Bobby Boris Pickett Is Still Dead By Johnny Mystery

What else would I write about in the October-issue?  Figured I’d get “Monster Mash” outta the way, right outta the casket. It’s the only Halloween record most people know or even care about and that’s a shame. There’s a lot of good ones. Aside from Christmas music, there are more Halloween tunes than all the other holidays combined. How many songs do you know about Thanksgiving? No, not The Turkey Trot, that’s a dance. Perhaps a few Fourth of July songs and they’re all written by John Phillip Sousa. Halloween is perfect for rock n roll. It is, after all, the Devil’s music….

The Fleshtones-“I Was a Teenage Zombie”: If you can resist a song like this from one of the coolest bands on earth, I don’t know what else I can say. It’s the title track from a cheesy B grade 80’s flick. That’s my kind of movie. And The Fleshtones are my kind of band. One reviewer at the time claimed it was song of the year. I have no doubt he was right.

John Zacherley- “Dinner With Drac”: This list just keeps getting cooler. John Z was a horror movie/teen dance show host in the 60’s. He had legions of fans in the New York, New Jersey area. This song was a national hit that brought him a bigger status. Check it out and while you’re at it, look for his interview with The Box Tops on his Disco-Teen show from 1967. He interviews a 16-year-old Alex Chilton as mayhem ensues. Just hilarious!

The One Way Streets-“Jack the Ripper”: Without a doubt this is the greatest lo-fi, Halloween garage record of all time. The singer can barely carry a tune, the band can hardly play, although the drummer is surprisingly competent, and this record contains the worst one take guitar solo (if you can call it that) I’ve ever heard. And it all builds up on the Peter Gunn riff. I was beside myself the day I found a copy of it! Just amazing, even though you may have a different opinion when you hear it. At least I hope so.

Richard Delvecchio- “The Green Slime”: The title track from a badly dubbed B-grade horror sci-fi film. The monster is a green, one eyed lumpy bumpy octopus-like creature that terrorizes a group of astronauts aboard the Gamma 3 space station. My friends and I saw this on a double bill with “2001 A Space Odyssey” and believe me our 12-year-old brains dug “Green Slime” more than the artsy-fartsy Stanley Kubrick epic. Hot girls in tight silver space suits didn’t hurt either. Fuzzy guitars and synthesizers throughout this creepy classic which has a decent cult following.

Bauhaus-“Bela Lugosi’s Dead”: You think I’d forget about this? Not only does it set the mood with its creepy guitars, space percussion and Peter Murphy’s short echo vocal delivery, it sounds like it was recorded on a 4-track cassette deck. Yeah, a low-fi gruesome masterpiece and the “Stairway to Heaven ” of the gothic lifestyle. Still sounds and smells as fresh as a day-old corpse.

Real quick, be sure to check out the Bacchanalia Music Fest to be held at over a dozen venues in downtown Troy during the weekend of Sept.30 thru Oct. 2. Over 100 bands, local and from around the world. Not only music but also other arts and food. See you there!

Now go out and get the free candy….