Fretboard Journey brings us their Christmas Picks

The four guitarists of Fretboard Journey — Duane Andrews, Sandy Morris, Gordon Quinton and Craig Young, have an encyclopedia of Christmas music at their fingertips.

So how did they decide what music to put on their holiday album, Christmas Picks?

"Coin toss!" said Morris.

Busiest time of year

The four musicians are at their busiest this time of year, playing at concerts, private events, and even church services, both on their own and with various groups of musicians.   

So in October, before their holiday musical season started, Fretboard Journey sat down in Craig Young's recording studio and started to play.

"Basically we do everything off the floor, there's no edits, we just do the music," said Andrews.

"We play it until we get it right," added Morris.

Picking their favourites

The album features a mix of holiday favourites, such as Frosty the Snowman and Winter Wonderland, Christmas carols, and even their take on Gordon Lightfoot's Song For A Winter's Night.

"Every musician wants to do an album of Christmas music," said Quinton, "It [the music} just lends itself to different musical adventures."

Do you have a new album of music that Weekend AM should know about for First Listen? Email us wam@cbc.ca and tell us about it.

You can hear First Listen Sundays on Weekend AM from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. (5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in most of Labrador) on CBC Radio One.  

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