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Saturday, November 27, 2010

A Groovy Afternoon with Ghoul-a-Go-Go!



Earlier this month, I had the opportunity, thanks to my good pal Kevin Maher (of Kevin Geeks Out fame), to take my progeny out to the ass-end of Long Island and experience the unique, retro, monster-kid style public access cable show known as Ghoul-a-Go-Go. It was a one-0f-a-kind day--I had a blast, the kids got to dance up a storm, and it took place amidst an aura of kitschy horror hipness that was impossible not to enjoy.

A favorite of the B-52s Fred Schneider and even the late, great Lux Interior of the Cramps, Ghoul-a-Go-Go is something that you have to experience to fully understand. It's like a journey back to the glorious heyday of monster mania on the boob tube, those halcyon days of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Your hosts on this journey are the sinister Vlad and the hideous yet lovable Creighton. There are live performances galore from bands like the 5,6,7,8s (the group behind "Woo-Hoo", that song from Kill Bill and those cell phone commercials), and tons of dancing.


But in the grand tradition of the old school horror host TV shows that Ghoul-a-Go-Go works to replicate, the dancers are all kids. And that's that one extra detail that pushes Ghoul-a-Go-Go over the edge from interesting artifact to bona fide pop culture gem. Watching a bunch of little kids and a gargantuan hunchback dance on stage using such classic moves as the twist, the monkey, and even the vaunted Bat-oosi, is something that cannot really be done justice in mere words.

Since Ghoul-a-Go-Go needed some kids to come out and dance, and my buddy Kevin had the hookup, I was more than thrilled to bring out little Zombelina and Wee-Sol to take part in the Cold War-era shenanigans. And boy, were they ever excited to step on to the stage and ham it up with the Ghoul-a-Go-Go gang, strutting their stuff to some vintage horror-themed rockabilly tunes (where did you guys dig up some of that stuff??) Think Romper Room, crossed with Tales from the Crypt, and you have the general idea of what Ghoul-a-Go-Go is all about.


I was very proud of my little ones for letting their inhibitions go, and not showing any fear at all in the face of the afternoon's gruesome hosts. Of course, they are my children, which means they've been exposed to enough that it would take quite a bit to spook them out. Anyway, the name of the game was fun, and there was much of it to be had by all before everything was said and done.

I have to applaud Vlad, Creighton and the rest of the crew for putting together a top-notch show, and if you're not privileged enough to reside in Suffolk county, that's OK, because you can see what Ghoul-a-Go-Go is all about on the show's YouTube page, and official website. If you're anything like me, and enjoy your horror with a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek fun, then you should really seek it out. The buzz has been growing in recent years, and I was honored to finally cross paths with these guys, whom I had heard so much about for so long.


8 comments:

Zach S. said...

You are one cool Daddy-O. If you're looking to adopt, I'm already potty trained...

B-Sol said...

I'm hip to that jive, Z-Man. Don't think I'm in the market just yet, but I'll be sure to let you know!

Mike said...

I'm watching this as we speak on the Brooklyn web stream. All I can say is wow! Even better than you described. Warms my heart that there's something so cool for kids now, even if it is buried away.

B-Sol said...

Yep. It really is a treasure! Needs to be on regular TV, if you ask me.

Sean Grey Hanson said...

Gosh! He looks like Uncle Fester... only bigger.

Miguel Rodriguez said...

This is one of the greatest blog entries I've ever read.

Christopher Zenga said...

This leaves me with warm memories of The Hilarious House of Frightenstein.
http://www.frightenstein.com/
This is super fantastic B.

Later days

B-Sol said...

Well thank you, Miguel!!

And Chris, a splendid time was certainly had by all!

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