Joliet Central teacher records Halloween tunes for music video

A Joliet teacher’s Halloween music video has almost 20,000 views since it was uploaded onto YouTube on Sept. 29.

Richard Goberville, a songwriter and longtime Joliet Central High School physics teacher, wrote (and then recorded) 12 of the songs featured on his 14-song Halloween album “Halloween Reclaim.”

Goberville said about 20 people helped create the companion music video – including Joliet Central alumni – helping with production, filming and acting. Credits are listed below the video on YouTube.

“This Halloween album gave me a chance to write lyrics where I wasn’t hoping that it would connect to someone on a deep, personal level, but just write lyrics that I felt were fun and catchy, and something that can easily get stuck in your head,” Goberville said. “That was my goal, and I think it worked out for that.”

The concept for “Halloween Reclaim” came from a phrase “Santa on a Pumpkin,” which Goberville said was “a catchy way” to comment on the phenomena of decorating for Christmas before Halloween.

So after Goberville wrote that silly song, a friend suggested that he write a full album. The more Goberville pondered it, the more it made sense. He knew plenty of Halloween songs – “Thriller,” “Ghostbusters” and even “The Purple People Eater” – he but couldn’t name a single Halloween album.

Once Goberville made up his mind, “the ideas flowed quickly,” he said.

“Halloween has so much you can say,” Goberville said. “It can be scary, it can be funny, and it can just be fun.”

For the music, he said he used Suno, a “team of musicians and artificial intelligence experts” based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to the Suno website.

“Halloween has so much you can say. It can be scary, it can be funny, and it can just be fun.”

—  Rich Goberville, songwriter, Joliet Central H.S. teacher

Goberville said using AI was the only way he could create an album full of songs. Studio time and “using real instruments” cost more than Goberville could invest in the project, he said.

“So this was a way for me just to be creative with the lyrics and add some music,” he said.

Halloween songs – and their origins

Goberville shared the inspiration behind four more “Halloween Reclaim” songs.

“Candy Monster:” “The monster who is stealing your candy on Halloween night is really your parents,” Goberville said.

“Halloween Night:” “The scariest thing on Halloween isn’t the monsters but the kids running around with their sugar high,” Goberville said.

“Monster’s Ball:” A girl dances with someone she thought was a human in a mask – until she removes the mask, Goberville said.

“Shadows Come Alive:” “It’s difficult to describe a scary monster and have that become a chorus of a song, but shadows coming alive is simple but scary,” Goberville said.

More holiday albums on the way?

Goberville said people want him to create Christmas and Thanksgiving albums, too. But Christmas isn’t lacking any good songs, and he’d “be lucky” to conjure up even one good idea for Thanksgiving, Goberville said.

He started recording songs more than two decades ago, mostly to share with family and friends. Over the years, he’s written wedding songs, a compilation of songs he calls the eMpTy project and songs to raise awareness of addiction.

Goberville also wrote and recorded “Even If” in 2010 to benefit Guardian Angel Community Services when he became a foster parent, and he said in 2010, “to know that someone is touched by my music is a great feeling.”

At this point, Goberville isn’t certain where his musical journey will take him.

“Every time I’ve put out an album, I feel like it will be my last,” he said, “and years go by, and then inspiration hits again.

Watch “Halloween Reclaimed” on the Rich Anthony YouTube channel.