Island of Misfits

I'm at a Dave Mathews concert, but I'm thinking about the Misfits....

I listened to a Jasta podcast with Jerry Only recently, and I'm totally in Misfits mode right now. It's crazy how cyclical they are in my life.

Anyone who knows my musical taste knows that I am a bit of a fanboy. Not just of the Danzig era, but I love Michale Graves. I have a signed pic of him. Had my pic taken with him and love his early writing.

Before I get into details of the band, I'll share a Michale Graves story, two actually.

I got my ass beat at a Michale Graves show at the Hard Rock in Pittsburgh. I was paying for parking at the kiosk, and some kid ran at me full force, tackled me, my head hit a brick wall which knocked me clean out. He got on top of me and was punching my unconcious face. My (former) bro, Base pulled him off of me and got me out of there, 

It was unsolicited, but probably deserved in my Karma. Best part, it was 2011. Lol.

Here is a video of a song from that show. Listen as the fan's chant. It's awesome to be in the know sometimes.

Other favorite Michale Graves story? His crew set up a camera and sound gear at the show at the Smiling Moose I'm 2008. I was standing next to the camera. I screamed into the boom during "Dig up her bones" and believe that I probably ruined the video. Sorry man. Seriously, I was excited. Lol. 

Now.. Let's talk Misfits.

First time I heard them, I asked if they were a shitty Rolling Stones. Lol.

Hate Breeder, She, Skulls, We are 138, Where Eagles Dare, Angelfuck, Dig Up Her Bones and Saturday Night are all bonded to my DNA.

I love Glenn and Michale's era. Deal with it. But it was all Glenn that created the monsters.

Glenn got it right straight out of the gate with Misfits. Horror Punk was born, the music was catchy and simple to the point of being almost criminally good.

Glenn designed the logo, wrote the songs, booked that shows and he even played most instruments on the early LP's. His throaty wailing instantly made him the Elvis of heavy music, and if anyone had a hard time drawing a line between Elvis and Jim Morrison, Danzig showed the direct path.

And then, he broke it up and started Saimhain. I'm not a Samhain fan. Not even remotely. I don't get the appeal. Misfits became his past that he ran from. They were a burden to him supposedly. In a way, they still are.

His personal stock rose after Metallica covered Misfits tunes, and Glenn subsequently got rich. He did a solo song on the Less Than Zero soundtrack, and morphed Samhain into a stripped down raw cock metal band. The result was Danzig. Mother is the free bird of that generation. The ultimate cock rock karaoke song.

Jerry Only fought Glenn for the rights to use the Misfits name. It took 12 years, but they eventually settled. Glenn kept the publishing for the early material, and Jerry got the band name.

Translation: Glenn got richer, and Jerry got on with recreating the Misfits.

Jerry had a stroke of luck when Michale Graves walked through his studio door. If Glenn was Elvis, Michale was Sinatra. It worked very well. Michale also brought a bag of catchy songs and stage presence. Lightning did strike twice for the Misfits, and even though Michale's tenure was short lived, the Misfits were up and running again. They haven't stopped touring in some form since.

Jerry is the Misfits now. He took over vocals eventually, and leads that band. It's all image and show. He understands that and owns it. He is not trying to break new ground, he's doing what he loves with the band that he dedicated his life to.

There's always reunion talk. Probably won't happen. Why? Glenn isn't exactly lighting the world on fire these days, and he probably sees a huge payday if he could reunite his childhood band. I don't see why they should however. Glenn dismissed the Misfits for years while cashing publishing checks.

The Misfits gave Glenn their fair share of fuck off, not only by just existing, but the song Fiend Club is an middle finger (that's my translation).

I don't always agree with Jerry's musical direction, or even that he took over the vocals, but they still sound like the Misfits, and fans of Horror Punk still show up to the shows. 

Doyle (guitar) has his solo career now, Michale fronts Marky Ramones Blitzkrieg, and Glenn is Glenn. His last LP "Red Death Sabaoth" is not bad, but I think that Glenn is guilty of taking himself too seriously. That's just my opinion, but he always seems so serious. The Mistfits are fun, Glenn seems like the Debbie Downer. 

He did just put on his skull pain and posted a pic. That's exciting. I guess he is taking a stand. Again, he looked dead serious.

This brings up a question for me though. Are the original Misfits all 'roids heads or what? It's like Manowar with all of them. Whatever...

Nago.