{"id":31611,"date":"2017-12-09T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2017-12-09T09:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=31611"},"modified":"2017-12-07T10:44:20","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T10:44:20","slug":"essential-advent-calendar-festive-double-a-side-from-irish-rockers-heavy-soda-merry-xmas-everybody-and-its-all-so-easy-its-christmas-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2017\/12\/essential-advent-calendar-festive-double-a-side-from-irish-rockers-heavy-soda-merry-xmas-everybody-and-its-all-so-easy-its-christmas-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential Advent Calendar: Festive Double A Side From Irish Rockers Heavy Soda &#8216;Merry Xmas Everybody&#8217; And &#8216;It&#8217;s All So Easy (It&#8217;s Christmas Time)&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"15967\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2015\/12\/essential-advent-calendar-red-sky-july-save-christmas-day-for-me\/advent-calendar-9\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-9.png?fit=1494%2C1180&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1494,1180\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"advent calendar 9\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-9.png?fit=640%2C505&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15967\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-9.png?resize=640%2C505&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"505\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Heavy Soda describe themselves as &#8220;three people who were once in the same band at different times came together to reform an old band with a new name that only one of them had been in before.&#8221; It&#8217;s clear from the outset that the Dublin trio are fun guys, and their choice of Christmas songs, a brilliant, almost as good as the original, cover of &#8216;Merry Xmas Everybody&#8217; and their own composition, &#8216;It&#8217;s All So Easy (It&#8217;s Christmas Time)&#8217; go further to prove this.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"31703\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2017\/12\/essential-advent-calendar-festive-double-a-side-from-irish-rockers-heavy-soda-merry-xmas-everybody-and-its-all-so-easy-its-christmas-time\/heavy-soda\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/heavy-soda.jpg?fit=1772%2C1774&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1772,1774\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"heavy soda\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/heavy-soda.jpg?fit=640%2C641&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31703\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/heavy-soda.jpg?resize=640%2C641&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"641\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8216;Merry Xmas Everybody&#8217; is fast and punchy &#8211; okay it&#8217;s not Noddy Holder&#8217;s vocals but it&#8217;s a fair replication of them, and it&#8217;s perhaps what Noddy would sound like if Slade released the track nowadays. The party atmosphere of the original is reproduced here, and to good effect, with the addition of some extra guitar solos.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Second A track, &#8216;It&#8217;s All So Easy (It&#8217;s Christmas Time)&#8217; could quite well have been released by Slade as well, lead singer Rob&#8217;s vocals are strong and meaty, and the whole vibe takes us back to the early seventies where, through our rose coloured glasses, it was an easier and more relaxed time, and sideburns as long as one&#8217;s hair were de rigueur.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The double A side festive tracks are the follow up to Heavy Soda&#8217;s October release, &#8216;Elephant&#8217;, a Beatles-esque (think Sgt Pepper&#8217;s) guitar-laden track, with rock harmonies and a nice percussion section competing with the drums to provide the backbeat.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You can find Heavy Soda online on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/heavysoda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/heavysodaband\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/heavysodaband\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a>. All their music is available from <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/artist\/heavy-soda\/1271363322\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/1l5hNskyz5PorH6enSylcI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/heavysoda.bandcamp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bandcamp<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/5dsuzHnoioYvNSR02ykOTq\" width=\"300\" height=\"380\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heavy Soda describe themselves as &#8220;three people who were once in the same band at different times came together to reform an old band with a new name that only one of them had been in before.&#8221; It&#8217;s clear from the outset that the Dublin trio are fun guys, and their choice of Christmas songs, a brilliant, almost as good as the original, cover of &#8216;Merry Xmas Everybody&#8217; and their own composition, &#8216;It&#8217;s All So Easy (It&#8217;s Christmas Time)&#8217; go further to prove this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3768],"tags":[444,470,4567,251,12016,3938,12015,126,12020,12017,77,370,12019,203,12018,3787],"class_list":["post-31611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas","tag-beatles","tag-christmas","tag-double-a-side","tag-dublin","tag-elephant","tag-essential-advent-calendar","tag-heavy-soda","tag-ireland","tag-its-all-so-easy-its-christmas-time","tag-merry-xmas-everybody","tag-new-release","tag-new-single","tag-noddy-holder","tag-rock","tag-slade","tag-the-essential-advent-calendar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5yMhl-8dR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":72983,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2021\/12\/the-essential-advent-calendar-december-15-scottish-alt-rockers-dancing-on-tables-release-holiday-cover-of-slades-merry-xmas-everybody-play-play-play-ep-out-now-on-enci-records-lv-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":31611,"position":0},"title":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 15 &#8211; Scottish Alt Rockers Dancing On Tables Release Holiday Cover Of Slade&#8217;s &#8216;Merry Xmas Everybody&#8217;; &#8216;Play Play Play&#8217; EP Out Now On Enci Records\/LV Music","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"15\/12\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Scotland's Dancing On Tables are ushering in the holidays with a new take on Slade's 'Merry Xmas Everybody'. The Band says, \u201cWe wanted to do a Christmas song with a difference for a while, but when we realised we all had the same favourite festive track it was the perfect\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 15","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/D458490E-BD87-4398-96F0-672CA9A7EF59.png?fit=623%2C495&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/D458490E-BD87-4398-96F0-672CA9A7EF59.png?fit=623%2C495&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/D458490E-BD87-4398-96F0-672CA9A7EF59.png?fit=623%2C495&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16186,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2015\/12\/essential-advent-calendar-shakin-stevens-echoes-of-merry-christmas-everyone\/","url_meta":{"origin":31611,"position":1},"title":"Essential Advent Calendar: Shakin&#8217; Stevens &#8211; &#8216;Echoes Of Merry Christmas Everyone&#8217;","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"04\/12\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It's day four of our Essential Advent Calendar, and it wouldn't be Christmas without Shakin' Stevens and 'Merry Christmas Everyone' would it??","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Shakin-Stevens-2.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Shakin-Stevens-2.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Shakin-Stevens-2.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Shakin-Stevens-2.jpg?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":85005,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2023\/12\/the-essential-advent-calendar-december-1-get-in-the-holiday-spirit-with-kopper-and-kashs-new-single-god-rest-ye-merry-gentlemen\/","url_meta":{"origin":31611,"position":2},"title":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 1 &#8211; Get In The Holiday Spirit With Kopper And Kash&#8217;s New Single, \u2018God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen\u2019","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"01\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Family band Kopper and Kash bring in the holiday spirit with new single \u2018God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen\u2019.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-2.png?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-2.png?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-2.png?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-2.png?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-2.png?fit=1200%2C954&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58222,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2019\/12\/the-essential-advent-calendar-december-18-spin-take-a-new-look-at-christmas-classics-with-carol-of-the-merry-gentlemen-what-child\/","url_meta":{"origin":31611,"position":3},"title":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 18 &#8211; SPiN Take A New Look At Christmas Classics With &#8216;Carol Of The Merry Gentlemen (What Child?)&#8217;","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"18\/12\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"SPiN are behind door number 18 with their modern take on some classic Christmas songs. Check out 'Carol of the Merry Gentlemen (What Child?)', their mash up of 'Carol Of The Bells', 'What Child Is This?', 'Ring Christmas Bells', and 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 18","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5E41385A-C820-4464-8769-9E4246F3E9F6.png?fit=623%2C495&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5E41385A-C820-4464-8769-9E4246F3E9F6.png?fit=623%2C495&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5E41385A-C820-4464-8769-9E4246F3E9F6.png?fit=623%2C495&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":72982,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2021\/12\/the-essential-advent-calendar-december-14-le-cygne-noir-reveals-alternative-xmas-single-last-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":31611,"position":4},"title":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 14 &#8211; LE CYGNE NOIR Reveals Alternative Xmas Single \u2018Last Christmas\u2019","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"14\/12\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"LE CYGNE NOIR returns with \u2018LAST CHRISTMAS', an emotional take on the classic Christmas ballad.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-14.png?fit=1200%2C947&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-14.png?fit=1200%2C947&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-14.png?fit=1200%2C947&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-14.png?fit=1200%2C947&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/advent-calendar-14.png?fit=1200%2C947&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":73031,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2021\/12\/the-essential-advent-calendar-december-17-the-highway-women-release-captivating-new-spin-on-the-christmas-classic-have-yourself-a-merry-little-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":31611,"position":5},"title":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 17 &#8211; The Highway Women Release Captivating New Spin On The Christmas Classic, &#8216;Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas&#8217;","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"17\/12\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Highway Women debut with a new spin on 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' just in time for the holidays.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/archived-categories\/christmas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Essential Advent Calendar: December 17","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/F075B092-310F-4244-BE7B-87ADA22070BC.png?fit=623%2C497&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/F075B092-310F-4244-BE7B-87ADA22070BC.png?fit=623%2C497&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/F075B092-310F-4244-BE7B-87ADA22070BC.png?fit=623%2C497&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/R6KFi1505817985.png?fit=1533%2C1533&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}