The Tano Jones Revelry Celebrates Christmas Venice-Style

The Venice Beach-based recording artist, singer-songwriter, and musician The Tano Jones Revelry release a spirited and celebratory music video for the forthcoming holiday season, "Little Drummer Boy."

Tano Jones prides himself on resourcefulness. His flexibility in terms of sounds and genres is unlike any other. One can easily recognize Jones' soulful sound, even though he's known for portraying influences from r&b, pop-funk, soul, hip-hop, and classic rock.

Recently releasing his refreshing and exciting new music video for his rendition of the holiday classic, "Little Drummer Boy," The Tano Jones Revelry wanted to showcase that although it doesn't snow in Venice Beach, that doesn't mean it's not a prime location for a heartfelt Christmas story. In the music video, residents far and wide come together to celebrate the holiday with a good old Southern California get-together.

The scene for "Little Drummer Boy" opens with shots of Los Angeles and a mechanic searching for a car battery while hitting the streets. Later, we get to meet The Tano Jones Revelry, getting down with the groovy and funky rendition of "Little Drummer Boy." We also see scenes of a spunky woman bouncing her way down the street, as well as a young boy skateboarding to his destination with a decorative flamingo.

As more enthusiastic residents make their way down to Venice Beach, they meet up with The Tano Jones Revelry for an old fashion Southern California jam. Although these party-goers didn't bring a lot, they're clearly happy with the music, the beautiful beach, and the holiday spirit that's ever so infectious.

Start your holidays right with The Tano Jones Revelry's latest music video for "Little Drummer Boy," now available to watch on YouTube.

Welcome to BuzzMusic, Tano. We truly admire the concept of your latest music video for "Little Drummer Boy." What inspired the theme of a Southern California Christmas party at the beach?

It is a place where everybody has a talent and gift, a place where inspiration is welcome. I lived in the area for five years in my 20’s and never forgot all of the creative spirits that bubble there. I now have a young teenager who has the Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn movies blasting through my home nightly as we/he laughs his head off. The positive “Hey what if?” west coast exuberance of those two dudes must have seeped into my noggin the night I was noodling things. In the song, the young boy comes to play his drum as his gift for the new young king. I believe that all of us possess many different and unique gifts within, which we share with each other every day. The idea of everybody traveling to and reveling at the mystic intersection where sand meets sea has both gravity and beauty that captures the spirit of us all. For me, like many in Southern California — the glass is half full.

What inspired you to create a soulful and funky rendition of the classic holiday tune, "Little Drummer Boy?" Does this song hold any significance with you?

It takes courage to be a musician. We are underdogs. I was and continue to be, inspired by the idea of this young little drummer boy showing up to present himself and his gift, before these adults and the newborn at a special time. I think in life today so much of it is about getting up and facing each new day with courage, energy, and optimism. It's about showing up with whatever tools we have in our toolbox and contributing—providing for those we love and serve others. As Americans, we are all underdogs. We are all descendants from ancestors both native and afar who sacrificed so much and ultimately came together to create this incredible union. Courage is in our DNA. I grew up in the Detroit area and the soul, gospel, funk, and rock vibes had an effect on me from a very early age. I have within me a musical sensibility or filter through which I assess things. So thinking about this song, like a coat, I tried on presenting it through the musical filter with which I have become most comfortable. It felt right.

What was it like working with director Vanessa Marzaroli and producer Mirada when filming the "Little Drummer Boy" music video? How did they help the video come to life?

Vanessa is a very special talent. She is creative, daring, confident, sensitive, and organized. When I shared the concept with her she swiftly took the vision to a next-level treatment format and flushed out the vision with various visual textures. She is a very good listener, artistic, and has a super eye. We agreed quickly on the full approach. As she scouted many locations it became very clear to me that her attention to detail was tremendous. This gave me great confidence as we worked through pre production, the shoot pre-production editing. Vanessa is also congenial and an adept communicator. This additional skill allowed her to get the most out of the entire team in a manner that made for an extraordinary experience. Her Mirada production team supported and executed with the same pro standards. As a group, they possess an engaging enthusiasm and spirit. It became obvious to me early in the process, why they have been able to turn out such great work, repeatedly, over many years.

What did you want to make your audience feel when watching the music video for "Little Drummer Boy?" What did you want the watcher to take away?

When I am in the shower, I sing at the top of my lungs. I don’t care how I sound at 7 am. I get out, grab a towel, wipe the steam from the mirror, turn up the music, and shimmy around in all my glory. I want to make the audience feel this same unapologetic naked joy. This tune is a sort of clarion call. Only instead of a Conch shell, it’s an infectious baseline, finger-snaps, funk guitar, and trumpet. I wanted the viewer to be reminded that it's ok to hear something and go with it—let loose, regardless of how it looks. Whether it's turning up the radio in the car full blast and singing like crazy or actually thinking you’re Adele when singing with the choir. I wanted the audience to see and feel this idea of coming together. Driven by something in our ears, heart, and minds. You can’t see it but you can feel it and it draws us in— and it's good. It can’t totally be explained. For the little drummer boy, he was coming to celebrate the newborn king. Regardless of your faith, with this song and these moving pictures I seek to unleash unbridled joy and extend a hand to come together and unapologetically celebrate each other, as we all travel different roads along our shared collective journey.

What's next for you?

I will release a collection of songs and videos in 2022 and ultimately my

album Spinning North later in the year.

It is rooted in the premise that:

I believe that we are all much more similar than we are different.

We all want wellness and we all want love.

We are all striving, rocking and rolling, through the

difficulties of life the best we can, with and for, those we love.

We are on a difficult, imperfect, and noble journey, in search of greener

grass and a bluer sky.

We are all Spinning North.