening to our music. It's comforting to listen to something from your childhood -- kind of like comfort food. Also, Christmas time is family time, and our music and concerts are all family friendly. We often see three generations attending one of our shows.

What were you trying to do musically when you formed Mannheim Steamroller?

Davis: I wanted to explore new ways of expressing music and discovered a style I call 18th century classic rock. I don't believe in all acoustic or all electronic, all digital or all analog. My place is where they all meet.

Where did the name Mannheim Steamroller come from?

Davis: From Mannheim Germany. That's where Mozart and composer/music theorist Joseph Stamitz both lived. Stamitz came up with the idea of the crescendo: music building and getting louder in order to excite the audience. The 18th Century musical phrase "Mannheim Valse" literally meant, "roller," and people used to joke that the loud music would roll over the crowd and flatten them. When it was time to start selling my band, I had to come up with a name to market. At the time the big rock groups had interesting names like Jefferson Airplane or Iron Butterfly. So I came up with the name Mannheim Steamroller.

If you could have dinner with any musician in history, who would it be?

Davis: Mozart... I think he was a lot of fun and probably had a lot of sense of humor; a screwball like I am. He'd be a lot of fun to be around.