Do You Hear What I Hear? : Musicians: Christmas is as good as gold for those who get work playing carols at parties and malls.

The company party is kicking into gear. There’s a glittering, ornament-filled tree in the corner of this hotel banquet room. Folks mill around the bar as steamy trays of food are placed on a buffet table.

And, in a back room, the Elvis impersonator is getting dressed.

It’s holiday time again.

December is the most hectic month for musicians, and pseudo-musicians. Companies want entertainment for their Christmas parties. Malls want live music for the shopping rush. Churches hire extra players to help with their annual Handel’s Messiah.

“It’s the busiest time of year,” said Steve Williams, adjusting his wig and wraparound sunglasses, “even for Elvis.”

So musicians find themselves rushing from gig to gig, often playing several jobs in a day. A piano player can make $200 for an evening party. A quartet can pull in $250 for singing an hour’s worth of carols.

This season has been somewhat slow because money is tight this year.

But there is enough work so that most musicians say they will play 30 to 40 gigs--or “casuals” as such jobs are called--by month’s end.

On Sunday, Mike Nelson and his five-piece band were dressed as cowboys and faking their way through an old Patsy Cline tune for a company party in Van Nuys.

“Today, we’re a country band. Tomorrow, we might be a Middle Eastern band,” he said. “A gig’s a gig. Money’s money.”

‘Tis the season to be jolly.

Money isn’t the only reason that musicians like the holidays. Whether in a mall or in someone’s house, audiences tend to be in good spirits.

“People are appreciative that you’re there. They put you in a good mood,” said Jim Fox, a Thousand Oaks musician who said he has done his share of “knock-down, drag-out Christmas work.”

Holiday functions are festive and filled with decorations--an atmosphere that warms the hearts of all but the most-hardened musical veterans.

“I’m from the East Coast and I miss the snow,” said Lorrie Kelly of the Yuletide Singers, a group of free-lance vocalists. “Doing parties makes it seem much more like Christmas.”

Kelly’s quartet is paid to work Topanga Plaza in Canoga Park weekend afternoons. They roam about in Dickensian garb, pausing at various spots to sing carols.

Small crowds inevitably draw near. The performers coax shoppers to sing along or hand them bells to jingle.

“The kids make it fun,” said Bill Malinsky, co-leader of the group. “You see those giant eyes and their jaws drop.”

Music is a holiday staple at shopping malls.

Sherman Oaks Fashion Center features a string quartet and a bell choir that plays carols and a rousing version of the theme to “Beverly Hills Cop.” Christmas tunes are also ringing through the Sherman Oaks Galleria and Northridge Fashion Center, which has cut its entertainment costs by bringing in volunteer community choirs.

In these tough economic times, the Yuletide Singers have found a new group of fans at Topanga Plaza: Shopkeepers desperate for business ask the quartet to sing in front of their stores.

“They bring gaiety to the mall,” said Dolores Fain, a jewelry saleswoman. “And people come over to hear them.”

Oh bring us a figgy pudding.

Good food is an additional benefit during the holidays. During breaks, the band usually gets to eat the same food as guests. This is a special treat at catered parties in expensive houses.

“Over the course of a season,” Fox said, “you might get 10 terrific Christmas dinners.”

Carolers aren’t so lucky. They stay at parties only an hour or so before leaving for the next one.

“We’re always watching people eat gorgeous catered meals,” Kelly said, “while we’re always hurrying through McDonald’s drive-through between jobs.”

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

But not everything is peace and good cheer for musicians at Christmas. Solo acts and duets are likely to be treated as background music, or simply ignored.

“You get used to watching people eat while you play,” Fox said.

The common strategy is to play carols, quietly, during cocktails and dinner. Later, maybe, people will want to dance to louder music. Or maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll spend all night asking the band to play softer. Musicians hate that.

“For those of us who have done this for years, we look on it with boredom,” said Ben DiTosti, a pianist who has played three decades worth of “Silent Night.”

You better not pout ...

Indeed, Christmas parties come with all sorts of pitfalls.

Carolers have to sing in freezing back yards or smoke-filled rooms that wreak havoc on vocal chords. They sing as much as eight hours a day.

“You’re in caroling overdrive through December,” Malinsky said. “Then, in January, you have a breakdown.”

Pianists who perform in homes are at the mercy of the host’s piano.

“I played one party in a beautiful home with beautiful furniture and a beautiful Steinway . . . and it wasn’t tuned,” DiTosti said. “Here they had a wonderful piano and it sounded horrible. I had to play fast music so you couldn’t notice it so much.”

Even when played in tune, “Jingle Bells” for the 30th time in as many nights can grow tiresome. And one’s dignity is always in peril, as musicians are often asked to wear silly hats or ugly red-and-green sweaters.

“I have a philosophy,” Fox said. “When a musician is getting paid, there is nothing demeaning about it.”

Good-paying Christmas gigs allow musicians to spend the rest of the year playing in local clubs, where the money is bad and artistic expression is the payoff.

“You do Christmas stuff for a living and the other stuff for your soul,” Nelson said. “No matter how horrible a gig might be, at the end, you get your check and split and you never see those people again.”

He’s gonna find out who’s naughty and nice ...

For every bad party, there’s a musician who could be worse. You know, the unshaven guy in the ill-fitting tuxedo who struggles through Christmas carols on a Casio keyboard, hitting a sour note here and there.

“There are so many jobs. Everybody who owns an instrument is playing,” Nelson said. “It’s the musical dregs. People who shouldn’t even be allowed to play are getting paid for it.”

Jeff Enloe knows all about that. He is a San Fernando Valley promoter who booked more than 45 Christmas parties this year (down from the record 83 he booked last year). Enloe said that even if the musician is talented, chances are that he or she will show up poorly dressed.

“Players don’t care about that sort of thing,” Enloe said. “The shoes. I always tell them to were nice shoes.”

Steve Williams, with his Elvis act, realizes the importance of appearance. He spends an hour putting on makeup and a wig. His sequined jumpsuit is spotless.

“It may seem strange to have Elvis at a Christmas party,” he said. “But I’ll throw in a few Christmas songs.”

We wish you a Merry Christmas ...

Rebecca Rhee, a graduate music student at USC, has played violin the last two years for holiday concerts at Grace Baptist Church in Newhall. Claire Blackwell, a teacher at The Master’s College in Newhall, troupes around Los Angeles with her small army of bell ringers, performing at churches and schools. The Yuletide Singers are Yule-time regulars in several Valley homes.

“On Christmas Eve, they come to Grandpa and Grandma’s house,” a Camarillo woman said. “It’s a family tradition.”

Said Kelly: “We’re part of their Christmas and they’re part of ours.”

Even DiTosti admits that he has enjoyed playing Christmas functions, especially when the piano is in tune.

“You’re pleasing people,” he said. “It’s a wonderful way to make a living.”

... and a Happy New Year!

“New Year’s Eve,” Nelson said. “You know those jobs can be dangerous, depending on how much people have had to drink. That’s a whole different story.”