it’s Aurora-brand, model-kit bashing surf-spookers The Ghastly Ones! The Guys from Van Nuys are sure to catch a green pipeline to your Halloween hearts.
It has come to our attention that the previously slotted song, for reasons that will hopefully become clear to Shindig fans soon enough, does not deserve a place at this table.
The short version is that Captain Clegg and his Night Creatures are apparently villainous (possibly even fictitious!) scoundrels, ungraciously aping the vibe and appearance of Shindig All-Stars, The Ghastly Ones. And an affront to The Ghastly Ones is an affront to this playlist.
Despite its Halloweeniness, and its appearance in a Halloween film (albeit Rob Zombie’s unfortunate Halloween II) we can no longer, in good conscience, continue to host it on this playlist.
And I’m quite sure they’ll be terribly upset, too. Who am I kidding right now with all this official business? No one sees this blog or reads any of my nonsense, least of all the bands that are featured here within.
Unless that band is The Ghastly Ones.
So while, Captain Clegg may never be aware that this playlist is here, or that he was ever here, or that he was then removed – Norman, Garret, Kevin and Dave may very well. And as far as we’re concerned, they’re the only Ones that matter.
So, we now interrupt your regularly scheduled Halloween song…Without Warning!
I love House on Haunted Hill. It’s my favorite William Castle outing, with maybe The Tinglertaking a real close second.
It’s great. I love it. I have since the 1st time I saw it over 25 some odd years ago on Halloween night. It even managed to sneak it’s way into my DVD player again last Hallow’s Eve, the slippery bastard. Wasn’t even thinking about it before it crept in.
Similarly, I love surf music. I have since I heard my dad’s old crackly LP of Telstar probably 30 some odd years ago.
What do these 2 seemingly unrelated loves have in common? Why it’s the Guys from Van Nuys again bringing 2 of my favorite things together as only they can.
For lack of a better term, Surf music has always been a rather incestuous scene. With modern Surf bands no doubt cutting their teeth shredding through old Ventures‘ tunes, Dick Dale licks and smooth grooves from The Shadows. It seems a rite of passage to add your own flare to a tried and true Surf standard. No Surf album, old or new, is complete without at least one cover of a classic or even more obscure number. Hell, most of the time there’ll be more than just one, rest assured.
Even the old timers did in their day. Sure the songs weren’t old then, but they passed them around all the same. It’s no surprise to find the same song recorded by 3 or 4 different bands, sometimes more. What is surprising, sometimes, is to find out who actually cut it first.
Such is the case with our next tune, a track I thought for years was a Ghastly’s original. How could it not be? Oh my surprise some years back when at my local CD Trader I ran afoul an interesting 3 CD set entitled “Halloween Nuggets: Monster Sixities A-Go-Go,” comprised largely of songs hitherto unknown to the Shindig. Needless to say we were sold, but it was a curious track on disc 3 which really sealed the deal.
House on Haunted Hill? By Kenny and The Fiends? Holy shit. There’s another song about House on Haunted Hill?
Here’s my money Mr. Used CD man. Thank you very much.
What happened next was a mixture of both delight and disappointment all wrapped up in the same strange smirk. Yes, there was a song about House on Haunted Hill. Well, sort of. A funky instrumental it was, which while a bit disheartening, quickly inspired a Myers-esque head tilt. This song sounded familiar. Holy shit! This is The Ghastly One’s House on Haunted Hill! Those fiends!
The Shindig didn’t find a new song that day (well, not that one anyway) but it did gain a renewed appreciation for an old Shindig mainstay, a renewed love for a favorite band and a little elucidation on the age old art of the Surf Cover.
True to form, the Ghastly’s dry brush their own green twang onto this old Aurora-fashioned go-go surf-spookster and keep the tradition alive.
However, surf lacks the, shall we say, lyrical content to truly bring the ideas together beyond a simple title and a little atmosphere. Sounds like a sample lovers dream, and the Shindig is always up to that challenge.
So at number 142, Kenny and the Fiends via The Ghastly Ones and William Castle via Halloween Shindig, submitted for your audio pleasure…House On Haunted Hill.
Halloween (She Get So Mean)by The Ghastly Ones (feat. Rob Zombie)
If White Zombie was a garage band in the late 60’s, they might have sounded a whole lot like our next divisible by 20 track.
From the Zombie A Go-Go released holiday mix Halloween Hootenanny comes this great Halloween track from perennial spooksters The Ghastly Ones.
Providing some uncharacteristic lyrical accompaniment for the Ghastly’s this time around is the man himself, Mr. Rob Zombie.
Since the song is titled Halloween (She Get So Mean) I’ve led the track in with every Halloweener’s favorite Halloween avenger Rhonda from Trick R Treat, as she schools us all on the sinister origins of our Hallowed holiday.
Since we’re already stomping, let’s stomp some more with a little help from The Ghastly Ones, a monster surf outfit from Van Nuys, California.
I love surf music, but on the whole it doesn’t lend itself terribly well to Halloween, unless you’re talking about The Ghastly Ones that is; oozing as they are with model kit and Shock! Theater imagery. Their drummer, Norman Cabrera, is even a special FX artist, and they were originally released on Rob Zombie’s Zombie-A-Go-Go label. Now that’s all pretty Halloween if you ask me.
And if that’s not enough, this track in particular amps up the Halloweeniness a couple notches with its harpsichord and theremin sounds; all the spookiness to take our Shindig in decidedly ghastly direction. Keep stompin’!
