Oi to the World!
Encyclopedia
Oi to the World! is a Christmas
album by the southern California
punk rock
band The Vandals
. It was released in 1996 by their label Kung Fu Records
, who also re-released it in 2000 with altered artwork and a bonus track. It was the band's sixth full-length studio album and presented holiday-themed songs written and performed with the tongue-in-cheek humor for which the band is known.
Because Kung Fu Records itself had been formed in 1996 and was at this point still a small label, the original pressing of the album was somewhat limited and it remained relatively obscure for several years (the band's major studio albums at this time were being released by Nitro Records
). The Vandals maintained a close friendship with fellow Orange County
band No Doubt
, who covered the album's title track "Oi to the World" for a Christmas compilation in 1997. Their version, which was produced by Vandals guitarist Warren Fitzgerald
, received mainstream exposure and popularity and spawned a music video
. Partly thanks to the exposure brought by association with No Doubt (with whom the Vandals also toured), fan interest in Oi to the World! increased and in 2000 Kung Fu Records, which by now had grown in size, re-released the album with new artwork and a bonus overture, as well as a new intro for the title track.
Because Vandals full-time drummer Josh Freese
was involved with other musical projects at the time of the album's recording, a number of fill-in drummers were recruited to play most of the drum tracks on the album: Brooks Wackerman
of Infectious Grooves
and Suicidal Tendencies
, Erik Sandin
of NOFX
, and Rat Scabies
of The Damned. Freese did play on three of the album's tracks, and both his brother Jason Freese
and father Stan Freese
also appeared playing horns. The original release was dedicated to the memory of Pat Brown, a friend of the band during their formative years and subject of their 1982 song "The Legend of Pat Brown." He had died in 1996.
Almost every year since the album's release the Vandals have played a traditional "Christmas Formal" concert in Anaheim
during the holiday season, at which they perform Oi to the World! nearly in its entirety. Other than at this special show songs from the album are rarely performed in concert, with the exception of "Oi to the World," which has become a regular part of their setlist.
of Allmusic gave the album a negative review, remarking that "If you do happen to enjoy their ridiculously stupid jokes, Oi to the World is nearly as fun as anything else in their catalog, even though you might admit their fast, goofy, and essentially tuneless songs are beginning to wear a bit thin."
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
album by the southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Vandals
The Vandals
The Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
. It was released in 1996 by their label Kung Fu Records
Kung Fu Records
Kung Fu Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996 by Joe Escalante and Warren Fitzgerald of the punk rock band The Vandals. Founded in order to release a record by the Riverside, California band Assorted Jelly Beans, the label soon grew to include a roster of notable artists...
, who also re-released it in 2000 with altered artwork and a bonus track. It was the band's sixth full-length studio album and presented holiday-themed songs written and performed with the tongue-in-cheek humor for which the band is known.
Because Kung Fu Records itself had been formed in 1996 and was at this point still a small label, the original pressing of the album was somewhat limited and it remained relatively obscure for several years (the band's major studio albums at this time were being released by Nitro Records
Nitro Records
Nitro Records is an independent record label created and owned by Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel . They started the label in 1994. The label is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notably AFI...
). The Vandals maintained a close friendship with fellow Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
band No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
, who covered the album's title track "Oi to the World" for a Christmas compilation in 1997. Their version, which was produced by Vandals guitarist Warren Fitzgerald
Warren Fitzgerald
Warren Fitzgerald is an American punk rock musician, guitarist, songwriter, and record label owner.-Overview and business:Warren Fitzgerald is most famous for being the current guitarist of The Vandals...
, received mainstream exposure and popularity and spawned a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
. Partly thanks to the exposure brought by association with No Doubt (with whom the Vandals also toured), fan interest in Oi to the World! increased and in 2000 Kung Fu Records, which by now had grown in size, re-released the album with new artwork and a bonus overture, as well as a new intro for the title track.
Because Vandals full-time drummer Josh Freese
Josh Freese
Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
was involved with other musical projects at the time of the album's recording, a number of fill-in drummers were recruited to play most of the drum tracks on the album: Brooks Wackerman
Brooks Wackerman
Brooks Wackerman is the current drummer for the American punk band Bad Religion and the younger brother of Chad Wackerman, formerly a member of Frank Zappa's band.-Career:...
of Infectious Grooves
Infectious Grooves
Infectious Grooves is a funk metal band led by Suicidal Tendencies frontman Mike Muir. It also features former Excel guitarist Adam Siegel, ex-Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo , and ex-Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins...
and Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is a U.S. crossover thrash band founded in 1981 in Venice, Los Angeles, California by Mike Muir, its leader and only permanent member. The band is sometimes credited as one of "the fathers of crossover thrash"...
, Erik Sandin
Erik Sandin
Erik Sandin , is an American musician and the drummer of the popular California punk band, NOFX. He was a founding member of the band when they formed in Hollywood, California, in 1983, but moved to Santa Barbara two years later, leaving the band.In just one year without Sandin, the band had...
of NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
, and Rat Scabies
Rat Scabies
Christopher Millar , better known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known for his tenure as the drummer for The Damned....
of The Damned. Freese did play on three of the album's tracks, and both his brother Jason Freese
Jason Freese
Jason Freese is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. As a professional studio musician he has performed on over 50 albums by more than 35 different artists, including multiple albums by the Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, Jewel, NOFX, and Zebrahead...
and father Stan Freese
Stan Freese
Stanford Freese is a world-renowned tuba soloist and Talent Casting & Booking Director with Disney Entertainment Productions ....
also appeared playing horns. The original release was dedicated to the memory of Pat Brown, a friend of the band during their formative years and subject of their 1982 song "The Legend of Pat Brown." He had died in 1996.
Almost every year since the album's release the Vandals have played a traditional "Christmas Formal" concert in Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
during the holiday season, at which they perform Oi to the World! nearly in its entirety. Other than at this special show songs from the album are rarely performed in concert, with the exception of "Oi to the World," which has become a regular part of their setlist.
Reception
Stephen Thomas ErlewineStephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic gave the album a negative review, remarking that "If you do happen to enjoy their ridiculously stupid jokes, Oi to the World is nearly as fun as anything else in their catalog, even though you might admit their fast, goofy, and essentially tuneless songs are beginning to wear a bit thin."
Track listing
Band
- Dave Quackenbush - vocals
- Warren FitzgeraldWarren FitzgeraldWarren Fitzgerald is an American punk rock musician, guitarist, songwriter, and record label owner.-Overview and business:Warren Fitzgerald is most famous for being the current guitarist of The Vandals...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocals, lead vocals on track 12, string arrangements on track 6 - Joe EscalanteJoe EscalanteJoseph Patrick "Joe" Escalante is an American musician, record label owner, radio host, film and music video director, and amateur matador, as well as a former television executive and entertainment lawyer...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals, lead vocals on track 10 - Josh FreeseJosh FreeseJosh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on tracks 4, 10 and 11
Additional musicians
- Brooks WackermanBrooks WackermanBrooks Wackerman is the current drummer for the American punk band Bad Religion and the younger brother of Chad Wackerman, formerly a member of Frank Zappa's band.-Career:...
– drums and traps on tracks 1, 5, 7 & 9 - Erik SandinErik SandinErik Sandin , is an American musician and the drummer of the popular California punk band, NOFX. He was a founding member of the band when they formed in Hollywood, California, in 1983, but moved to Santa Barbara two years later, leaving the band.In just one year without Sandin, the band had...
– drums on tracks 3 & 8 - Rat ScabiesRat ScabiesChristopher Millar , better known by his stage name Rat Scabies, is a musician best known for his tenure as the drummer for The Damned....
– drums on track 2 - Stan FreeseStan FreeseStanford Freese is a world-renowned tuba soloist and Talent Casting & Booking Director with Disney Entertainment Productions ....
– tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the... - Jason FreeseJason FreeseJason Freese is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. As a professional studio musician he has performed on over 50 albums by more than 35 different artists, including multiple albums by the Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, Jewel, NOFX, and Zebrahead...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Suzanne LaRoque – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Christina Placilla – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Elizabeth Johnson – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Vidal Hulbert – violin
Artwork
- Warren Fitzgerald – drawings
- "Punker Tommy" – band photo
- Adam Swinbourne – cover art (re-release)
- Lisa Johnson – band photo (re-release)
- Scott Matthews – back cover and insert background photos (re-release)
- Sergie – artwork (re-release)