2009: Spiney & the Backbones

This was an event 2 years in the making.

While visiting Gatlinburg, TN in 2007, we came upon Ripley's Haunted Adventure, and a character out front luring guests inside. His name was Stumpy, shipped fresh from Transylvania, a man at the head and shoulders, but merely a spine mid chest to pelvis. We gawked at the illusion and watched passers by do the same for a good long time before deciding we just had to recreate that. 

> The Backstory 

The Carnival of Souls presents Sideshow #9: Spiney & the Backbones.

Spiney and entourage, it turns out, were another sideshow tied into the one that so mysteriously appeared the year before, a memory and remnant from a time gone by.

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends.

No one tried to steal this crew's backstage passes.

A pre-show view of the set from the street.

I lost a lot of weight for this role.

The creative element in their native habitat, with a drummer lurking behind.

Bass player got a little splattered. Good thing he put on that lovely jacket.

What must the neighbors be thinking?

The guitarist was confused on where to stash his cash.

Spiney couldn't reach the keys to play, but sure could whack people with that cane.

Spiney and entourage.

> The Setlist

• KarnEvil #9 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
• Sideshow - Alice Cooper
• Welcome to My Nightmare - Alice Cooper
• No More Mr. Nice Guy - Alice Cooper
• Vengeance is Mine - Alice Cooper
• Nothin’s Free - Alice Cooper
• Gimme - Alice Cooper
• Unholy War - Alice Cooper
• Cleansed by Fire - Alice Cooper
• Run Down the Devil - Alice Cooper
• Can’t Sleep, Clowns Will Eat Me - Alice Cooper

Freaky Facts: Sideshow #9 was a reference to the first two songs listed above. (And, incidentally, '09 was the year of Spiney's first appearance.)

As mentioned previously, the Carnival of Souls is a double reference to a classic b/w horror flick, and a lyric in Alice Cooper's "Stolen Prayer" off his "The Last Temptation" concept album. Based on a graphic novel written with Neil Gaiman, this is the story of a young boy tempted by a Showman around Halloween. Several songs in the setlist also came from that album.

> The Trick

It took some time to get this box to work. A carefully studied night time photo revealed the Ripley's box used mirrors for their illusion, but we went the simpler (and, may I say, more back breaking) route. We purchased a chiropractic model spine, a shirt from the local Goodwill and scrounged up a lot of wood for this, using old paint and decorating with props we already owned. As designed, I effectively became a puppet with an attitude.

As for The Backbones, our band members were primarily youth from our church. Some of their family members helped pass out treats or assisted behind the scenes since this was such a big operation, and neither of us were exactly free during performance time. We had all the tracks laid to our tunes, save for guitar and vocals, in case anyone needed to fall out. This came in very handy for practices and people coming and going.

We did an extra night this year, one for friends and family who wanted to see the whole show and set but couldn't make it out on Halloween night. That night we learned first hand U2's Bono was right. Rock 'n' roll really does stop the traffic. (Watch their version of "All Along the Watchtower" in the "Rattle and Hum" film for that reference.)

Freaky Fact: Clearly we have a thing for Alice Cooper. We even met the guy a few years back at a fundraiser for his Christian based Solid Rock Teen Center. He's been a big inspiration for a lot of what we've done, and this year we found a number of ways to tie in his stuff. We even referenced a rare photo of Alice as The Controller, a character much like Stumpy formerly featured in his shows.

Here's a view of Spiney in action. This was actually a rapidly filmed entry for a contest with Alice's then new song "Keepin' Halloween Alive!" which didn't actually make the setlist. While we didn't get to develop this as we would have liked, it'll give you an idea of what went on that night. (FYI, that pumpkin took at least 4 hours to carve up. And, yeah, I really memorized all those lyrics.)

Keepin' Halloween Alive

> The Treat

This was our first year creating a giveaway that tied in a bit to our performance. We gave our standard candy and pretzels, but included rock 'n' roll duckies in the bag. The paper inside the bag was both two sided with the band logo and, really for the first time, included a true Gospel summary.

JUST THE TEXT:
Thanks for visiting the Rock ‘n’ Roll Sideshow. Hope you enjoy the treats... and enjoyed the tricks!

You might have noticed, we like to have some serious fun on Halloween. But we always want to remind you of something better than candy, props and even rock ‘n’ roll. (Though, clearly, we dig those too.) We want to let you know about some good news — the best news — (and the reason why the devil doesn’t win) the Gospel.

What is it? Simply stated, this:
• We all fail God’s perfect standard (that is, we sin) and deserve to be separated from Him forever. (Okay, that’s the bad news. But keep reading.)
• Jesus Christ died for sinners like us and rose again.
• God calls us to turn from our sin (selfishness, pride, etc.) and turn to Him, believing in Jesus as Lord & Savior.
• Through faith in Jesus alone we can have eternal life. That is far more incredible than any trick or guitar lick. And He’s definitely worth taking time to tell you about!

If you want to know more or just want to leave a note and say hi, stop by MiniMinistry.com. Check out the Halloween blog post and leave a comment.

Enjoy the rest of 2009.
- Spiney & the Backbones

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This year was so wildly popular that we had several repeat visitors, and people even stopped by in 2010 and '11 to ask if we were doing it again.