Groove Barbers
Zombie Jamboree b/w Flat Tire
Tinker Tone Records
scum stats: 150 on black vinyl, 50 on graveyard glow-in-the-dark
I had no idea what record to write about today. I’ve got a pile of approximately 400 singles next to my desk, things I’ve bought, things sent to me unsolicited, records I’ve downright stolen from infirmed old folks…the whole gamut.
So I began to dig indiscriminately. Deep in the recesses I discovered this single…I have no recollection ever receiving it or have any idea who “Shane” is that sent it to me or why in the hell I didn’t look at it closer when it arrived.
What I do know is that “Zombie Jamboree” as sung by Rockapella was on hardcore repeat the first couple of months we opened TMR back in 2009. No idea how it came to our attention, maybe Jack and his kids (?) but Swank and I played the shit out of this video, to which I have no idea what the fuck is actually going on. Why is Spike Lee involved? Why the faux rap battle? I JUST DON’T GET IT, BUT I LOVE IT!
I don’t think our appreciation was insincere or in jest…it really is a compelling song and clip, in spite of our lack of understanding. As far as I can discern…this is an old-style calypso song.
So to confuse me even more is that Groove Barbers contain some former members of Rockapella. And they’re STILL doing some iteration of this song, thirty years later.
That, ladies and gentleman, is commitment.
One of my favorite jokes I’ve recently pulled was a few years back when Swank was in NYC for some work reason in October. I asked him if he had ever been to the “New York cemetery” and he said “no…but probably the right time of year to go” and then I followed up by saying “yeah, they’ve got a great zombie jamboree there” and he text-groaned so loud it felt like applause from hundreds of miles away.
I opened up the Rockapella wikipedia page and just don’t have the patience to read through it. I can’t find anywhere to even buy this record, but enjoy it in the spirit of the Halloween.
Rockapella… havent heard that name in some time… w3.tinkertone.com? ok then…. but really i am just wondering if Blackwell and friends have given any more thought to the Taxidermy Petting Zoo Road Tour as a pull along behind the RRS… its all so relative to this freaky fun that TMR offers with Devils Night and the novelties fun stuff??? Seriously though… the affective seasonal pumpkin madness is reaching new levels of pervasive impact all together now that pumpkins have become a definitive medium in the art world… organic challenges… i like the idea of nature in the nurture … Hey Shane man if you and your friends are really down for the season then you will check this event out that we have every year in my neck of the woods… http://www.jackolanternlouisville.com/ … go native!!!
Wow, thanks Kali! That was the idea. I’m a huge fan of Halloween novelty records and nobody does that anymore. I’d say that won’t be the last time I release something like that from Tinker Tone. It should be required every label must release a Halloween novelty record every year. haha
FYI, the label’s website is www.tinkertone.com. All my releases are sold out and the site is under construction but there it is in case anyone was curious.
This. Is. Too. Damned. Cool!!! I got this record last year when Shane released it, one of the few records I felt I HAD to get the limited version of because how could you not buy a glow-in-the-dark record for Halloween?? It’s so much fun, and so very awesome that you pulled it out of your pile today, Ben.
A bit of trivia, longtime (and current) Rockapella percussionist Jeff Thacher designed the cover and did the layout.
Boom. Tinker Tone for the win.
@shaneoftheroad Link? Any still available?
haha Wow, man. I’m “Shane” and you just made my day. Thanks for the shoutout, I’ll let the guys know you dig their tune!
Nice work Shane!
I have heard the song my whole life, but from The Kingston Trio! “Belly to belly” is really funny as a kid and to be able to sing “don’t give a damn” Infront of your parents is great fun!
Well this is a new one on me.