With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’ll be holiday gift shopping time before you know it. Every year, gift buyers are faced with the unique challenge of trying to figure out what they should be getting for their loved ones to show their love and affection. Luckily, we here at Uproxx got some of our favorite artists to help get the juices flowing with the Uproxx Holiday Gift Guide, letting the world in on the best gives they’ve ever given, received, or ones they wish they had thought of.
Next up is Shinedown, who are marking the holidays with a cover of John Lennon’s “Happy X-Mas (War Is Over).” To celebrate the new cover, vocalist Brent Smith sat down to recommend handmade gifts, cash, and vinyl in the latest Uproxx Holiday Gift Guide. Check out their holiday sale here.
What album makes the best holiday gift and why do you love it?
The album that I would give as a gift would either be Back In Black by AC/DC or Appetite For Destruction by Guns N’ Roses. They’re iconic. They are also an introduction into the awesome world of rock n roll, and they’re great records.
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What’s the perfect gift for your significant other and why?
Well, the perfect gift would be your love because that should be given all year around. But, also, I think if your significant other really means a lot to you, it’s always cool to do something by hand, whether it’s a card or whether you make them something. It’s just a different way of giving somebody a gift instead of going out and buying it at a store or online. If you make something for them, a lot of times they feel that that is much more significant and quite special.
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What do you give to the musician in your life?
I have a lot of musicians in my life. Most of the time gift cards work really well. They could just go out and get what they want.
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Oh no! You have to buy a gift for a kid. What’s something you get for a child?
Money! Plain and simple.
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Mom and dad can be the hardest to shop for. What’s a great gift for the parental figure in your life?
That really just depends on a lot of different things, but most of the time, you know, they kind of give you subtle hints through the years what they want. It’s usually stuff for the house, or, I remember a couple of years ago, I bought my mother a Mercedes because she hadn’t had a brand-new car in over 25 years. So, you just have to listen to your parents, and they kind of give you subtle hints with what they could use or what they might need.
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What’s the one merch item of yours that you think makes a great gift and why?
Definitely the vinyl records because we spent a lot of time on those. We’ve got a lot of different reissues and what have you, so definitely vinyl is always a cool gift.
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Some of the best gifts are experiences. What’s an experience you think would make a great gift?
Any time you can travel the world, any time that you can go to a different country and experience that culture, that’s always a great gift. So that’s what I would say. A family trip or even just a trip to a different country with friends. That’s always a great gift and a cool, cool experience.
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Is there a gift not covered in these questions that you want to highlight?
There is, actually. And that is your time. Your time to sit and be present with the people that you love and respect and, you know, just listening sometimes is one of the greatest gifts that you can give, and you can give that gift all year around.
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“Happy X-Mas (War Is Over) is out now. Listen here and pick up some Shindown merch right here.
Shinedown is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.