The Perfect Day for a Little "Munsters Theme" by Los Straitjackets

Features
By published

Halloween. It's a time for smashing pumpkins, making believe I'm not home when costumed kids ring my bell begging for candy, and sharing videos of my favorite masked band covering the theme song from my favorite monster-themed 1960s sitcom.

Yes, it's Los Straitjackets performing "The Munsters Theme." Here's a version from a 2009 show at the Continental Club in Austin, Texas.

If you're not familiar with Los Straitjackets, they're a four-piece instrumental rock band that plays a combination of surf, spaghetti western and any vintage-tinged, Link Wray-inspired genre of instro rock. They might do "The Munsters Theme" one minute and leap into a cover of Celine Dion's "Titanic" theme song that sounds a lot like "Telstar" by The Ventures. They wear Mexican wrestling masks and play DiPinto guitars.

Be sure to check out a few blogs the band members have written for GuitarWorld.com; you can see the links above, just under "RELATED CONTENT."

Damian Fanelli is the online managing editor at Guitar World.

Damian Fanelli
Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.

More about music releases

“If any song can unite all generations of rock guitar fans, this is it”: March 2025 Guitar World Editors' Picks

"The BTO sound is BACK!!" Bachman-Turner Overdrive release first new material in over 25 years – and it features a Neil Young guitar solo

“I was playing in the living room, he walked past and shot me this look of ‘Do that again.’ So I bent the string up and he gave me this nod of approval”: Jack Moore on lessons learned from his father, Gary
See more latest
Most Popular
Stevie Ray Vaughan plays his #1 Stratocaster (left), Stevie Wonder sits at a keyboard
That time Stevie Wonder jammed with Stevie Ray Vaughan... and played SRV's number one Strat
Albert Collins performs at the San Francisco Blues Festival at Fort Mason in San Francisco, California on September 15, 1990
“Freddie King would ask me why I never tried using thumbpicks... I really like digging in with my fingers”: He replaced Jimi Hendrix in Little Richard's band, was idolized by Stevie Ray Vaughan, and is one of the most underrated Tele slingers of all time
Bartees Strange performs onstage at the Austin Motel in Austin, Texas on March 14, 2023
“When I heard Sonic Youth, I was like, ‘I need a Jazzmaster, and I’m gonna put duct tape on it!’”: Bartees Strange on working with superstar producer Jack Antonoff, his vintage guitar collection, and emulating Neil Young’s “spluttery” guitar sounds 
John Lennon performs at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival at Varsity Stadium in Toronto on September 13, 1969 (left), (from left) Eric Clapton (seated), bassist Klaus Voorman, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono
“We hadn’t really rehearsed. As we were walking to the stage, he said, ‘Hang on, boys!’ And he went in the corner and vomited”: Assembled on 24 hours' notice, this John Lennon-led, motley crew supergroup marked the beginning of the end of the Beatles
Stromberg Master 400: the big bodied arch-top is expensive, powerful, brilliant and back
“Among the most sought-after of all rhythm guitars… a power and projection unsurpassed by any other archtop”: Stromberg has made a long-awaited comeback, and we got our hands on its new Master 400 – a holy grail archtop with a price to match
Killswitch Engage's Joel Stroetzel and Dutkiewicz rock their Caparison S-styles onstage. Fluoro green stage lights illuminate the dark.
“I pushed myself to down-pick faster and make the riffs more aggressive. Maybe it’s the old man in me struggling to feel young and fighting back against aging”: How Killswitch Engage went to thrash metal bootcamp to deliver their face-ripping return
The back of a Dumble Overdrive Special amplifier
“If you’ve ever wondered what unobtanium looks like in amp form, this is it”: Played and revered by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Santana, and John Mayer, Dumble amps have an almost mythical reputation. But what's all the fuss really about?
Ozzy Osbourne (left) and Randy Rhoads perform onstage in 1980
Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band has long been a proving ground for metal’s most outstanding players. From Randy Rhoads to Zakk Wylde, via Brad Gillis and Gus G, here are all the players – and nearly players – in the Osbourne saga
Muireann Bradley wears black and plays her custom-built sunburst acoustic as she is photographed against a dark brown background.
“I just learned them from the records. I don’t read tabs or anything, I don’t read music – I learned by ear”: How a teenage Muireann Bradley put a cover of Blind Blake’s Police Dog Blues on YouTube and became a standard bearer for country blues
Prince and Dez Dickerson get into the jam onstage in this close-shot black and white pic from 1979.
“He got that from me. I used to throw my guitar as high as I could, like, 20 feet, and my guitar tech would catch it”: Dez Dickerson on Prince, his iconic Little Red Corvette solo, and why he left the Revolution