He's making a list, a sound check, too. Music fans better be nice tonight

The brick building in Akron was an unlikely place to find Santa Claus. Outside, a handful of Harleys were parked on the sidewalk. And in the windows were illuminated signs advertising Budweiser and more Budweiser. But there he stood on stage -- as big as Christmas.

``Ho! Ho! Ho! Welcome to the Main Street Saloon!''

A little girl, who was eating a 99-cent hamburger the size of the North Pole, snapped her head toward the stage to look at the man whose beard stretched halfway down to his rotund belly.

Fact is, you really can't blame Ol' St. Nick for moonlighting. Working just one night a year doesn't pay the bills. So Jammin' Paul Hively, otherwise known as Santa Claus, is a full-time musician -- well, that is when he ain't perched in a sleigh barking orders at eight tiny reindeer.

"Requests?'' he bellowed.
"Rudolph,'' someone shouted.

Everyone laughed. After all, this is the Main Street Saloon, where the low roar of bikes routinely filters through the walls.  And then Mr. Claus adjusted his black and white Fender Stratocaster and began rockin'. The tune was Creedence Clearwater Revival's Green River, but the words had changed.

"Take me up North where the reindeer play, ya all.
Let me remember the toys I made ya,
Stopping Mrs. Claus as she walks by,
Baking chocolate chip cookies, it's Christmastime,
All of my elves dancing in the moonlight.''

A man in leather chaps stomped his foot to the beat. Santa's forehead glowed like a holiday ornament from perspiration.

"Girls,'' Santa shouted when the music stopped, "what would you like in your stockings this year?''

Cuyahoga Falls' Karyn Morgan is Santa's main squeeze. It's been that way for about four years.

One of the perks of hanging out with Hively is enjoying Christmas year-round. He isn't like most seasonal Santas who remove their long wigs and fake beards at the end of an appearance. With the exception of the red suit and suspenders, he's in costume every day. To children, the Akron resident with wire-rimmed glasses that roost at the tip of his nose is akin to a movie star.

On a sweltering summer day, for example, he and Morgan were lying on the beach at Munroe Falls Metro Park when a little boy spotted him.  Hively, wearing a pair of green shorts and appropriately stretched out on a red towel, was approached by the 7-year-old.

"Hi, Santa.''
"Have you been a good boy?'' quizzed Santa.
"Oh yes... but there was this one time in school,'' the boy said, stopping short of elaborating.
"Well, you had better try to be good, and I'll see you at Christmas.''

Hively has been asked by parents to do things such as taking a pacifier from a child who was far too old to be sucking one, and telling a youngster it was time to start sleeping in her own bed rather than crawling under the covers with mommy and daddy.

Even Morgan's niece, Abigail Morgan, got caught up in the magic. The little girl told her aunt, who is an instructor at the University of Akron's School of Nursing, that she must be ``very special.''

``Why is that?''
``Because Santa Claus is your friend.''

On Christmas Day, Abigail found herself eating dinner with the man of the hour, but he wasn't wearing his signature red suit.

"Of course,'' she reasoned, "it probably is dirty, and he had to throw it in the wash.''

Virtually everywhere he goes, Hively -- who has played Santa at Chapel Hill Mall, the Akron Zoo, corporate and private parties -- is identified as Kriss Kringle.

"If you didn't like children interrupting dinner when you're eating out, then you couldn't date him,'' Morgan said, laughing. "There is no place that he goes that there aren't kids circling.''

Sometimes, even adults get into the spirit.

The couple was dining at Mariachi Loco's Mexican Restaurant at Chapel Hill. A mariachi band was making its way around the room, stopping at tables to play for the guests. Pointing across the room at Hively, one of the musicians said they would soon be over to serenade the celebrity.

Though it wasn't the holiday season, the band played Feliz Navidad.

Good for goodness' sake

There's a responsibility attached to looking like Santa, and because Hively wants to set a good example, he has a heightened awareness of how his actions might be interpreted by kids. Though he performs at a variety of bars, he doesn't drink or smoke. That wouldn't fit well with his Father Christmas image.

"The thing that I think is the sweetest is when we go to church,'' Morgan said. ``The kids not only see him as Santa, but they know he is also someone who believes in God.''

Morgan, an extraordinary musician herself, and Hively are musical leaders during Saturday night services at Hudson Presbyterian Church, where they attend.

To Morgan, and others, including some folks at the Main Street Saloon, Hively is ``the embodiment of the spirit of Santa.''

He's jolly, has a twinkle in his eye, loves chocolate chip cookies and, as Morgan notes, ``has a song in his heart.''

``Or a couple thousand of 'em,'' Hively added, with a chuckle. ``Ho! Ho! Ho!''