Welcome to Witching Hour

Tonight by the light of the Harvest Moon I write my first ever blog: Welcome to Witching Hour. I am extremely thankful to have had the privilege of working with the incredibly talented people who have been a part of this record and the live performances. I hope you will return and check out the Cast Bios, for in addition to some folks you may already be familiar with, you are sure to discover some new and interesting people whose work you may want to explore.

What I hoped to accomplish with this project was, primarily, to do something fun. As a child Halloween was my favorite holiday. Not necessarily because I was a dark or morbid kid, nor simply because I liked free candy. There was something in the mysterious mood of it all that resonated with me. Over the years, I have grown to love most varieties of "horror" music, from the scores of John Carpenter, Goblin, Bernard Herrmann and Ennio Morricone, to the strange and fun novelty recordings of Zacherley and Bobby "Boris" Pickett, to the rockin' ghoulish sounds of bands like The Cramps. Most of all, I love the mystical, moody and poetic aspects of the horror genre.

I hoped to bring these things together in an art record dressed in a children's Halloween costume. Of course, Witching Hour is not meant to be a "Halloween record" no more than the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is meant to be enjoyed only at Halloween. At any rate, whenever you may listen, I do hope you enjoy it.

I would now like to briefly address the spiritual aspects of this project: yes, witchcraft is depicted here. Spells and incantations are sung and recited. This does not mean I worship the devil. However, aspects of Wicca traditions did influence how I presented witchcraft here. The oft misunderstood Wicca "religion", as far as I can tell, is not so much about "black magic" and "evil spells" so much as being concerned with the deeper forces of Nature and our connection to it. I mention this as a creative influence only. I am not a practicing warlock. I am not here to persuade or dissuade anyone from any religious belief. I think that is abundantly clear when you listen to track 14, "Bleh".

So, please enjoy what you find here and come back again. There will be updates, alternate takes, perhaps even some new songs to be found.

Also, if you are in the Los Angeles area, come see us perform Witching Hour live at The Steve Allen Theater on October 29th and 30th. For more information check out their website: http://www.steveallentheater.com/