There鈥檚 a certain part of Phil 鈥楶hilthy鈥� Maloney鈥檚 body that begins to twitch when he hears sugary sweet carols, replete with ringing bells and laments for snow, jam the airwaves in December.

Politely put 鈥� it鈥檚 his derri猫re.

鈥淭hey make my [bottom] itch and not in a good way either,鈥� says Maloney.

There isn鈥檛 a single tune that the drummer for the powerpop-hardcore-punk quintet Fighting For Ithaca fancies 鈥� even the one about the drummer boy.

鈥淚 general dislike them all,鈥� says Maloney.

鈥淲e love Christmas, but we hate Christmas music.鈥�

The band鈥檚 penchant for the season but aversion of its associated music prompted them to pen a carol-of-sorts of their own.

Written and recorded in a span of two weeks, is an upbeat, riff-laden tale of getting old St. Nick so inebriated he misses the big day itself.

Since its release last Friday, the song, which features on a 604 Records complication, has garnered more than 3,000 hits on .

鈥淚t is quite a bit different from the traditional stuff,鈥� says Maloney, who lives in Maple Ridge.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 something that can be played at churches for Christmas Eve services.鈥�

Drawing influence from bands such as Paramore, All Time Low and Forever the Sickest Kids, Fighting For Ithaca is slowly moving away from its hardcore roots.

Besides Maloney, the four-year-old band, whose name is nod to Homer鈥檚 Odyssey, features Coquitlam鈥檚 Curtis Steeksma (vocals), Vancouver鈥檚 Jon Steeksma (guitar), as well as 性视界传媒鈥檚 Tommy Phoenix (bass) and guitarist Patty.

The quintet inked a record and management deal with 604 Records in summer.

Maloney says the band specifically wanted to be signed to 604 Records, an indie label owned by Nickelback鈥檚 Chad Kroeger and Nickelback鈥檚 attorney Jonathan Simkin.

鈥淭hey are doing things a lot differently than other labels,鈥� Maloney explains.

鈥淭hey are reacting to the new culture. People now are all about singles and promoting yourself online. A lot of the major labels haven鈥檛 really adapted.鈥�

Fighting For Ithaca鈥檚 quest to get signed began in November 2010, when Maloney ran into Simkin and handed him a copy of the band鈥檚 second EP, Thanks For Waiting.

Maloney heard back from Simkin but he was non-committal and did not set a date for a sit-down meeting in the ensuing two months.

So on Jan.1, the band decided 鈥渨e are going to annoy the hell out of 604 Records.鈥�

They told their loyal fans to inundate the label with requests to sign them via Twitter and email.

In five days, by Jan 5. Simkin鈥檚 called the band and said I think we need to schedule a meeting.

It took months to finalize the record deal.

鈥淲e had to tell our fans to back down,鈥� says Maloney.

鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 really announce anything.鈥�

It helped that the band has spent the past year honing their sound and that hard work is reflected in the seven-song EP they鈥檝e just finished recording.

A single titled 鈥楲ast Chance鈥� from the EP will be out in January.

鈥淓verything before was loose and thrown together but now it鈥檚 more refined,鈥� says Maloney.

鈥淲e really thought about how are people going to experience this when they listen to it. We are still playing what we want to play but we now we are keeping in mind the listener and what they want to hear.鈥�

Although the change in approach might seem like the band is succumbing to pressure of commercial success, Fighting for Ithaca is quick to clarify their desire for mass appeal doesn鈥檛 mean a loss of double bass break-downs and guttural growls.

鈥淲e really wanted to make as many people as possible like it, including us,鈥� reassures Maloney.

Now that they are signed and have already booked a slot to play Canadian Music Week in Toronto doesn鈥檛 mean Fighting for Ithaca will forget their fans.

The boys will still go bowling with them, hang out and continue to be BFFs to the folks who buy their records.

鈥淲e appreciate them because we know we wouldn鈥檛 be in the position we鈥檙e in without them,鈥� says Maloney.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until the fans really got behind us that [604 Records] took notice.鈥�

鈥� Fighting for Ithaca plays two sold-out shows in Vancouver this week. Their Christmas song Partying with Santa is available on .