DEEP CUTS
ADD A FEW FRESH SLICES
TO YOUR HALLOWEEN PLAYLIST
W
Fever Damn
With the season of the witch gearing up again, Coast Weekend chatted with some local
musicians about their favorite harvest songs, murder ballads and monster tunes. From obscure
to obvious, there is enough trick in this list of treats to keep your cauldron brewing and your
party howling well past midnight.
Holiday Friends
Astoria’s reigning pop princes shared a
few spooky tunes heavy on the groove. The
indie-rock goup includes, from left, Zack
O’Connor, Scott Fagerland, Jon Fagerland
and Joey Ficken. Catch the Holiday Friends at
The Crystal Ballroom in Portland on Dec. 2 or
any day at www.holidayfriendsmusic.com
Luke Ydstie
& Kati
Claborn
When they
aren’t playing in
Blind Pilot or Hook
& Anchor, Luke
Ysdtie and Kati
Claborn can often
be found playing
around town together, as they will be this
Halloween night at the Fort George Lovell
Building around 7 p.m. See them channel
some of these haunting tunes and check out
Luke’s recently released solo album “Collect-
ed Essential Works.”
“The Werewolf” by Michael Hurley: “A
beautiful lilting melody with the most complex character
study of a werewolf in song to date.” — Luke Ysdtie
“The Shankhill Butchers” by The
Decemberists: “This song is a cautionary tale about
what happens to children who don’t heed their mothers
words. Those poor, unfortunate souls who disobey their
parents are given up to the Shankhill Butchers, who
come for them with cleavers, knives and all manner of
nightmare fodder.” — Zack O’Connor
“Helter Skelter” by The Beatles: “The
words ‘Helter Skelter’ have lots of spooky meanings.”
— Scott Fagerland
“Thriller” by Michael Jackson: “Because
we love Michael Jackson, we love good pop music and
Michael Jackson is the KING OF POP!” — Scott Fagerland
“Zombie” by The
Cranberries: “Because
… Zombies. Also The
Cranberries are a staple
in my life music playlist.
Ironically though, this
has got to be one of my
least favorite Cranberry
songs.”
— Scott Fagerland
“Lady Margaret,” traditional English
ballad : “This creepy ghost song dates to the 1600s
and features some wonderfully chill-inducing imagery,
including corpsey-lips and beds fl oating in blood. Yikes.”
—Luke Ysdtie
“In the Pines” by Leadbelly: “Nirvana did a
version of this, which is notable for a wonderful doomy, lo-fi
thrashiness, but Leadbelly’s more nuanced performance
contains a slight cheery edge, which somehow creeps the
whole thing up that much more.” — Luke Ydstie
“Edward,” traditional English ballad
“Edward’s Wife: ‘How’d you get that blood on your sleeve?’
Edward: ‘Oh, that’s from my horse. I mean my dog. Shoot,
did I say dog? I mean your brother.’” —Luke Ydstie
“This is Halloween” by Danny Elfman
(From the motion picture “The
Nightmare be-
fore Christmas”)
: “If we wanted an
encapsulation of
Halloween to explain
the holiday to aliens,
this would be a fair
candidate.”
— Luke Ydstie
Hollywise
These pop punk practitioners from
Seaside off er up some scary and fun tunes
at a faster pace. From left, Zach Spooner, Josh
Strozzi, Maxwell Strozzi and Mitchell Stephens.
Check out their Reverb Nation page for info
on upcoming shows.
“Dig Up Her Bones” by The Misfi ts, rec-
ommended by Maxx Strozzi: “Dig up her bones
starts with the cry of a coyote followed by a driving intro that’s
sure to get a crowd moving.” — Mitchell Stephens
“Halloween” by The Misfi ts, recom-
mended by Maxx Strozzi : “Lyrics that reminisce
of pumpkin carving and other Halloween traditions are sang
in an early punk, Ramones fashion.” — Mitchell Stephens
“This is Halloween” by Marilyn Man-
son: “Marilyn Manson’s take on, ‘This is Halloween’
defi nitely puts a more metal spin on the set list. An even
creepier, heavier version when compared to the original
by Danny Elfman.” — Mitchell Stephens
“Ghostbusters” by Jed-
ward: “There’s defi nitely an inner
child in all adults that begins to get
excited when hearing this tune.”
— Mitchell Stephens
“My Curse” by Killswitch
Engage : “This song is a much more
melodic hardcore ballad that intensifi es
any party and gets people pumped for a
good time.” — Mitchell Stephens
It is evident from any of their music videos
available on Youtube that the ladies of Astoria’s
Fever Damn know how to have a good time.
And while Andrea Mazzarella, left, and Teresa
Barnes may be known more for summertime
jamming by way of ’90s-era hip-hop, these
terrifying tunes cross plenty of genres. Check
out their album “Meow Down” at feverdamn.
bandcamp.com
“Monster
Mash” by Bob-
by Pickett: “Play
it fi ve times in a row.”
— Teresa Barnes
“Season
of the Witch”
by Donovan:
“I listen to the
song ‘Season
of the Witch’
by Donovan
any time of year, but Halloween seems as
good a time as any to put it into the regular rotation.”
— Andrea Mazzarella
“Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and
the Bad Seeds : “Or really probably any of his
songs.” — Andrea Mazzarella
“Nightmare on my
Street” by DJ Jazzy Jeff
and The Fresh Prince: “I
guess I should throw in something
in the ’90s hip-hop genre since
our ‘sound’ reflects that influence.
There’s The Fresh Prince song
‘Nightmare on My Street,’ which
is cheesy and ridiculous, but
then again so is Fever Damn.”
— Andrea Mazzarella
the arts
VISUAL ARTS • LITERATURE • THEATER • MUSIC & MORE
Story by RYAN HUME
October 29, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 9
