Show #67 October 29, 2011 Halloween AFRADIO Show

The Halloween AFRADIO Show is dedicated to Wicked Annabella and The Last Gladiator...Evel Knieval!


Wicked Annabella- The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
Chain Saw- The Ramones The Ramones
Rendevous With The Devil- The Doits This Is Rocket Science
Skeleton- Elf Power The Winter Is Coming
Devil's Food- Alice Cooper Welcome To My Nightmare
^Eye Of The Zombie- John Fogerty Eye of the Zombie
Little Jack O'Lantern- The Dead Elvi Graveland
Skeletons- The Sound From The Lion's Mouth
Ghost Ride- Nebula Apollo
Black Night- Green on Red Gas, Food, Lodging
Halloween Parade- Lou Reed New York
Graveyard Groove- The Revillos Attack of the Giant Revillos
The Witch- The Sonics Here Are The Sonics
Arthur Is Dead (Let's Rot)- Radio Stars Songs For Swinging Lovers
*Zombie Dance- The Cramps Songs The Lord Taught Us
*Zombie Creeping Flesh- Peter & The Test Tube Babies Zombie Creeping Flesh 7"
*I Walked With A Zombie- Roky Erickson and the Aliens The Evil One
*I Was A Teenage Zombie- Fleshtones I Was A Teenage Zombie Soundtrack
*Zombies Ate Her Brain- The Creepshow Sell Your Soul
Chupacabras- Groovie Ghoulies Go! Stories
The Time Warp- The Rocky Horror Picture Show The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack
Victims of the Vampire- Slaughter and the Dogs Do it Dog Style
Where Evil Grows- Gore Gore Girls Get The Gore
Nightmares- Jay Reatard Blood Visions
Ghosts on the Road- Guadalcanal Diary Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man
>Rockin' Zombie- Crewnecks Doo Wop Halloween is a Scream
Lucifer Sam- The Three O'Clock Baroque Hoedown
Party in the Woods Tonight- Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers 23 Great Recordings
God Of Thunder- Kiss Destroyer
Attack of the Ghost Riders- The Raveonettes Whip It On
Skulls- The Misfits Walk Among Us
Country Death Song- Violent Femmes Add It Up
Halloween- Dream Syndicate Days of Wine and Roses

^Power Pop Peak: #81 Billboard Hot 100 9/6/86

*SacroSet: Zombies!!!

>Power Pop Prototype: 1961

I put two shows together while I was in the hospital, but with Halloween fast approaching I realized I had to get going on a third. Since I was still rehabbing and had the time, I also thought it might be cool to find a few Night Of The Living Dead quotes to use in the SacroSet which shouldn't be hard since the film is in the public domain. In fact a few years back my friend Joe and I hosted the first "Sonoma Drive-In" show on the local cable station screening George Romero's classic:

Next time you've got a couple of hours on your hands, you should check it out. Bob Taylor did a great job putting the program together.

Anyway, a quick web search revealed not only Night Of The Living Dead audio but clips from hundreds of other films. So, along with great music, the Halloween AFRADIO Show includes audio from my favorite horror films, including the obscure (2000 Maniacs) popular (Nightmare On Elm Street) and just plain nasty (Candyman).

In my opinion, vampires (especially the modern broody, perfectly coiffed versions) have nothing on zombies. I've been a zombie fan from the first time I saw Night Of The Living Dead at a midnight show when I was in junior high school. On top of the success of the brilliant TV show The Walking Dead (which calls them "walkers"), zombies were the obvious choice for tonight's features. And I'm talking flesh eaters only- no metaphorical zombies allowed. I mean, c'mon its Halloween!

I had a pretty bad head cold when I recorded this show and was surfing a wave of Dayquil. My insane alter ego "Dick Hate" was supposed to sound menacing, but came off more like Droopy Dog. My friend Jim from Japan commented that "Dick Hate" sounded "very, very, very gay." In any case, I had fun doing the show as somebody else- especially telling the "poop hand" Halloween story in the second hour.

As for my Halloween, Jaime and I had rehearsal for Romeo & Juliet that night but I still got in 90 minutes of Trick or Treating with Nica and her friends. I think you'll agree- I looked awesome!! Jaime got me the Evel suit for Christmas last year and I have to say it is one of the best presents I've ever been given. I was still using a cane at the time, which made it even more authentically "Evel." (My goal for next year is to get the helmet.)

Along with the suit, Jaime gave me the Evel Knieval stunt cycle I had loved as a boy but lost somewhere along the way. If I may say so myself, the resemblance is uncanny:
I loved Evel Knieval when I was growing up. I wasn't a big sports fan, but I would sit through 90 minutes of ABC's Wide World of Sports to see Evel's jumps on TV (which always seemed to run in the last 15 minutes of the show). Leading up to the jump they would show his most heinous crashes, especially Caesar's Palace (12/31/67) and the Cow Palace, San Francisco (3/3/72) so by the time he was ready to go my head was about to explode in anticipation. I have to say I was rooting FOR Evel, not hoping he would crash- to me he was an American Hero. To this day it blows me away that he would go back to jumping after a crash- the guy had balls of steel, no doubt.

My father was beside me on the couch for most of those Wide World Of Sports broadcasts. Dad would poke fun at my love of Evel, but I could tell he had a grudging respect for the man. One of the things I love about my dad was that he would take the time to find out what I was into. So, without my even having to ask, he bought us tickets to see Evel jump at Fitton Field at Holy Cross University in Worcester, Mass on October 9th, 1976.

I just about had a heart attack when the jump was rained out, but thankfully it was re-scheduled for Monday the 11th, which was Columbus Day, so I was already out of school. The pre-show was great- a maniac in a monster truck crushed a bunch of cars demolition derby style and 14 year old Robbie Knieval jumped four U-Haul vans in what I just learned was the start of his illustrious career as a daredevil. Evel came out like a rock star with his cape and cane, did some amazing trick riding and told us some cool stories about his past. He started with a jump of four U-Haul vans, then seven and finished with a smooth as silk jump over ten of them. What an amazing day! Dad and I had a great time and I felt like I was seeing history being made. In a sense I was. Evel only jumped three more times after Worcester; two in Seattle and the infamous aborted "Shark Jump" in Chicago (1/31/77- he crashed on a practice jump over a tank filled with 13 sharks broke both arms again and retired for good).

Perhaps Evel Knieval's greatest success was that he beat death for 69 years, passing away on November 30, 2007 of pulmonary disease. There will never be another like him.

Click the links below to download this week's show (right click and "Save Target As"):
Hour 1
Hour 2