By Robert Duguay

Halloween is less than two weeks away, and the seasonal festivities are in full swing: jack-o’-lanterns, orange-and-black decorations, mountains of candy, and costumes ranging from basic to extravagant. On October 24, Boston’s Paradise Rock Club will add a generous helping of ska-punk to the mix when local legends Big D and The Kids Table return for their annual “A Nightmare Before Halloween” show. The music starts at 7:30 p.m., with plenty of musical tricks and treats promised.

I spoke with frontman Dave McWane ahead of the festivities about the band’s latest album, its first animated music video, what audiences can expect from “A Nightmare Before Halloween,” and writing new material on the road.

Big D and The Kids Table. Photo: Mark Stern

The Arts Fuse: Earlier this year, Big D and The Kids Table released The Good Ole American Saturday Night. In the press release, you described it as following the sonic, thematic, and musical path of your albums from Good Luck through Fluent in Stroll. What did you want to revisit from those records, and how did that vision evolve as you wrote and recorded the new album?

Dave McWane: We kind of do the same thing each time. We each have something in our back pocket, and then we come together to craft the songs. We try to stay away from someone writing a song and then commanding, “Here’s how it goes,” everybody learn it. We did our normal thing with this album: a song comes in at a certain point and then the rest of the band helps to finish it up. With so many members, we’re always trying to support the guys who write less by saying, “C’mon, write a song!” We all try to put a little bit into the pot.

AF: One of the album’s songs, “Scatterbrain,” has a really cool animated music video that follows you through high school, working at a Dunkin’, starting a family, and dealing with the outside world. How did it come about? I love the vibrant colors.

McWane: Oh, thanks. The song is definitely about how I joke that I had ADD before they put the “H” in it. It is about my past experiences. We decided to go with an animated video because a company reached out to us. We had never really done it before. We made an earlier video with puppets along with Melt-Banana, a Japanese noisecore band, and we loved it. Our last record is called Do Your Art, so when we were approached about doing an animated video I knew we had to do it.

AF: Is the animation company based in the Boston area or somewhere else?

McWane: They’re from Toronto.

AF: Very cool. With “A Nightmare Before Halloween” coming up at the Paradise Rock Club, what was your favorite Halloween costume growing up?

McWane Holy crap, you know, I’m kind of having trouble remembering any childhood costume. (laughs) If I had to guess, though, my favorite costume as a kid was definitely one of the Transformers, especially [the character] Soundwave. He was my go-to guy when I was a kid, so I’d have to imagine it must have been him.

AF: How about when you got older?

McWane: Once, when I was in my 20s, I decided to dress as a Victorian witch who was being hanged. The costume was really well done, I put it together very well. But I gotta tell you, it was interesting. When I went out, after a while, people were really became attracted to it in a weird way. It was such a big deal that I went home early because I was getting too much attention. (laughs)

AF: I can see that could have been nerve-racking. Do you have a favorite Halloween candy you look forward to this time of year?

McWane: Yeah, I’m definitely a Milky Way guy, but I also think Twizzlers are very important. (laughs)

AF: I’m willing to bet “A Nightmare Before Halloween” is more than your typical Big D and The Kids Table show, especially with The Pietasters and Devon Kay & The Solutions opening. Without giving too much away, what can people expect?

McWane: I joke that the best thing about going on tour with The Pietasters is getting to see them every night because they are just so good. Their sound is so great. Other than that, we’re probably going to play some of our spookier, darker songs to go with the creepiness of it all.

AF: What are Big D and The Kids Table’s plans heading into 2027? Will you focus on touring in support of The Good Ole American Saturday Night, or are other projects in the works?

McWane: We just finished our first 10-show run for the record, and we’ll probably spend the next two years touring it across different countries. We’re heading to Mexico and Canada, then doing more of the U.S. We’re also hoping to get back to Australia, Europe, and Asia.

This time, we’ve decided to write the next record while we tour, so we can head straight into the studio when we’re done. Last time, we didn’t really write on the road, so coming home felt a little like starting from scratch. We’re going to try to do both at once, so by the time we finish touring, we’re ready to record.

Rob Duguay is an arts & entertainment journalist based in Providence who is originally from Shelton, CT. Outside of The Arts Fuse, he has also written for DigBoston, Aquarian Weekly, Providence Journal, Newport Daily News, Worcester Magazine, New Noise Magazine, Manchester Ink Link, and numerous other publications. While covering mostly music, he has also written about film, TV, comedy, theater, visual art, food, drink, sports, and cannabis.