On a November evening in 2000 at the Beachland ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio, Slaid Cleaves was joined by Ivan Brown, bass, and Oliver Steck, accordion. Jimmy Wilson of WRUW recorded the show. When they sang this song, Jimmy immediately thought of us and recruited them for Ornaments and Icing. We gladly agreed and, thankfully, so did Slaid.

He has all the sophistication of a lyrical writer, but presents his songs in a roots music setting. This combination has been coined "Americana," and Slaid's album "Broke Down" was No. 1 on the Gavin Americana chart.

Slaid is from Portland, Maine. His early inspiration came from Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams and Bruce Springsteen. He was lured to Boston by the works of contemporaries like Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Robert Earl Keen. He then moved to Austin, and, according to Luann Williams of "The Texas Monthly" he, "soaked up some of that Texas spirit, to become a storyteller with a keen eye for character and a spare, Hemmingway-like pen." His protagonists are always fighters, torn by their own knowledge of a better life. Of course, in the case of The Grinch, the definition of a better life might vary from our own. But then, while he treats him with appropriately tasteful distaste, he didn't, after all, write The Grinch.

Learn more about Slaid Cleaves at slaidcleaves.com.