Jimmy Psycho releases “Listen… Scream… Shudder… Die…”

Are you tired of “The Monster Mash,” “The Munsters Theme” and other overplayed songs of the Halloween season? Well, Jimmy Psycho has a remedy for that situation. Today, Oct. 30, the Dayton-based musician is releasing, “Listen… Scream… Shudder… Die…” (Rot N Roll Army Records), a fittingly spooky soundtrack for any socially distanced celebration.

Psycho is the leader of horror rockabilly band Psycho Charger and the Jimmy Psycho Experiment, which puts a sci-fi lounge twist on popular punk rock songs. For this release, he plundered his vaults of horror-inspired material created for projects such as burlesque shows, independent films, a tiki web series and a showcase for electronic instrument manufacturer Moog Music Inc.

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“This release really is a result of the pandemic era we live in,” Psycho said. “I finally had time to go back and comb through all my old projects and realized there was enough unreleased music from all these horror-themed projects I was fortunate enough to be invited to contribute to. A lot of these songs were vehicles used to collaborate with friends for their projects. Once I realized I had enough songs and that the music was pretty much done, I began to wonder how to package it all together.”

Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

On this collection, Psycho channels composers like Ennio Morricone, Joe Meek, Martin Denny and John Carpenter. The original songs on “Listen… Scream... Shudder… Die…” are interspersed with Psycho’s own haunted house sound effects.

“I always thought it would be fun to try to recreate the vibe of those old Halloween and horror sound effects records from the ’60s and ’70s,” Psycho said. “With the music already in hand, along with that inspiration, it was off to the races to get this thing out by this Halloween.”

Psycho’s friend and collaborator Magus Peter H. Gilmore makes a guest appearance on album opener “Hallowe’en in a Suburb,” reciting a poem by H.P. Lovecraft. Album track “Zann’s Reprise” was written to accompany Gilmore’s short story of the same name.

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“This is a really fun record,” Psycho said. “There’s something here for everyone. I’d like to think this is something people will listen to every Halloween, or it would be put in regular rotation if they celebrate the spooky season year-round.”

This is Psycho’s second release of the pandemic. In May, he released the “Tatooine E.P.” from punk rock project, the Sithfits, which does parody songs inspired by “Star Wars.” He is currently working on new music. The next planned release is a Christmas record from the Jimmy Psycho Experiment featuring swinging, lounge-rock instrumental versions of seasonal favorites.

More info: www.jimmypsycho.bandcamp.com.

Contact contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donthrasher100@gmail.com.

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About the Author

Don Thrasher

Don Thrasher, a native of Gadsden, Alabama, has been a weekly contributor for the Dayton Daily News since 2003. He covers national and international music, performance and art. Don is a versatile writer, who has interviewed ballet dancers, professional athletes, authors, comedians, filmmakers, rodeo clowns and other disparate figures.