0
There’s a sinister feeling around town as everybody is prepping for Halloween through purchasing blood, guts and costumes.
Halloween is the one celebration a year where every single person can brand themselves as a darker version of themselves, or a disturbing creature of the night.
That is no different to you musicians out there.
All musicians should embrace Halloween as the time for a new marketing strategy which will make your fans string you and Halloween in the same sentence for all the good reasons.
Following are some tips and advice on how artists should embody the deadliest day of the year.
1. Write a song relating to Halloween.
The song doesn’t have to specifically say Halloween anywhere in the lyrics. It can, however, be related to zombies, werewolves, witches, the darkest hour – or something along those lines.
For example, take the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. He wrote quite a few hits that involved the gruesome antics of the undead rising from their graves in some spirit or another.
Thriller is still the Biggest Selling Album of All Time in the Guiness Book of World Records – that should be inspiration enough for a Halloween-related song.
2. Create a Halloween video.
This goes hand in hand with number one on the list.
A song may be enough to go on the radio, but a video will get your music all over social media, not to mention YouTube.
The Halloween video can be a music video for your scary single. Take Jamie T’s music video for “Zombie” as an example.
It is simple yet effective.
Jamie T and his band are playing in a dead bar – perhaps it is set during the zombie apocalypse where everyone is becoming infected.
One by one the band members change into zombified versions of themselves whilst Mr T sings, “I got blood shot eyes, and there’s blood in my teeth.”
Or, if you’re feeling more creative (and perhaps you have the funds), you could create a featurette for your song.
Look to MJ again for inspiration with his short film called “Ghosts”.
3. Hold a special Halloween performance.
Get the decorations out and put on a show! Isn’t that what musicians love to do best?
You can bring your own music together with covers of classic Halloween songs which will definitely get the crowd going.
Throw in a couple of blackouts and classic sinister music like the 1978’s “Halloween” soundtrack or the ever-popular “Ghostbusters” sing-a-long for a fun-filled evening.
4. Make a horrific alter ego of yourself – or your band.
The best part of Halloween is definitely dressing up and going all out in ghoulish costumes that make the Grim Reaper look like a pussycat.
For the run up to Halloween, post pictures of yourself/yourselves as an evil alter ego.
Take inspiration from the artists who don’t show their human faces all year round such as Mushroomhead, Lordi, Gwar, Deadmau, and Kiss.
Get some masks, face paint, chains and some kind of body armour that will make you seem completely different on the outside.
Make your fans wonder who you are until they hear the sound of your voice.
5. Make appearances at Halloween events.
If you don’t have time to put on your own show, go to someone else’s event. The company will appreciate your RSVP more than you know.
A famous face at, say, a bar crawl through Liverpool called DeadFest would get you free coverage too.
Not only can you invite your mates and have a ball on Halloween, you can dress up, drink and end up singing along to the classic Halloween tunes which is something that you’re gruesomely good at.
Deadfest 2014 is something hideous that should not be missed. Dislocated limbs will be dragging behind the brains of the undead bodies, spluttering blood on a bar crawl that will see major party venues Aloha, Salt Dog Slim’s, Heebie Jeebies with a zombie VIP after party at East Village Arts Club.
Buy tickets here: http://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Liverpool/Multiple-City-Centre-Venue%26%23039%3Bs/Dead-Fest-2014/12263634/