Dunno about you, but the lengthening of the shadows and the turning of the leaves has had me eagerly awaiting the chance to flip the calendar over to October. It’s time for jack-o’-lanterns and enormous skeletons appearing on lawns all over the neighborhood and an excuse to eat candy and throw on a creature feature at pretty much any time. And it’s also time for a new record from the spoooOOOkiest band in town, Boo Dudes!
It pains me to report, however, that the band has announced that there will be no such release this year.
If you’ve been following along in your Heckronomicon, the situation is something like The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t, except way scarier. Music City’s own kayfabe kings of Halloween created a framework for folks to start their own Boo Dudes-affiliated franchises in 2021 via their LLC, Boo Dudes Francheising [sic]. This year, it seems, the franchisees will run amok.
A couple of weeks back, the first Boo Collar Comedy special hit the web, featuring the Dudes' own Tad Dracula in the prime of his new stand-up career, along with Barry the Crazy Guy and Don Wight. Check that out below and see if you can guess what aliases Don has. Be forewarned: The answer may shock you!
Meanwhile, new franchisees Girl Dudes have fooled around and summoned notoriously evil record exec Bloody Buddy Pearlman. If you recall, he’s the fiend responsible for Ska Ska Skary and the rise — and fall, and then ascension to deity status — of Soundclown rapper Terry the Horror Clown. At Bloody Buddy’s heinous whim, they’ve released “Bloody Mary,” a frightfully ferocious single and music video from their forthcoming debut album The Salem Bitch Trials. Also check that out below: They put the “GRRR!” in “riot grrrl.”
With all this leisure time on their (red, right) hands, it appears that Boo Dudes’ bassmummy Jesse Boo and guitar wolf and hauntrepreneur Ghastly Mike Hackenslash are spending this spooky season kicking it in Cancelvania. You’ll recall from the Dudes’ 2021 release The Invisible Album that Cancelvania is the tropical island where all manner of problematic creatures are banished for all eternity; the dudes are there to ... scare up some business opportunities and worship Terry the Horror Clown. Anyway, they’ve revived their YouTube series The Witching Hour!, of which you can see Season 2 Episode 1 above. Among other highlights, check out a reprise of the Girl Dudes' vid and an, um, not-live performance from last year's 12 Hours of Terror at the Belcourt.
Lock your doors, bolt your windows, turn out the lights and pop yourself some popcorn. And keep an eye on Boo Dudes’ Instagram, YouTube and Bandcamp profiles to see where this all will lead.
