The Misfits were a "punk rock" band from Lodi, New Jersey. Formed in 1977 toward the end of the "punk" era, they took the band name from Marilyn Monroe's last film and in fact, thanked the cast of the movie on the back of their first record.
The founding memebers were: Glenn Danzig on vocals and electrov piano, Jerry Caiafa on bass, Manny on drums. Their first release on their own label, blank records, didn't reflect the characteristic anger and rebellion of most "punk" records, but instead a more brooding and romantic side lingering beneath.
All along, Jerry's younger brother, P.C. Doyle had been hanging around rehearsals,, going to shows, learning how to plat guitar, and being groomed by Jerry to be a Misfit. Practice was held at their parents' house on Grove Street in Lodi where P.C. Doyle would be waiting in the wings.
Halloween was approaching, and the time was right. Jerry decided that Doyle (the P.C. was dropped)nwas in and Bobby was out. Doyle was 15 when he did his first show. It was at Irving Plaza, sometimes called Club 57 or the Monster Movie Club. This was Halloween. It had become a tradition for the Misfits to play here in New York City. What a way to start Doyle's career. They showed horror movie trailers before and in-between the bands. There were lamb's heads hanging from the chandeliers and cobwebs everywhere.
Side A was called "cough/cool" and it had a jazzing sort of feeling to it. With the release of this record only the interesting lyrical content and strong vocals hinted at the style that would emerge with the passage of time and the bands' subsequent releases. Side B had the original recording of "She", and was about Patty Hearst. It was the more aggressive track but there was no noisy guitar. Instead, Glenn plaied the electriv piano through a fuzz box.
In 1978 the "punk rock" influence reared its ugly head with the addition of Frank Licata (aka France Coma) on guitar and Jim Catania (aka Mr. Jim) on drums. The nest release was the notorious "bullet" ep, on their Plan 9 label. The four song seven inch reflected a more aggresive and angry style. It was origionaly pressed on black vinyl with a fold out sleeve and lyric sheet for the title track. "Attitude" was a poppy little tune with colorful usage of many four letter words. "Hollywood Babylon" had a rich vocal track and a very catchy melody. "We are 138" was filled with the straight down-strumming guitar technique that was very reminiscent of the Ramones. It was a style the band would proudly perfect, and one that stayed with them throughout their recordings.
The "Bullet" sheet showed former-President Kennedy's head on a blood splattered background with a bullet hole in it. Not tame by any means, and not ment either. These four songs came from a larger session, that was to be their first album, Static Age.
At this time it was fairly common to see Jerry (now calling himself Jerry Only) arounf town with his electric blue hair and leather jacket that proudly proclaimed "The Misfits" on the back. Everyone in Lodi had heard of the Mosfits (if they cared to listen) and how they wrote their own songs, put out their own records and booked their own gigs. This D.I.Y. method was a staple of "punk rock". Why let some big record compant tell you how to look, how to sound, or what to do for that matter? They would make it happen on their own terms, all the way down to cutting and glueing the seven inch sleeves together themselves.
In the summer of 1979 a new EP was comming out and there had been some major changes: enter Bobby Steele on guitar and Joey Image on the drums. Another addition, although not to the actual line-up itself, a logo appeared, the Crimson Ghost was adopted as the symbol of the band in the Spring of that year on the poster for the bands show at the Max's Kansas City. This would be the image that would forever be linked to the band and would grace the cover of this new EP, "Horror Business".
When you bought a Misfits record back then, you would find an application for the "Fiend Club". If you filled it out and sent it in they would send you whatever they had (buttons, stickers, or photos) for free.This would continue throughout the band's career. "Horror Business" was another seven inch with three new songs recorded live in the studio and presed on yellow vinyl. Besides the title track there was "Teenagers from Mars" and "Children in Heat". This SP was powerful, raw, and obnixious.
A different look was going on with the ever-evolving sound. All that horror business was starting to branch out. The trademark "devilock"hairstyle was becomming more prominent. Jerry's eye makeup, Glenn's bone shirt and gloves, and of course the black clothes. Everyone looks better in black clothes. They were turning into what we used to call a "ghoul rock" band. Some said "monster rock", "horror rock", and others even said "death rock". It was their own ninch, one that would last, one that would always seperate the Misfits from all others.
In November of 1979 a new EP called "Night of the Living Dead" came out as a three song seven inch with the B-side being "Where Eagles Dare" and "Rat Fink". With the release of this record, the band went to England to support the Damned with a possible opening tour with the Clash being talked about too. But Glenn got into a bar fight and was thrown into jail and upon leaving the Damned tour, Joey Image quit the band and flew back to the states. Without a drummer everyone flew home and there would be no Clash tour.
"The Night of the Living Dead" record was sort of a disappointment in that something went wrong during the mastering and all of the levels were way too low. Only 2000 copies were pressed and the plates were destroyed. Despite the bad mastering,Glenn had states that this was his favorite time in the band. Fourtunatly now you can hear this EP, the way it was ment to be heard back in 1979.
On the bill that night was the legendary blues shouter Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the transvestite band aptly names Marilyn. The Misfits had three coffins standing behind the blood red velvet curtain. They also had Arthur Googy, who had been in the bands now for a while now, behind the drum kit.
As the show started, they kicked down the lids and went into "Halloween". The rest was a blur. If you never saw them, a Misfits show was a wall of guitars and howling, screaming vocals. Totally intense and insaine. There were piles of bodies all over the stage, people jumping off the P.A. stacks, and tons of stage diving. Jerry would count off every song, flail his bass around, and run and jump all over the stage. Doyle would punish his guitar and scare the hell out of people. Glenn would sometimes lose his mind and be found crawling around on the floor or crouching way down close to the crowd. He'd get kicked in the head. He would jump on people and maybe even throw a punch or two.
In England, Cherry Red released released a twelve inch called "Beware". It contained the first two EP's along with "Last Caress" from the"Static Age" sessions. It had a kool black and white photo on the cover and was the band's first twelve inch.
Three Hits From Hell was another three song seven inch. The A-side was "London Dungeon", the song Glenn wrote while in jail in England, and the B-sides were "Horror Hotel" and "Ghouls Night Out". These songs featured a great mix of the unrelenting bass and guitar assult that sounded too fast to be played by humans, along with a full, rich vocal and drum sound. The cover showed only the eyes of the four memebers. On "London Dungeon", credit the kool sound on the main riff and the spooky feedback, that added so much to the song, to producer Rob Alter.
It was 1981 and a new single was comming out. It was another seven inch, this one entitled "Halloween". It contained with version one along with a Latin werewolf chant for version two. There was a lyric sheet for the autum anthem."Halloween I". "Bon fires burnin' bright/pumpkin faces in the night/I remember Halloween". Version two was a spooky song that sounded like pagans dancing around a festival fire. You could find the lyrics to that one on the back of the seven inch. The orange cover was crowded with skulls and a scary jack 'o lantern framing a koll black and white photo of the fearsome four.
There was a national tourplanned, an album deal with Ruby Records, and a headlining gig at the Ritz that would be recorded. The Ritz in New York was at 3rd Avenue and 11th street, and was concidered a prestigious gig back then. The huge posters the band made up (and would past up all over the town) had four skeletal horsemen riding our skeleton horses, proudly proclaimed "The Misfits at the Ritz". The band showcased a lot of material that would end up on their first album. From this show came the legendary version of "Mommy Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight".
Walk Among Us came out in 1982. Thirteen classic songs. All of the elements were there; the hooks, the catchy melodies, grade B horror movie titles, and BIG choruses, the 8th note down-strumming barrage, tons of photos, and a lyric sheet that let you in on the twisted vision that hid within Glenn's mind.
Upon that release, the band did a national tour that took them out to sunny California. There they met horror film star Vampira, for whom they named a song. She was loving in seclusion and hadn't made a public appearance in many years. She was so moved be the band's musical tribute that she met with them publicly and posed for pictures.
Before a scheduled Whiskey A Go-Go gig, Glenn said the band and Henry Rollins (then with Black Flag) chased some Sunset strip, cock-rock band named Motley Crue down the street. The shows at the Whiskey were recorded for what would be a special gift for the "Fiend Cluc" memebers.
Touring acrodd the country in a van is never easy, but it's alot of fun. No heat during snow storms, breaking down, getting in accidents, Mad Max road wars, getting shot at in Detroit, gear getting lost, broken or stolen, and duct taping guitars back together. While on tour it was common for the band to bring along silk screens of their scary T-shirt designs. They no problems letting the fans lay their leather jackets while the band printed the Crimson Ghost all over the place, leaving their mark whereever they went.
Walk Among Us was a great success. The culmination of years of hard work and patience was captured as the true representatin of the Misfits' sound.Today, all of the songs are all classics; "20 eyes", "Hate Breeders", "Astro Zombies", "Nike-A-Go-Go", and not to mention a new version of "Night of the Living Dead".
As a gift to the "Fiend Club", a seven in ch of live tracks from this last tour called Evilive was released. The first 1000 copies pressed would be available only to the Misfits' loyal throng. The cover featured a whole band live shot with Glen's interpretation of the Crimson Ghost on the back. On "We are 138" guest screams and growls came from Misfits' buddy Henry Rollins.This record was a noce gesture to the fans, from a band they looked up to and thought were kool.
For whatever reasons, yet again, the band would find themselves without a drummer. They called upon Robo, former Black Flag drummer, who was looking for a gig in California. He moved to New Jersey and stayed with Glenn.
for their second album, the band chose Black Flag's engineer, Spot, to record them. Things were moving into a faster area. Hardcore bands were a big influence everywhere and some of tracks would end up on Earth A.D. were incredibly fast. "Demonomania", "Green Hell", and "Death Comes Ripping" took hardcore into a new demention. fusing hardcore's soeed with heavy metal's big sound. Poof! Earth A.D., the speed metal bible.
Recorded at a very high decibel level, the album has a train-wreck feeling to it with tons of feedback holding it all together. Not all of the songs were new. "We Bite" has been performed as far back as 1981. A stuio version of "Mommy...."was also done. This time the words, hooks, and melodies took a back seat to the speed, power, and fury of a live performance captured on tape. The mood of Earth A.D. reflected more real life violance and true-to-life horror. Things wern't so comic-book-like anymore.
The cover was a three hundred hour labor of love drawn by good friend Mad Marc Rude of Los Angeles. It showed the four memebers amongst zombies, ghouls, and human wreckage in various forms of decay. The overall feel of this album might remind you of "Horror Business" but the intensity brought to life on the 1983 release was ten times greater.
A German company, Aggresive Rock Productions, had already licensed Evilive as a twelve inch with extra tracks added for sale in Europe. The new album would be put out overseas as well but as Wolf's Blood. For this version, "We Bite" and "Die, Die My Darling" were added as bonus tracks.
The final Misfits record was a twelve inch on Caroline Records. It was called "Die, Die My Darling". It was pressed on black, purple, and white vinyl. The other tracks were "We Bite" and the studio "Mommy....".
Glenn announced he was leaving the Misfits and said he felt it was time for a change. He once said that the Misfits were he and Jerry and if they wern't together it wouldnl't be the same. They were moving further apart. Musical and personal differances played a big part. People grow older and change is inevitable.
Although the parting of Glenn and Jerry may have seemed to be the end of the Misfits, the band still carries on. The twins of evil have managed to recruit a new breed of ghouls to carry out the tasks of those who have fled. With the recruiting of Micheal Graves on vocals and Dr. Chud on drums, Misfits 2000 will continue on their journey of horror and dismay for generations of fiends to come.
