St. John's duo the Duds release 'Dudvent' calendar of musical holiday delights

Melanie O'Brien and Philip Goodridge, the St. John's pop music duo known as the Duds,wanted to release their holiday collection of seasonal songs in a special way.

"People love an Advent calendar, a chocolate a day," Goodridge recently told CBC Radio's Weekend AM. "We figured we would release these [songs] one week apart and send them out like that."

The Duds started their "Dudvent" song release on Nov. 26 with Before the Night (Tibb's Eve). On Fridaythey released Solstice, and they have two more song drops planned for this coming Fridayand Dec. 17.

O'Brien, a fan of mid-20th century classic seasonal music by artists such as Nat King Cole and Elvis, started working on this quartet of songs last Christmas.

She said she started thinking about how Christmas 2020 was different from previous holiday seasons because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

"I wanted to make something that we can find relatable in our current time," said O'Brien. "Where do we still find the joy and the light in that?"

Ready at the right time

To get these songs ready for a late 2021 release, the Duds recorded the songs in late August in producer Ian Foster's studio, while wearing sandals and shorts. Goodridge said he and O'Brien have such busy individual performing schedules itwas their only window of time to record.

He admitted the summer is not the ideal time to be recording Christmas musicbut he's happy that the songs are ready for their fans to enjoy right now.

"When Dec. 1 hits, I am all Christmas all the time," said Goodridge.

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