LANSING — Hark! Are those the herald angels singing?

Chances are, no.

In Lansing, it's more likely the members of Disappointed Dad performing "Holiday Rant," an alternative ode to traditional tropes like mistletoe and snowball fights.

Or Iron Christmas practicing "All I Want for Christmas is Everything You Have."

Or Sleeping Timmy warming up with "Do They Know it's Christmas (if it's not on Facebook)?"

The songs might not befit one of Normal Rockwell's Christmas scenes, but they are well-suited for a Lansing holiday, at least according to the duo who have put irreverent tunes on annual compilation albums for the last 13 years.

"It has become a tradition in its own right," said Tommy McCord, a Lansing-area musician who produces many of the songs on the annual compilations. "We started doing this in our late-teens to mid-20s, and now a decade’s gone on and it’s become a thing that keeps a bond going with friends."

The tradition started in 2005 with another Lansing musician and producer, Cale Sauter, who founded a record label called Bermuda Mohawk in 2002 shortly after graduating from Michigan State University.

Sauter had friends who operated a local record label in Ferndale and produced their own holiday compilation every year. He liked the idea, but thought he'd pick a more obscure holiday season than late December.

So Sauter and his friends reached out to area bands seeking songs to compile on an album about their chosen holiday: President's Day.

It didn't work. Few musicians responded, and others recommended they switch their focus to the more traditional holiday season.

Thus, Bermuda Snohawk was born. The first version dropped in 2006, featuring titles such as The Cartridge Family's "Frosty the Freemason," and The Ryans' "Christmas at the Zoo."

More than a decade later, McCord's band, The Plurals, have become a Bermuda Snohawk standby. The group is one of the few to submit a song every year, and McCord is integral in helping other artists get their tracks ready for the album.

McCord operates a local record label called GTG Records. He has a small recording studio on East Grand River Avenue in Lansing, and, in December, he keeps equipment set up so local artists can drop in and record their annual ode to the holidays.

"That's one reason we're able to pull off a 20-artist compilation in a couple days," he said.

Only once did Bermuda Snohawk almost miss Christmas morning, so to speak. Sauter was having a busy fall with his performing and production schedule, not to mention his day job working in public relations. He told McCord that Snohawk might not happen.

The pair and their respective bands were about to hit the road for the show in Toledo when McCord handed Sauter a CD — a near-complete Bermuda Snohawk compilation. All it needed was a few more tracks.

"That was the moment I was like, 'This has so much momentum, I can't curb it," Sauter said. "Might as well play along."

The album has gotten easier to produce through the years. At-home recording equipment is widespread, so bands can more easily put tracks together. Sauter and McCord do little to promote the album or reach out to bands in search of songs.

These days, the album's production starts sometime in November with a nod between Sauter and McCord, in which one signals: 'Snohawk?,' and the other replies 'Snohawk.'

The compilation album has become a way for a loose-knit group of creative friends to connect every year, McCord said. Any artist can participate, and every genre is welcome. Some submitted songs are refined, some less so.

For McCord, who makes his living in the local music world, Bermuda Snohawk is an opportunity to get together with friends, come up with a goofy idea and hit the studio.

"That’s a lot of the fun and the spirit of it," he said. "Just coming up with an idea really quick, knocking it out fast and letting it be what it is. For a lot of us who have made any serious go at being musicians, it’s cathartic in ways to work within this silly set of parameters."

Although the holiday albums are long and feature both local and national artists, Sauter hopes future versions reach a wider swath of the Lansing music scene.

Seriously, he said. Anyone can participate. Sauter wants to hear hip-hop tracks, folk tunes, yodeling, anything. As long as it's holiday-related, it will fit Bermuda Snohawk.

"I want to hear everything that Lansing has to offer," he said.

Artists toying with writing a future Bermuda Snohawk song can get a taste of past tracks at an upcoming show at 8 p.m. Friday at The Avenue Cafe in Lansing.

It will be the first official Bermuda Snohawk release party, a chance for bands such as Scary Women, The Hunky Newcomers, Neon Tuesday and more to show off their holiday tunes.

"At this point, a lot of bands now have enough [Bermuda Snohawk] songs that they could do an entire set," McCord said.

So come ye merry music fans. Gather 'round the hearth (or bar) to celebrate the holidays, Lansing style.

The songs may not be polished, Sauter said. They may not be traditional. But they may help you find local artists you can follow throughout the year.

"If people are interested in holiday music and seeing what Lansing has to offer, a lot of the people who participate in this are a good gateway to finding something that you really like," he said.

Contact Carol Thompson at (517) 377-1018 or ckthompson@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @thompsoncarolk.

Bermuda Snohawk release show

Where: The Avenue Cafe, 2021 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing

When: 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 21

Ages: 21+

Donations: The event is a donation drive for the Lansing nonprofit, Punks with Lunch

Listen: To hear this year's compilation, go to gtgrecords.net/category/bermuda-snohawk/.