Always in search of holiday music, whatever the holiday, my husband was this week searching for Halloween songs. He put together a playlist for his iPod, like he always does. But I do have to hand it to him, he finds some good new songs each holiday. We always have "Monster Mash" for Halloween and some crazy version he has of "Little Orphan Annie," but he usually finds one or two new things every year.

 

This Halloween he found a dance and party Halloween song called "Scare It Up!" Written and performed by independent musician Nelson Trout, this song is a pretty far cut above most the of the songs available from indies on the web (in particularly holiday music). "Scare It Up!" is danceable and actually has clean lyrics.

 

After I heard the song, I did a little research on Nelson, who I learned also wrote the New Jersey State Song, "New Jersey, USA." Pretty good for an independent! And he's been writing for thirty years, which is probably why it sounded so professional.

 

I contacted Mr. Trout through his record label, Goodnight Kiss Music, and I was able to get a quick interview.

 

Q. So, Nelson, how did you come up with the idea for a Halloween song?

 

A. Well, I've always loved " The Monster Mash " and I decided that the world needed another cool Halloween standard that people of all ages could have fun listening to and dancing to.

 

Q. What were you doing when you first were inspired to write it, and what actually "triggered" it?

 

A. I was listening to a really weak Halloween song on the radio when I decided to write "Scare It Up," which of course, had no title at the time. So, I went back to "The Shack" (my writing studio), hit a few chords, and the song was born.

 

Q. What came first? The music or the lyrics?

 

A. The music and lyrics came to me at the same time as most of my songs do. I usually start a chord progression on guitar and the words come at the same time. Then I go back and polish the song.

 

Q. Is "Scare It Up" family fare? Or is it more adult oriented?

 

A. It's definitely family fare! I wanted to make it a song that made everybody want to get up and dance and sing along, kids and adults.

 

Q. Do you plan to write any other Halloween songs?

 

A. No more Halloween songs in the near future for me. I'm working on my 5th CD right now. Anyway, how could I out-do "The Monster Mash" and "Scare It Up!"?

 

Q. What would be your ideal future for the song?

 

A. Everybody seems to just love it, and that makes me happy. But I look forward to "The Monster Mash" every year, and of course I'm hoping the same thing happens with "Scare It Up!" That people will enjoy it for years to come.

 

You can hear most of the song at their site, but I had to wait for the sample to load for a minute. Whether the song ever leaves the web or not, I'm glad my hubby found it, and I'll be dancing to it from now through Halloween.

 

SCARE IT UP!  http://www.goodnightkiss.com/halloween.html

 

Kathy Gonzales