Please visit www.themusicofalexthode.com for more information.

Repertoire:
"In the Steppes of Central Asia" — Alexander Borodin & Audiomachine
"Carol of the Bells" — Mykolaiv Leontovych
"Dies Irae" — Gregorian Chant
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" — Traditional
"Jingle Bells" — Traditional
"Ice Dance" — Danny Elfman
"Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
"Winter" — Antonio Vivaldi

Commissioned by the Mililani High School Marching Band (Mililani, HI)

Krampus

OYG (prod. realjaybenji)

Original Youngster (prod. realjaybenji)

Releasing this today for the Feast of Saint Nicholas—history’s most unlikely Christmas icon.
The spark came when Joe in Arizona was chatting with Mary from Beating Edge, who mentioned that St. Nick’s bones rest in her hometown of Bari, Italy. 
Joe wrote the song, and the band jumped in to bring it to life with their awesome playing skills and Joe had a blast attempting to channel Tom as he sang the vocals.

Credits:
Main Vocals, music and lyrics:  Joe 
Guitar & Backing Vocals: Mary
Synths: Mauro
Bass & Synth Bass: Davide
Drums & Percussion: Valerio
Mixed & Produced by Tom

Hope you enjoy it.

Copyright 2025
Lyrics

St Nicholas was born in Turkey in the fourth century AD.
He became the bishop of Myra, and was known for his generosity.
They say he tossed three bags of gold into a poor family's dwelling,
And he raised three boys from the dead — it’s a legend, but it sure sounds compelling.

How did a man who lived in Turkey,
In a land that’s warm and sunny,
End up in the North Pole with flying reindeer
If you think about it, it’s kind of funny.

Nicholas died of old age in Myra in the year three forty-three.
They buried him in a tomb expecting him to rest eternally.
The years went by, the tales grew taller and his legend continued to grow,
And it was a fact that relics of a saint could earn you quite a bit of dough.

It’s good to give gifts to family and friends,
And people in need,
But sometimes it feels
Like we’re being manipulated
To buy things we don't need.

In 1087,  there were sailors in two cities, Venice and Bari.
They decided they wanted St Nicholas's bones  so they raced across the Adriatic Sea.
The sailors from Bari got there first and they took those bones by force and deception.
They brought them back to Bari and they were greeted with a heroic reception.

You can take all the bad parts of the story that happen in real life,
Remove the uncomfortable dark parts and keep only the light.
We sing our Christmas carols and say it’s the most magical time of the year.
For a few days we ignore all the bad stuff as we spread the Christmas cheer.

Old Saint Nick, Old Saint Nick, he tried to help those in need.
Old Saint Nick, Old Saint Nick, now he’s a mascot for corporate greed.
Old Saint Nick, Old Saint Nick, he tried so hard to help the poor.
Now he’s a giant plastic figurine who smiles as you walk into the big box store.

As we sit there ripping the paper off our presents underneath the Christmas tree,
It’s good to remember there are people out there who are less fortunate than you and me.
Maybe we can be a little bit more like Old Saint Nick — maybe we can.
Maybe we can be a little bit more like Old Saint Nick.

Old Saint Nick

We loved Joe's song (https://soundcloud.com/joseph-stroffolino/old-saint-nick) so much - the one he wrote, sang, and we had the pleasure to play, produce, and mix - that we just had to make a chiptune version! Meet Old Saint Chip, a tiny 8-bit adventure through Saint Nick’s legendary bones. Plug in your headphones, maybe sit next to an old NES or C64, and enjoy the pixelated holiday vibes!🎅🏻🕹️🎄
👾All our Chiptune tracks are here: soundcloud.com/beatingedge/sets/8-bit-vibes
©2025 Beating Edge & @Joseph-stroffolino

Old Saint Chip (Instrumental - Chiptune)

Songs with a twinge of humor (and some a bit more serious).  
I do not use AI to create my songs. 
https://linktr.ee/joe.stroffolino
Recently I have had the urge to pick up my guitars (Taylor 114ce and Fender Squire) and I have been trying to use more guitar in my songs.  
My go to .vst plug ins are  EZkeys 2, EZ Bass and  EZ drummer 3) and my DAW is Logic Pro 11. 
I welcome your comments and enjoy listening to all the great music on SoundCloud. 
All songs are originals and copyrighted.

Alex Thode (he/him) would first like you to know that not only is the “e” at the end of his last name not silent, but that he is also a composer and arranger most known for his work in the pageantry arts. He resides in Waukesha, Wisconsin with his cat, Buzz. An alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Alex composes and arranges for marching bands across the continental United States.

Alex's clientele have been Bands of America (BOA) Regional Champions and Finalists, UIL State Finalists and Area Champions, and WGI Winds World Champions, with Finalists in every classification. He has also had the privilege of having his arrangements performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Tournament of Roses Bandfest.

In addition to his compositions and arrangements for the pageantry arts, Alex also composes symphonic band and chamber percussion works.

In his free time, Alex enjoys watching movies and believing he’s a professional film critic, hiking and pretending that he’s athletic, traveling to National Parks — of which he’d eventually like to visit all — and acting like he’s Marco Polo, playing piano, guitar and a variety of kalimbas, and being with good company.

♫ Type Beat King ♬
https://linktr.ee/sir.tragedy

🎸We are a five-piece studio band mixing different genres and influences into our own sound.
Members:
Tom (vocals, occasional keys/guitar)
Mary (guitar, backing vocals)
Mauro (keyboards, piano, synths, winds)
Davide (bass, synth bass)
Valerio (drums, percussion)

The band has existed since 2015, but we only started publishing on SoundCloud and other platforms in 2024. Many of the songs we’ve released so far are reboots of tracks we wrote years ago, in case you were wondering how we managed to release over 100 tracks in one year. Before 2024 we only published on our own blog (which is now gone, replaced by a new one we barely use), so our audience was limited to a few hundred friends and acquaintances.
We’re not professional musicians! We have other jobs, and we don’t even consider ourselves musicians, at most entertainers and awareness-raisers.

⚡️We do not authorize the use of our music, voices or recordings for AI training or generative purposes without our written consent.

🔗https://ffm.bio/beatingedge
The label BE Melody and the recording/production studio BE Studios are owned by Beating Edge and are © 2024-25.
© 2024–2025 Beating Edge. All songs, lyrics, artworks, and videos belong to Beating Edge. All rights reserved.

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