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Musician/composer Chip Davis revolutionized the holiday season in 1974 by taking traditional Christmas carols and giving them a major edge. Since its inception, Mannheim Steamroller has been a project that Davis turned into a multimillion-dollar success through grassroots efforts. From writing and producing the music to taking out a loan to host the first tour in 1984, to forming a label to distribute the music, Davis never gave up on his vision.
"At Christmas time, people want to listen to something that is familiar in their lives," Davis said in a Q&A statement. "It's comforting to hear something from your childhood — kind of like comfort food. Also, Christmas time is family time: We often see three generations [of family] attending one of our shows."
In October, Mannheim Steamroller released "Mannheim Steamroller Live," marking the group's first album release in more than two decades. The album was recorded at the Orpheum in Omaha, Neb., where Davis is based, and has been aired as a PBS special. Utah fans will have the chance to celebrate the new album and bask in the spirit of tradition with Mannheim Steamroller on Dec. 26 and 27 at Abravanel Hall for the production's 31st tour, one of the longest-running shows of its kind in the U.S.
A Mannheim Steamroller production is designed to take the audience on a rock 'n' roll-infused, explosive ride. Davis said his vision for Steamroller was inspired by the desire to bend genres.
"I wanted to explore new ways of expressing music and created a sound I call '18th-century classic rock,' " he said. "I don't believe in all acoustic or all electronic, all digital or all analog — my style is where they all meet."
The result was Mannheim Steamroller, whose namesake comes from Mannheim, Germany.
"That's where Mozart and composer/music theorist Joseph Stamitz both lived," Davis said. "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.'
"People used to joke that the loud music would roll over the crowd and flatten them," he added. "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." —
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis
When • Saturday, Dec. 26, 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 27, 3 p.m.
Where • Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $50-$83.50; artsaltlake.org and ArtTix