Dash Rip Rock, “It Ain’t a Party ’Till Somebody Dies” (Single) (Independent)

Dash Rip Rock hasn’t done an outright party record in some time, usually putting their serious roots-rock side up front on CD releases. But this one makes up for lost time, and just in time for Halloween. There’s a definite mid-’60s feel to this one, as the band absorbs the monster-movie ethos of the Munsters/Ed Wood era, as well as the manic sound of Nuggets/Pebbles-era garage rock—there’s a bit of the Fleshtones and the Lyres in there as well. It’s the first Dash track with a Farfisa organ featured, and the veteran band has no problem sounding like hormone-crazed garage teens. Bill Davis gives it a properly gonzoid vocal, with lotsa shout-alongs and screams going on. File this with Mac Rebennack’s “Morgus the Magnificent” and Satchmo’s “Skeleton in the Closet” on the too-short list of local Halloween hits.