What’s Halloween Without Music?
Halloween is not only a holiday of costumes, pumpkins, witches, ghosts, haunted houses and trick-or-treating-it’s about favorite creepy, spooky Halloween music.
What classifies a song as a Halloween song? It is words? It is feel? It is unmistakable? Who can ever forget the 1960’s theme song to the Addams Family? "Buh duh duh dum (snap, snap.) Buh duh duh dum (snap, snap.)" This song didn’t really need an intro, but it certainly became embedded in our brains quickly. Theme songs set up the program, lead to commercials and leave us humming well after the show has ended. I remember my baby sister reciting lyrics and humming the instrumental of popular commercials before she could form full sentences.
I love Halloween. When it comes down to it, I’m a traditionalist. I enjoy carving pumpkins, decorating my apartment with images of ghosts and witches-celebrating the holiday by going to parties in costume, playing theme games and listening to Halloween music. Every year when autumn begins and Halloween approaches, I search for the newest Halloween soundtrack to add to my holiday playlist.
Although I enjoy listening to the same old usual suspects, like Sheb Wooley’s "The Purple People Eater," Sam The Sham’s "Haunted House," Ray Parker Jr.’s "Ghostbusters," Rocky Horror Picture Show’s "Time Warp," and one of my all time favorites, Michael Jackson’s 1985 Grammy Award Winning "Thriller," each season I look for something new to share with my fellow Halloween enthusiasts.
This year, I discovered a new themed album called "Count Crow a Halloween Spooktacular." It’s a great Halloween CD for parties, or just to greet trick-or-treaters at your door. The 13-song compilation is fashioned after the 60’s hit "Monster Mash," and will be released October 5, 2010 on the indie label Honur Records. Keep an eye out for the CD on sale and the upcoming video of its featured song "Shout The Boo" being shot in the Count’s hometown of Denver in late August. http://www.countcrow.com/countcrowpr/pr.html
"Spooktacular" was written and performed by Denver based singer/songwriter Matt Crowe.
I caught up with Crowe to ask him about the soundtrack.
WHY THIS SORT OF RECORD?
While there is a tremendous amount of music in this world, there really isn’t much to celebrate Halloween in a way that everyone can enjoy. In the beginning I knew I could make just one Halloween song for people to dance, sing and party to. That song, Shout the Boo, received such a positive response that I decided to make an entire album. As for the album itself, it was important to have many different genres of music. Halloween means different things to different people and I wanted to album to reflect that.
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR THE ALBUM?
In a word I would have to say that it is passion. At first it was something I knew I could do and so I just went out and started doing it. After a very short time I realized how much I enjoyed the challenge of writing music and combining it with intelligent lyrics. It really became a true passion for me. The result has been greater that I ever thought and I’m still less than a year into it. People from all over tell me how much they appreciate what I have done and how it brings up great memories or just puts them in a great mood. That has been a reward all in itself.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?
There are actually quite a few things currently going on: We are about to start shooting a video for Shout the Boo and the album is now being placed into Halloween, costume and music stores all over the country. The promotion of the album has also taken quite a bit of time.
As for future music, I can’t stop writing it - It’s like a machine in my head that I can’t turn off! I already have 4 new songs that will probably be part of an album in 2012. I look to release one or two of them next year as well.
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
I enjoy a challenge and try to improve myself every day. No one ever hits the mark all the time but its great to strive for. I once heard someone say, "How you do anything is how you do everything" and I think that it’s a great quote because it highlights be the best you that you can be.
On the personal side, I live in Denver, Colorado and love all of the natural activities that the state has to offer- snowboarding, mountain biking, road cycling, running, etc. I enjoy meeting up with friends at great local restaurants and bars - Lola, Corridor 44, Beatrice and Woodsley, Izakaya Den - for happy hour and dinners. I love to attend concerts at Red Rocks, which is one of the best venues in the world to listen to live music. Traveling for leisure and culture is another favorite of mine. I have been all over western and eastern Europe, Russia, South America, East Asia and Australia/New Zealand. My favorite cities are Stockholm, Sweden and Sydney, Australia. Lastly, I love to SCUBA dive - it is another world beneath the sea, and it is always amazing what you run into down there.
For more information about "Count Crow a Halloween Spooktacular," please contact Athena Pope- athenamedia@aol.com, or check out the selections on iTunes: http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/album/count-crows-halloween-spooktacular/id380191650
