Review Fix Exclusive: The Bolder Range Operators Talks ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ And More

December 15, 2018 Patrick Hickey Jr. Music 0

Review Fix chats with The Bolder Range Operators’ Johnny and Ted Phillips, who discuss their love of jazz and their version of the holiday classic, “Jingle Bell Rock.”

Review Fix: How’d you get started in music?

Ted Phillips: We both started singing when we were young.  Our mother is a singer and she made sure that we could hold a tune before we were both out of our cribs.  I had a band in high school where I was the lead singer, and we were both in choirs growing up. 

Review Fix: What was your turning point? 

Johnny Phillips: We would both go out to karaoke and get told by random people that we were great and should do something with our voices.  After that happened a dozen times or so we thought that we probably should listen to them. 

Review Fix: The moment you knew this was what you wanted to make a career out of? 

Ted Phillips: Haha, that moment has not come yet.   We both still have day jobs here in Colorado.  

Review Fix: Who inspires you? 

Johnny Phillips: Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Mariah Carey, Ray Charles, Adele.  

Ted Phillips: But we love lots of different types of music, not just the big voices. The last concert we went to together was when the Stone Temple Pilots came through Boulder [Colorado].  

Review Fix: What’s on your playlist right now? 

Johnny Phillips: Other Holiday and Christmas songs!

Review Fix: Why “Jingle Bell Rock”? 

Johnny Phillips: Ted and I both liked the idea of doing a few songs on the album where we could sing together and play around with who took each lyric.  “Jingle Bell Rock” is the best of those songs on album. The song is fun, our voices sound great together, and we had a blast recording it. 

Review Fix: What makes Jazz so sexy?

Johnny Phillips: Haha, a deep stand-up bass, and the potential to show improvisation and skill at the same time?  Either that or “Jazz Hands.”

Review Fix: What are your goals for this track? 

Ted Phillips: We just want people to have fun during their holiday season and would love to be part of the soundtrack for those experiences.  If we get added to a few hundred holiday playlists for holiday parties and family get-togethers then we would be thrilled. 

Review Fix: What do you really want for yourself this holiday season? Why? 

Johnny Phillips: Well, as relations between China and the U.S. deteriorate and the prospects for a trade war increase against the backdrop of likely further interest rate hikes from the Fed, we think it’s important to find ways to lower tensions and decrease the risk for miscalculation in high friction areas like the naval confrontations in the South China Sea and negotiations over North Korea – but really – we could use a new crock pot. 

Review Fix: Bottom line, why must someone listen to “Jingle Bell Rock”? 

Ted Phillips: The holidays are just a great time to take a break from the hectic world of work and events and find a way to reconnect with loved ones and music that just wants you to have a good time.  “Jingle Bell Rock” is a great song and can help people get to that holiday state of mind. 

Review Fix: What’s next? 

Johnny Phillips: Putting a Yule log video on repeat and spending time with our family and friends!

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13858 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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