It’s about to snow rock ‘n’ roll. Yellow Snow is back with their latest single and video, a wild, guitar-charged take on Danny Elfman’s “What’s This?” from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. Straight from their roaring holiday album Volume 1, this version takes the beloved tune from spooky to spectacular, mixing mischief, melody, and pure head-banging holiday cheer.
“I never knew if it was a Christmas or Halloween song,” laughs creator and frontman Mike DiBiase. “Instead of doing a traditional orchestral arrangement, I thought, ‘Let’s do big Queen-Type vocals in place of that orchestral instrumentation and then let’s make it really rock with heavy guitars.’” He adds, “Then, I drank a bottle of wine and sang it the best I could. The vein in my temple was about to pop out of my head by the time I was done, but it fits our brand. It’s definitely a rockin’ song now.”
A Rhode Island native and Emmy-nominated audio post pro, DiBiase first brought Yellow Snow to life in 2007, packing clubs and spreading joy with hard-rock Christmas anthems while donating proceeds to charity. Over the years, his riff-filled reinventions have grown a loyal cult following, even landing his original “Giddy Yup, Santa Claus” on Riverdale.
Now joined by bandmates Matt Baird, Al Diaz, Franklin La Barbara, Denise Gouvin, Jason Berndt, and Chris Piccirillo, DiBiase has turned his annual tradition into a full-fledged rock spectacle. Recorded in Nashville, Volume 1 delivers sleigh bells with power chords, and “What’s This?” is its crown jewel—a holiday anthem for anyone who likes their Christmas loud, proud, and just a little twisted.