This Kansas City musician has rocked stadiums. Now he’s rocking Christmas, with swagger

Christmas time would be just fine if only they understood / Someone tell Santa we’re tired of being good.

David George believes a little naughty should be thrown in with the nice when it comes to Christmas music.

The Kansas City musician might be best known as a guitarist in John Fogerty’s band or as the writer behind a Kansas City Chiefs’ touchdown song.

But the frontman for the David George Orchestra has also created a musical that came this close to playing on Broadway. Featuring the “big band music of yore with a rock ’n’ roll twist,” it’s called “Christmas Ain’t a Drag.” Picture a lot of toe-tapping to accompany the mistletoe.

“This is the show that Kansas City needs for the holiday. It’s not for kids, and it’s not for the Hallmark Movie of the Week crowd,” George says from his studio in the Rockhill Ridge neighborhood. “I’m trying to create an adult vibe, like old-school Vegas, Elvis, Rat Pack-kind of stuff. Cigarettes and martinis. Dressing up a bit. Swagger.”

His 10-piece band will perform the tunes from his musical — including such originals as “Tired of Being Good” and “What’s A Naughty Girl to Do” — on Dec. 9 at the Madrid Theatre, with a show the night before in Wichita. He promises “loud guitars, gorgeous singers and big, bombastic horns.”

George admits he truly loves Christmas music. Probably more than most people.

“My parents used to have these albums that Firestone put out every year, and they featured stars like Barbra Streisand, Jim Neighbors and Dean Martin,” he remembers. “My sisters and I would listen to those ad nauseam all through Christmas. It wasn’t that when I grew up I was like, ‘Oh, I gotta write a Christmas song.’ But then I wrote a lullaby called ‘Tonight’s Child’ for my niece and nephew when they were young.”

That was one of several of his songs that fit with the holiday spirit but didn’t really fit anywhere else. George pondered the best way to showcase such material, and although he had never written a stage play before, he thought it might prove the best vehicle for his stray holiday tunes.

He describes “Christmas Ain’t a Drag” as the story of a young man in Los Angeles who is seeking fame and fortune. After his girlfriend leaves to go back home to the Midwest, he turns up at her front door to surprise her but gets rejected.

“He wanders the streets of a city he doesn’t know, hears some big band rock ’n’ roll playing in a bar, falls in love with the lead singer, only to find out she’s a he,” George says.

Thus the “Drag” part of the title. George confesses this element is not without its share of controversy, but he’s worked hard to treat the topic with empathy and respect.

“I’ve struggled with that because we’re in such delicate times of acceptance,” he says.

The singer/guitarist first came up with the idea when he was living in L.A. for the third time. In December 2009, swing revivalist band Royal Crown Revue was opening for the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and George’s manager was involved with the concert. George composed a few big band Christmas songs and offered them to both acts. They passed, but the material continued to entice him. He kept writing more.

In 2012, after George had moved back to KC, RecordBar co-owner Steve Tulipana asked him to do a Christmas show.

“I knew the best way to make this a success was to turn the songs into a show that could go on the big stage,” says George, who took inspiration from both Setzer and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

“David is a compulsive creator. He is the kind of person who is constantly making or thinking about making,” says Shay Estes, one of the singers in George’s orchestra.

“If he gets a rejection or doesn’t get a positive reaction, it doesn’t derail him or even slow him down. And he doesn’t abandon his creations; he just gets back to work reshaping and improving.”

‘A long way to the top’

David George’s business card contains a quote from one of AC/DC’s early singles: “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll…”

For the rock musician, it has been indeed.

First forming a band in junior high, George relocated numerous times (Louisville, Cleveland, Seattle, among others) before attempting to break into the “industry” in L.A. Only this particular industry was film.

“Rock ’n’ roll didn’t seem like a means to an end for me,” he says. “There wasn’t a college for it. There’s no MIT for guitar.”

Instead, he took whatever movie production jobs he could find. In 1990, he was working as an assistant to the executive producer on the set of the action sequel “Predator 2.” He met a fellow musician, formed an acoustic duo called the Chaneys and gigged extensively around the metropolis.

The Rockhurst High School and UMKC grad eventually returned to KC to pursue music full time, and a string of bands followed: Deege, Moaning Lisa, Culture Killers and A Crooked Mile. As did another stab at the scene in Los Angeles.

But it wasn’t until 2012 that George found himself playing to crowds of 10,000 fans a night. For two years, he earned a spot as a guitarist in John Fogerty’s band.

“I learned 40 songs in a week,” George says of his whirlwind induction once finding out he’d be onstage with the former Creedence Clearwater Revival icon.

He was whisked away for a mere two days of rehearsal before headlining at a sold-out arena in Nova Scotia, accompanying Fogerty on classics such as “Fortunate Son,” “Born on the Bayou” and “Up Around the Bend.”

“At the end of the night of a three-hour show, I thought I was going to die,” he says. “My fingers were like chewed on — they were just mush.”

Highlights of this stretch included performances on “The Late Show With David Letterman” and “The View.” While George enjoyed the experience and came away with serious respect for the talents of everyone involved, it would be his lone tour with the artist. For the next expedition, one of Fogerty’s sons ended up replacing George.

However, this would not be his only brush with stadium fame — albeit, the next one proved more unconventional.

In 2014, when the Royals were battling in the World Series, George got inspired to record a rah-rah anthem titled “Hey, Kansas City!” His hometown baseball team didn’t do anything with it, but the next year he received a call from the Chiefs. They needed a replacement for the crowd-hype cut “Rock and Roll, Pt. 2,” which had fallen out of favor due to singer Gary Glitter’s criminal convictions.

Several artists’ songs advanced to a fan vote, and George’s track emerged the clear winner. He went back into the studio to record a shorter version that could be blared after touchdowns and synced with a cheerleader routine.

The Chiefs used it as celebration music for a few years — even showcasing it at Wembley Stadium during the team’s 2015 shellacking of the Detroit Lions.

Rocking Christmas

In 2018, George got increasingly more dedicated to bringing “Christmas Ain’t a Drag” to Broadway. He staged a reading of the musical in front of investors but none ponied up the funds. So the next year he performed the songs live while the story was read. This led to a one-night-only, full-cast show in New York.

By February 2020, the potential for a Broadway run looked promising … then COVID-19 hit. Especially hitting the theater world hard.

For the time being, the best chance that audiences have of hearing this boisterous yuletide material will be in his hometown.

“David has a great sense of melody that drives his lyrics,” says Matt Kesler, who plays upright bass in the orchestra. “He is a prolific songwriter who wears his influences on his sleeve and has the ability to interpret a sound yet make it his own: ‘Every new wave brings in old water.’”

Even though he knows how to compose and play a few instruments well, George concedes he is rather green when it comes to the “orchestra leader” part of the gig.

“I’ve known conductors in the past who have so much theory in their head,” he says. “They can tell you what key they’re in and what key the brass is playing versus the woodwinds. My experience is to rely on others. It’s kind of like making a movie. The director doesn’t make the movie; he just directs people to make the movie. It’s a team. Same with the big band. I’m just relying on my trombone player (Adam Liebrich-Johnsen) who writes the charts and my drummer (Giuliano Mingucci) who keeps things together.”

George took over as general manager of the Madrid in April, and he’s particularly thrilled to be taking the stage of a venue he prizes so much while presenting a concert with such deep, personal meaning.

“It’s just always so delightful to me how much (George) commits to this show and how excited he gets about the details surrounding it,” singer Estes says. “Everything from his red suit and how much he debates which color tie to wear, to Elsa, his snow-white guitar covered in sparkly blue snowflakes.”

“It’s hard for even the most cynical of musicians not to just give in to the sweet silliness of it all. The man really loves spreading joy — and he loves Christmas!”

Jon Niccum is a filmmaker, freelance writer and author of “The Worst Gig: From Psycho Fans to Stage Riots, Famous Musicians Tell All.” His new book titled “With Great Power: Leadership, Character and Conflict Beyond the Superhero Multiverse” comes out in 2023.

The show

The David George Orchestra presents “A Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas Show,” featuring songs from his musical, “Christmas Ain’t a Drag,” at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, at the Madrid Theatre, 3810 Main St. Tickets are $20-$40. See madridtheatre.com.

The same show will be presented in Wichita at 8 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Cotillion Ballroom. See thecotillion.com.

‘Tired Of Being Good’

By David George & George Johnsen

Christmas time it’s easy to be nice

Unless you’re one of those that’s cold as ice

I eat candy canes in bed

I’ll never get ahead

Forget that sugar I’m ready for a little spice

Goody-goody, goody-goody

That’s all they think of me

Goody-goody, goody-goody

I want to show you who I want to be

Christmas time would be just fine if only they understood

Someone tell Santa we’re tired of being good

When we were kids we’d be asleep on Christmas Eve

Now we dance all night around the Christmas tree

Don’t forget Eartha Kitt

Or Santa Baby might have a fit

She’s the cat’s meow

And it’s all we ever wanted to be!

Goody-goody, goody-goody

That’s all they think of me

Goody-goody, goody-goody

I want to show you who I want to be

Christmas time would be just fine if only they understood

Someone tell Santa we’re tired of being good

Goody-goody, goody-goody

Goody-goody, goody-goody

Someone tell Santa we’re tired of being good