# New Sindy Skinless and the Decomposers Videos for 2012



## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

I thought you might like to see the first of my 2012 videos for my singing Quartet.

Here is the link: 




Special thanks to RoxyBlue from this forum for providing the lead voice on this track! I will post the other 4 new videos as I complete the editing. They will be here as soon as I can get them done.

Thanks!


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## Lunatic (Oct 3, 2006)

Excellent! That's cool. Good work HB! Nice chops Roxy!


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## The Pod (Sep 15, 2009)

Great job as aways!!!!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Yay!

You did a wonderful job, HB, and thanks for making me sound so good I love Hr Head's smarta$$ remarks, too.


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

LOL what a show! Awesome work!


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

Thanks all. Roxy Blue has another one I will post soon, but first, here is the next installment of the 2012 videos!






A parody of Peggy Lee's 'Fever'.

Kept the same name, but the meaning has changed a bit.


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## I.Heart.Halloween (Nov 5, 2012)

now that is awesome!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Great parody and well done!


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

The parodies are wonderful and Cindy even looks a little like Roxy.


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## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol:That is so great! I just love it, it looks like something at Disney World!Very, very cool and Roxy you never cease to amaze me. You are so multi-talented! I envy your voice....I sound like tin cans in a garbage disposal when I sing.....


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## Wildcat (Nov 3, 2007)

Both the kids and myself love watching Sindy Skinless and the Decomposers. Awesome job. Great voice Roxy.


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## Joiseygal (Sep 3, 2008)

Ha..Ha...that was great! I wish I was able to figure out how to program skeletons to talk and sing. You did a great job and I'm sure people really enjoy watching the skeletons perform. Roxy you are so talented! I think you definitely picked the best lead singer because she has some great chops...no bones about it!!!!


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

You guys make me smile Thanks for the kind remarks. Halloween Bob is great to work with and having my voice matched to such a delightful and talented quartet is an honor. I can only imagine the amount of work it takes to program all the nuances he gets with these skellies.

I believe the lead singer on "Fever" is Frankie's Girl. She did a fantastic job with that piece of music.


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## Wispurs (Oct 9, 2012)

these are fabulous! I'll have to show them to my daughter when she gets home. wonderful!!


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

That is correct. Frankie's Girl sang the lead in 'Fever'. I wasn't aware that she was a member on this forum, which is why I didn't point it out.


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## NecroBones (Feb 10, 2006)

Wow, these skellies are nicely animated these days. Love that!


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

I've often thought that if I could only have one Halloween "prop" for the rest of my haunting years, it would be something like this. Build a stage or set for them in the front yard and every year, and just stand back and watch everyone go nuts! These are just so unique and as mentioned the range of animation just keeps getting better.


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

The third out of 5 new songs for 2012. It's slow going, but I'm getting all the video editing done.

So what do you think? Does Mr. Head deserve this kind of treatment?

Just 2 more to finish up for 2012.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Awww, poor Mr Head You can't help but feel sorry for him.

Nicely done, Bob!


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## MommaMoose (May 15, 2010)

Wow! You really have picked some wonderful voices to bring these characters to life. I would so love to have just half the knowledge that you have used to create these.


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## niblique71 (Dec 2, 2009)

I think EVERY Haunter want's to do something like this. Thank you for some really creative fun.


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

It's my pleasure! You're very welcome


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## scarrycher (May 30, 2012)

WOW! so much talent in one spot just blows me away. great job Mr. halloween.


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

Getting closer! For those of you playing along at home, this is the 4th out of 5 videos for 2012, with another new parody. This one is a parody of the popular and familiar TV theme from 'Gilligan's Island'. We call it 'ill-Again'.

The lead vocals on this one are by Bonnie Barrows (a.k.a. Roxy Blue) who also did 'Bones-Walk' this year. Of course, Mr. Head and most of the jokes are by Chip Harris as always.






Please enjoy.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Another good one, Bob! Love the jokes and happy the boys got to do some solo bits, too


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## R. Lamb (Oct 11, 2011)

Thank you HalloweenBob. Those always bring a smile.


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

Yeah, the jokes are fun, but I really had to go all the way around the block to drive home these punchlines!

I'm always looking for more skeleton or death related one liners, but after doing so many of these, new ones are hard to come by.

I welcome any suggestions.

My newest song for 2013 is almost ready and deals with rotting flesh and decomposing and is to the tune of Danny and the Juniors 'At the Hop'. The lyrics are already written and I am finishing up the backup vocals now.

Anyone got any good jokes on those topics?


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Just listened to "At The Hop" on YouTube. That's a great one for background vocals - everyone gets something to sing. Is one of the new lyrics "Let's all die and rot"?:jol:

You can probably work the music angle for composing/decomposing humor. Supposedly Gilbert (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) was once asked by a lady if Bach was still composing. His reply: "No, madam. I believe he is decomposing."

I've also seen jokes about people walking by the cemetery where Mozart was buried and being startled by the sound of his music emanating from the grave, only being played backwards. When the caretaker was asked about this phenomenon, he replied: "Oh, that's just Mozart decomposing."

A similar joke is told about Bach, as follows:

Two grave robbers decided to rob a grave (that's what they do). They found a pretty nice grave and started digging. After they dug up the topsoil, they found a hole and in the hole there was a man with wild white hair sitting in front of a piano. The man would play a couple notes, then erase something on a sheet of music. The two grave robbers, amazed beyond belief, yelled down to the man, 'Who are you and what are you doing?' The man looked up and said "I'm Bach, and I'm decomposing".

And another Beethoven one:

One day some scientists (who were also classical music lovers) wanted to recreate in entirety what Beethoven looked like. They studied his portraits but couldn't complete his looks. Finally after much deliberation, they decided to go to his grave and exhume his body. When they eventually opened his coffin, they were extremely surprised to see him sitting there rubbing an eraser on what looked like a piece of music. "What are you doing?" they asked. "Why," he replied, "I'm decomposing, of course".


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

In fact, the refrain is "Let's go Die and Rot"

The full lyrics are here:

When you're finally sick of breathing
And your chest will stop its heaving, then you'll rot
When you think you'll start supposin'
That you'll soon be decomposin' then you'll rot 
It's a strange sensation that we'll all be facin' when we rot
Let's go die and rot
Let's go die and rot (oh baby) 
Let's go die and rot (oh baby)
Let's go die and rot
Come on, let's go die and rot
Oh your skin turns dark and slimy
But your bones stay white and shiny when you rot
Oh, we don't endorse embalming
Even though it might seem charming not to rot
It's disintegration that we're advocatin' when you rot
Let's go!

Let's go die and rot
Let's go die and rot (oh baby)
Let's go die and rot (oh baby)
Let's go die and rot
Come on, let's go die and rot
Let's go!
[Instrumental Interlude]
When you're finally sick of breathing
And your chest will stop its heaving, then you'll rot
When you think you'll start supposin'
That you'll soon be decomposin' then you'll rot 
It's a strange sensation that we'll all be facin' when we rot

Oh your skin turns dark and slimy
But your bones stay white and shiny when you rot
Oh, we don't endorse embalming
Even though it might seem charming not to rot
It's disintegration that we're advocatin' when you rot 
Let's go!

Let's go die and rot
Let's go die and rot (oh baby)
Let's go die and rot (oh baby)
Let's go die and rot
Come on, let's go die and rot


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Great lyrics! Those will sing beautifully.


Here are a few mortician one liners:

Best make-up artist in the world, but your models never make the cover of Cosmo.

No moth, no Jodie Foster - just leaves, dirt, and regular dead folks.

Tough to convince anyone to let you place bodies in action poses.

Nobody visits your booth at junior high "Career Days"

Every time Keith Richards gets mistakenly hauled in, it costs us money.

Dying in each other's arms may sound romantic, but once rigor mortis sets in, it just means overtime.


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## Dead Things (Apr 4, 2009)

Sindy Skinless has always has been one of my favs. I love the idea of a show, must be the musician in me! Roxy, you got some pipes, girl! You were killing it!


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

At long last! The final video for the 2012 Halloween season is done.

Please enjoy 'Mr. Phantom' where Mr. Head actually goes out of his head for a while!

Frankie's Girl lends her voice again as lead singer in this epic tune.

Here is 'Mr. Phantom'


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

I like how you credit the "bad jokes" so we all know who to blame:jol:


Poor Mr. Head, so much abuse...


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## Vilessence (Dec 11, 2012)

Great work Could I find out what mics you used and the software Please.


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## R. Lamb (Oct 11, 2011)

That one is my favorite one so far. I'm looking foreword to next years set!


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## grimm-hurst (Jun 11, 2012)

Wow, nice job! Great work!


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

@Vilessence - That is quite a question.

The mics are easy. I use a USB mic. It is a Sampson CO1U USB Studio Condensor mic.

I try to have everyone who has a speaking or singing part use one so all the voices sound pretty much the same. However, there are always those times when some of the people use the wrong settings or stands too far from the mic or a hundred other variables that can make it sound different.

As for the software, well that will take a while longer. The three most used pieces of software I use are Sony Sound Forge, Adobe Audition (I am using version 3.0) and something called Melodyne. The last one is a pitch correcting software like Auto-Tune, except it doesn't do it live. It corrects the file afterwards. This last one is the most important for me since I sing 3 of the parts and I have a tin ear and can not stay in tune. As long as I come close, I can fix it in Melodyne and no one will be the wiser. My sister (who does the speaking voice for Sindy) has a Mac. She uses the same microphone, but the software is Garage Band since the others don't run on a Mac. Occasionally she will have trouble with the settings and will save something at a real low bit-rate which will make it sound like it was done on a cheaper mic.

Adobe Audition is a multi-track recording program. I can drop in all the individual tracks recorded by each voice and mix them all together with the ability to adjust the volume for each track at any point in the mix, add effects like reverb, align all the parts precisely together so all the voices are singing the same syllables at the same time (even if they were not recorded that way) and a whole lot of other tricks.

I can use Adobe Audition to record the tracks as well, but I prefer Sound Forge for that. It's just easier and it does some things better than Audition.

By the way, there is free multitrack software out there called Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). But I find it lacking in features when compared to Audition.

Then there is other software that I may use depending on what I use for music. If I just need a karaoke track, I just buy it. On several songs, I have made my own music tracks using either fruity-loops or Sibelius. Now you are getting into a learning curve.

I have also collaborated with other musicians and singers who have composed or recorded (or both) some music tracks for me. Jenn Vix is one and William Ogmundson is another.

Occasionally, I will do an acapella track like 'Bye Bye Life' or some others and not need a music track.

I also make use of a special karaoke service called 'Karaoke Version' (http://www.karaoke-version.com/my/login_req.html) which has many tracks available as 'Custom Tracks' where you can choose to download the entire song with all instruments and voices, or just drop out the lead voice and keep the backup voices, or only instrumental or only one instrument if you choose.

I used this for 'Fever'. The only part of the song I used was the drum track. It had a bass guitar track, but I sang that instead, and I did my own finger-snapping, so the only part left was just the drums which I inserted into the mix.

Also, to help with the singing and fixing the pitch, it is very helpful to know what the actual notes are supposed to be, especially if you are trying to figure out what the harmonies are for the backup singers.

For this, I will go to musicnotes.com or one of many similar places and buy sheet music. Sometimes you can download it instantly and from other sources, you have to purchase it by mail. I have done both.

One thing that I find helpful is to create a singing track. This is an audio track that has just a piano (or any instrument) playing only the notes that the particular voice you are recording is going to play. Then I play that back in my headphones and sing along. It keeps me in time with the music and as close as I come to being in tune.

To create those, I sometimes use software designed to scan sheet music and create audio files of any part from the scan. Sibelius has an add-in that does this, and I use another program called Music Publisher 7 that does that as well. In fact, Sibelius also can do the reverse, which is to take an audio file and create sheet music from it. I have had limited success with this and it always needs tweaking, but it can be helpful.

Of course I use Microsoft Word to write out my lyrics sheets, and then there's the video production.

I have been using Adobe Premiere Pro for the video work and it does a pretty good job with Green Screen and Chroma Key work witch I used this year for the first time. That brings me to the virtual backgrounds that I used this year which were created with Maya Autodesk, but a number of 3-D rendering softwares can be used for a similar effect. You also may want to hire out this work as that software starts to get a bit pricey. You can use photoshop if you are very good at it to create your 3-D environment, then use Adobe Premiere to add in the video elements to the static background later as well if you don't want to learn a whole new set of skills for this part of the job.

Hmmmm.... I'm sure I left some things out, but did I answer your question?


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## HalloweenBob (Dec 17, 2008)

It occurred to me that the software you were referring to might have been for the programming of the servos.

I, like most others who do this type of work, use VSA from Brookshiresoftware. Some use Light O Rama, but I have not given that one a try. VSA was designed for running servos synced to music and is the industry standard. LOR is a free program designed to sync up Christmas lights with music that was retrofitted to operate servos. That's all I know about it.

I also use two other great software packages, both from MonkeyBasic.com. Those are Virtual Haunt (Which allows me to program my skulls and skeletons without actually having to set them up) and Helmsman (Which creates playlists of VSA routines that can be played back without pauses between them, control for relay boards, external triggers, the ability to play music files, volume control and a bunch of other goodies. I highly recommend it. They also produce Track Skull, which I don't personally use, but I know a lot of people who do and love it. A real time-saver.

If that wasn't your question, sorry for rambling on so long.


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## The Halloween Lady (Aug 18, 2010)

You're work always amazes me, you are soooo talented!


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