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Our Review

Geez, this Antsy McClain fella is a fraud, and a darned good one. Oh, he pretends to be this trailer trash kind of guy, and I guess he did grow up in a trailer park (purportedly raised by a truck-drivin' dad and an Avon-sellin' mom), but McClain is definitely a Renaissance man, a tremendously multi-talented and worldly guy (a Japanese interpreter, for chrissake!). So don't look askance at these artists, Antsy McClain and his Trailer Park Troubadours, thinking that this must be low-level country fare. Nosirree, this McClain fella is a whip-smart singer-songwriter, and the trailer park is his "hook" into Americana.

This rockabilly CD opens smartly with Christmas at the Trailer Park, an upbeat story that apparently captures the essence of McClain's childhood holidays, including the Hooters Advent calendar, inflatable Wise Men, and mom's death-by-mayonnaise casserole. McClain writes many of the songs here, and he knows how to spin a yarn. I especially loved the heartfelt I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Antsy's gently reworked Auld Lang Syne Revisited. These are the relatively "straight" tracks on the comedy album, and they showcase McClain's excellent and emotive voice.

Antsy McClain's Merry Christmas from the Trailer Park is an amusing novelty album, but McClain's talents run far deeper. What a talent!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)

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From the liner notes:

Antsy McClain: lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Matt Rollings: piano, B-3 organ
Danny Parks: acoustic, electric guitars
Michael Rhodes: bass
Eddie Bayers: drums
Bobby Cochran: first guitar solo on Christmas at the Trailer Park
Todd McMasters: bass on I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Dan Becker: accordion, juice harp
Pauly Zarb: accordion, flute
Gary Smith: keyboards
Chris Long, Mike Rosen, Nathan Day, Polly Esther McClain, Pauly Zarb, Bobby Cochran: background vocals
Brooklynne McClain, Grant McClain & Bryce Fausnaught: children's voices at the beginning of The King of Christmas

This album is for anyone who needs a smile and a hug during the Holidays

Horns arranged and performed by Bruce Wandmayer
Strings arranged and performed by Tim Lorsch



From the Website:

Living and Writing Trailercana

Antsy McClain is quintessential Americana, but not in the musical genre kind of way. Oh no, McClain is Americana in the reared-in-a-trailer-park-by-a-truck-driving-father and Avon-selling-mother kind of way. Like a surreal Norman Rockwell painting come to life, McClain is the embodiment of the small-town, blue-collar life he experienced growing up in a little Kentucky trailer park called Pine View Heights. The characters and characteristics he witnessed in Pine View Heights made an indelible impression on the young artist in training. He grew into a first-rate songwriter, incredible visual artist and insightful humorist. He was also hit with a touch of the mad genius...

McClain's wry blend of humor and emotional depth comes from an intriguing mix of life experiences. While he grew up in a trailer park, he's also been a world traveler, an artist, a teacher, a tour guide, and even a Japanese interpreter. In addition to his musical adventures, McClain is also an acclaimed visual artist and author. He recently published his third book titled It Takes A Trailer Park. This humorous and thoughtful reflection of Antsy's life experiences blends the savvy of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon with the unique experiences and lessons of growing up in blue-collar American culture. He's also recently finished a children's book entitled The Rock Collector that he both wrote and illustrated.

Wildly independent and fiercely creative, Anty McClain is staking his claim on pop culture. His plot may not be huge, but he's mining it deep, uncovering little musical gems for Trailercana - ones that reflect the joy and complexities of modern day life in America. It sounds like he hit pay dirt.

Antsy McClain and the Trailer Park Troubadours

Merry Christmas from the Trailer Park

Order from CD Baby

Track List