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(Tell-Tale Heart/Town Crier Ray Brandes scares up a Halloween soundtrack worthy of the Che Underground. This we dug … Up!)

The Halloween memories of my youth come alive each year as the days begin to shorten and the night air becomes brisk in mid-October, and as I’ve gotten older I have somehow been able to retain a sense of excitement as jack-o’-lanterns appear on doorsteps.

In the days before nervous parents had their children’s candy bags X-rayed at the hospital, when trick-or-treaters were still invited into neighborhood homes for cider and popcorn balls, and when kids wandered the dark streets unaccompanied by their parents and wearing flammable plastic costumes, the soundtrack to many of my Halloween nights was the classic ’70s album, Sounds to Make You Shiver (pictured above). In honor of these classic Halloween sounds, I’ve compiled a short list of lesser-known seasonal records, all recorded in the 1960s, to prevent anyone from having to break out the “Monster Mash” one more time.

Read moreSounds to Make You Shiver

(An introduction to Miss Kristi Maddocks’ Madison Avenue Memoirs.)

Author’s note: No one ever forgets their first apartment. In my case, very few people will ever forget mine.

My first apartment was a little one-bedroom in-law apartment adjacent to a Craftsman-style home at 1427 Madison Ave., San Diego, near Park and University. This place was centrally located to a number of highway inlets, namely the Texas Street intersection to Highway 8.

From here, I could easily reach work at La Jolla Pannikin in 30 minutes or less in my little white Rabbit called Echo (after the Bunnymen, of course). Better yet, the Madison Avenue Apartment was near downtown San Diego and the heart of the psychedelic, post-mod music scene. Many of us who attended punk and mod shows as young teenagers were becoming young adults, exploring our options in life and discovering who we really are. At the Madison Avenue flat I took my first steps into independence and a deep exploration of my burgeoning creativity.

Read moreLife on Madison Avenue: Part One

Another addition to the Che Underground YouTube channel, this video captures Hair Theatre in action at the Spirit Club sometime after Rockin’ Dogs co-founder Sam Wilson joined on lead guitar ca. 1985.

Here’s a recent reminiscence from Jeremiah Cornelius about Hair Theatre at the Spirit: “I can remember one time at The (horrible) Spirit Club. That took a while to warm up — I was running the lights for HT and (I think) The Wallflowers. At the bar, there was some BIG marine, looking at ‘big’ Sergio in ripped jeans and a cocktail gown, with a puzzled look on his face.

“He kept moving closer to the stage, in his ‘muscle’ T and beer in hand. I thought it was going to get ugly. Sergio started up ‘My Creation’ — and started singing straight into this bulldog’s face. He was holding the mike in his crotch singing ‘Suck my Creation!’

Read moreHair Theatre: “Cross It All”