Misfits (band)

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Misfits
A fictional band called The Misfits appears in the animated series Jem (TV series).

The Misfits are an American horror punk band formed in 1977 in New Jersey by singer and songwriter Glenn Danzig, and later re-founded by bassist Jerry Only. The original Misfits were pioneers of the subgenre of horror punk, and were influential on heavy metal, thrash, and rock music of the late 1980's and 1990's. They ceased recording and performing in 1983, when Danzig disbanded the Misfits to pursue other projects. A new version of the Misfits formed in 1995, led by Only but lacking Danzig, who declined invitations to return as vocalist.

The music of the original Misfits was often melodic, featuring Danzig's versatile singing, which had a style rooted in Italian tenors such as Mario Lanza and in 1950s doo-wop. Early Misfits songs tended to have catchy, sing-along choruses, initially backed by Danzig's distorted keyboard accompaniments and later by willfully crude guitar-rock. The band began as a largely untrained ensemble. Musically, the band has also displayed some rockabilly influences (but not as much as psychobilly bands). After several lineup changes and increasing international acclaim, Danzig disbanded the original Misfits in 1983.

The band often wore corpse paint when performing, and bassist Jerry Only reputedly invented a hairstyle called the devilock, with the bangs coming to a point in front of the nose or chin, a style still worn by fans (A.K.A. Fiends) today and contributed to the foundation of horror punk.

The initial lineup of the new Misfits featured Michale Graves on vocals, Only on bass, Dr. C.H.U.D. on drums, and Only's brother Doyle, the last guitarist of the original Misfits, on guitar. A third, "touring" incarnation of the band is presently led by the only other "constant" original member, bassist Jerry Only. Members of the touring group have included Marky Ramone (of the Ramones), and both drummer ROBO (who was a member of the original band), and guitarist Dez Cadena of Black Flag fame.

History

The history of the Misfits can be split into two main eras. The first is marked by Danzig's characteristic singing and song-writing. The second era has seen Only as the sole constant member, with a selection of vocalists, guitarists, and drummers playing a mixture of material from the Danzig era and songs written since the new Misfits formed.

Glenn Danzig era

Formation

In January of 1977, after singing in several garage bands such as Talus and Whodat And Boojang, which he says "mostly played Black Sabbath songs", twenty-one year old Danzig decided it was finally time to create something serious and original. As a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, he named his musical project after her final movie, The Misfits.

For weeks, Danzig wrote songs and practiced with friends and old bandmates, trying to find a suitable lineup of musicians to bring his vision to life. The first complete Misfits lineup consisted of Jimmy Battle on guitar, his old bandmate Manny Martínez (billed simply as "Manny") on drums, Diane DiPiazza on bass, and Danzig on electric piano and vocals. After only about a month of practicing, both Battle and Dipiaza left the band. In need of new members, Manny suggested that his friend, Jerry Caiafa, should audition for bass. Caiafa, a young football player who had been voted most popular in his senior class at Lodi High School, had just received a bass guitar for Christmas and had only been practicing with it for two months. Despite his fledgling bass talents, Danzig accepted him into the band and offered to teach him how to play. After his replacement of Dipiaza, he and Danzig remained the sole permanent members, amid several changes on guitar and especially drums, until the band's dissolution by Danzig nearly seven years later.

After three months of practicing, the trio headed into the studio to record their first single, "Cough/Cool". The single contained two keyboard-driven songs (the B-side was a version of the song, "She") that were quite different from the music they became known for. The title track was somber and poetic, and reminiscent of The Doors. The band released the single themselves through their own label, Blank Records.

Over the next several months, Danzig, Manny, and Caiafa (who had by then adopted the stage name Jerry Only after a misspelling in the Cough/Cool liner notes) played a handful of gigs (their first two at CBGB in New York City) as they continued to practice and forge their own sound. Their experimental art-rock style was met mostly with confusion. {source?}

By October 1977, British punk bands such as The Damned and New York punk bands like The Ramones began to have an influence on the Misfits. They decided to take the band in a more punk direction by adding guitarist Franché Coma and mostly abandoning the keyboards, allowing Danzig to engage in on-stage antics typical of a punk frontman. As 1977 drew to a close, Danzig and Only decided that Manny was too unreliable and asked him to leave the band. He was replaced by Jim Catania, aka "Mr. Jim".

Around this time the Misfits caught their first break. Mercury Records wanted to use the name Blank Records for a subdivision, but Danzig had secured a trademark on the name. Mercury contacted him and offered him thirty hours of free time in a professional studio in exchange for full use of the Blank Records title. Danzig accepted the offer, and in January of 1978 the Misfits headed into a New York studio to record their first full-length album.

Seventeen songs were recorded, featuring a unique combination of their early art-rock material and a more hard-driving direction, akin to the powerful sounds of punk at that time. Excluding the songs "Teenagers from Mars" and "Return of the Fly", Danzig would not draw on B-movies for lyrical inspiration for at least another year, and at this point his lyrics instead portrayed a futuristic dystopia of television saturation, automaton-like submissiveness, and glamorized sex and violence.

Once the album was complete, the band shopped it around to various labels, but none were interested in releasing it. With no labels interested, the Misfits decided to take four tracks from the album and release them as an EP record. In June 1978, Bullet was released on their new label, Plan 9, which Danzig had named after the infamous Ed Wood movie Plan 9 from Outer Space. Aside from these tracks, most of the material remained unreleased for nearly two decades; (in 1997 the complete recording session was released in its original form for the first time as Static Age).

The birth of Horror punk

Around this time, Danzig began to write more songs inspired by low-grade horror and sci-fi movies, and both he and Only began to adopt ghoulish appearances, with Only applying dark makeup around his eyes and Danzig painting bone designs on his clothes. The band started to play more frequently and began to go on small tours in support of the Bullet EP. In October of 1978, during a small tour through Canada, Franché Coma decided he couldn't handle touring and quit the band before the tour was complete. Guitarist Rick Riley stepped in temporarily to fill out guitar duties for the rest of the tour. Mr. Jim wasn't fond of the band's new horror direction, and quit once the tour was over. Within two months, Danzig and Only had recruited two new band members, drummer Joey Image, and guitarist Bobby Steele. Around this time, Only began to comb his hair in what would become the Misfits' signature hairstyle, later dubbed the devilock.

In December of 1978, after less than two months, the new lineup began playing shows together. Over the course of 1979, the Misfits further evolved the horror elements of their music and their imagery, influenced by The Damned, who had recently regrouped in the proto-Goth lineup of the Machine Gun Etiquette album. Danzig adopted a skull mascot for the band from an old poster frrom a 1946 Republic movie serial, The Crimson Ghost. Two more records, the Horror Business EP and the "Night of the Living Dead" single, followed on the Plan 9 label. The Misfits began to establish a small but loyal fan base and decided to start their own fan club, which they called the Fiend Club. Danzig operated the Fiend Club from his mother's basement on Macarthur Ave. in Lodi, where he silk-screened t-shirts, assembled records, mailed out merchandise catalogs, booked gigs, and responded to fan mail, making the Misfits exemplary practitioners of the DIY ethic.

As their popularity slowly began to increase within the underground American punk movement, many people started to consider the Misfits as the American equivalent of The Damned, whose singer, Dave Vanian, adopted the look of a classic vampire and sang in a brooding baritone. On June 26, 1979, the Misfits opened for the Damned at a gig in New York City. Before the show, Only spoke with Vanian about the possibility of the Misfits doing a tour of the UK in support of the Damned.

In November of 1979, the Misfits flew over to England for their tour with the Damned. However, Dave Vanian had not taken Only seriously, and was surprised when he showed up at his front door. Instead of turning the Misfits away, Only tried his best to arrange for them to take part in the tour, but the Misfits weren't happy with the situation. After playing only two gigs, the Misfits dropped off the tour. Their return flight back to America wasn't until late in December, and so the band was forced to kill time in England. Only spent some time with Sid Vicious' mother, whom he had befriended after Vicious' death. On December 2, Danzig and Steele went to see a gig by the Jam in London, where they were harassed by skinheads while standing in line. Danzig broke off a piece of glass and used it to fend off the skinheads while Steele ran to get help. However, when the police arrived, they arrested Steele and Danzig, for what they described as "threatening behavior". In an interview with Revolver in the October 2005 issue, Danzig went into greater detail about the event. He said the police found a knife in his possession and accused him of being a "ripper" that had been stalking the area at the time. The police began to beat him, and Danzig fought back. He claims he did considerable damage to the police before they were finally able to subdue him. He and Steele then spent two nights jailed up in the London district of Brixton, during which time Danzig wrote the lyrics to "London Dungeon".

After the failed European tour, Joey Image decided to leave the band, and later formed the Mary Tyler Whores. Upon their return to America, the Misfits released the Beware EP (inspired by the "Beware" billboards the band repeatedly saw in the UK) and decided to take a short hiatus from the band in order to recover from their bad experience in England. After a four month break, Arthur Googy was recruited as the new drummer. Around this time, Only's younger brother, Doyle, who had been a huge fan of the band since the beginning, started learning to play guitar with help from Danzig and Only. The Misfits began working on a full length album, which they planned to release through Plan 9. In August of 1980, they went into the studio and recorded twelve songs. Only began to persuade Danzig that Doyle would fit into the band much better than Bobby Steele. Doyle began to practice with the band and even entered the studio to record his own guitar tracks for the twelve songs they had recorded. Steele has said that during this time period, Only would purposely neglect to inform him of practices, in order to make Steele look bad. Only denies these accusations. Regardless, in October of 1980, shortly before the band's annual Halloween show, Only informed Steele that he was being replaced by Doyle, who was only sixteen at the time. Bobby Steele went on to form his own punk band a few months later, called The Undead (not the San Francisco band of the same name, also friends of the Misfits). On Halloween of 1980, what many people consider to be the classic Misfits lineup made its debut.

After only playing a few shows with the new lineup, they took a six month break from the band. During this time, instead of releasing the entire album they had recorded, they selected three songs from it and released it as the 3 Hits from Hell EP (in 2002, Caroline Records finally released the entire album, which they called 12 Hits from Hell, but the release was canceled at the last moment at Only and Danzig's request). Throughout the year of 1981, The Misfits continued to go into the studio to record tracks for a full length release, which they planned on calling Walk Among Us. Although they had planned on releasing the full length themselves through Plan 9, they got an unexpected offer from Slash Records to release the album. They accepted the offer and decided to rework the album before releasing it. On Halloween of 1981, The Misfits released the "Halloween" single through Plan 9, which consisted of two more tracks from the shelved full length they had recorded the previous summer.

Sometime in 1981, Danzig wrote the song "Archangel" for The Damned vocalist Dave Vanian to sing with The Misfits backing him. However, due to scheduling conflicts, Dave never recorded vocals for the song and it was set aside until 1983, when Danzig decided to re-record it with his next band, Samhain.

Walk Among Us

In March of 1982, Ruby/Slash Records released Walk Among Us, the first full length Misfits album to be available to the public. Walk Among Us would later be considered by most fans to be the quintessential Misfits album, as well as one of the best punk albums of all time. The band began playing shows again after nearly a year. They started to become notorious for their intense stage presence and brutal live performances. Doyle was a sports athlete like his brother, and shared his linebacker physique, which, coupled with their ghoulish appearance, caused some to view them as two of punk's most intimidating axemen. Between the brothers, Glenn Danzig would bellow out his morbid lyrics while thrashing around on stage or crawling around on the floor, sometimes throwing and receiving punches from the crowd. Danzig was fond of fighting, and enjoyed taunting the crowd, and instigating violence.

Perhaps the most infamously violent Misfits show took place in San Francisco on April 10, 1982. During the show some people in the crowd began to throw cans of beer at the stage. After Doyle was nearly hit in the head with a full beer can, he smashed his guitar over a crowd member's head, instigating a full out riot.

Arthur Googy and Danzig argued often and finally, after a lengthy argument at a McDonald's restaurant, Danzig kicked him out of the Misfits. The Misfits had to cancel their plans to record their next EP, which they had planned on calling Earth A.D..

In need of a drummer, they offered the role to Doyle's friend and classmate, Eerie Von, who had served as an occasional photographer and roadie for The Misfits. Eerie reluctantly turned down the offer because he had already committed to drumming for the local band Rosemary's Babies. Black Flag vocalist, Henry Rollins, who had become great friends with The Misfits during their west coast gigs, informed ex-Black Flag drummer, ROBO, that The Misfits were in need of a drummer. In July of 1982, ROBO flew to the east coast and joined the band.

Doyle graduated High School and began working full time at his father's machine shop with Only. They used their earnings to purchase new instruments (because they tended to smash theirs on a weekly basis), and to fund The Misfits tours, recording sessions, and album pressings. While they provided funding for the band, Danzig would handle the Fiend Club and work on composing new songs. A common misconception is that Danzig only wrote lyrics and sang for The Misfits. Danzig is a multitalented musician, and would often write new songs himself and later teach them to his band mates at practice, where the songs would become fleshed out (practices were usually held in Only's garage on Grove St. in Lodi, which they referred to as "The Pit").

Dissolution

In September of 1982, The Misfits embarked on a large scale tour with their friends, The Necros, opening for them. During the tour, The Misfits stopped by a studio to record the instrumental tracks for the Earth A.D. EP while Danzig slept. On October 17, the band were arrested in New Orleans on the charges of grave-robbing while in search of the burial place of voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau. The Misfits denied the charges, and a witness reportedly attested that they had not even entered the cemetery gates. The band bailed themselves out of jail and skipped court to drive to their next performance in Florida. Upon returning from the tour, The Misfits released an album of live material called Evilive.

During this time Danzig was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with The Misfits, for reasons that are disputed. He began to write songs for a new band project, which he considered calling "Danzig", but instead chose to name "Samhain", after the ancient Celtic holiday which influenced the modern Halloween celebration.

In July of 1983, The Misfits went into the studio to finish working on Earth A.D. They decided to record and add two of their new songs to the album, making it closer to full length status. In order to make it a proper full length album, Danzig decided to record two of the songs he had intended for Samhain: "Bloodfeast" and "Death Comes Ripping". The resulting album was Earth A.D., a gritty, thrashy album which none of the members were quite satisfied with. In August, after a series of arguments with Danzig, ROBO decided to leave the band. Danzig became further disenchanted with The Misfits and began to audition musicians for his new band project.

On October 29, 1983 (see 1983 in music), The Misfits played their yearly Halloween show at Greystone Hall in Detroit, Michigan. Danzig had selected Brian Damage to be the new Misfits drummer. However, Brian got drunk before the show and continuously messed up the songs. After several songs Doyle escorted Brian off the stage and the drummer for the Necros filled in for the rest of the set. The band members were visibly upset with each other and Danzig informed the audience that it would be the last Misfits show ever. The next day the band members drove back home without saying a word to each other and went about their respective lives.

Rumours of a reunion resurfaced again later that year after Danzig and Doyle attended a Misfits murder mystery weekend. However the gathering was remembered more for a run in between Danzig and notorious Inspiral Carpets keyboardist Clint Boon. Boon, a long time fan of the band, got upset when Danzig refused play the part of the butler. As tensions rose, the event ended in farce with Boon chasing Danzig through the house.

Jerry Only era

Legal battle

After the demise of the Misfits, Glenn Danzig focused on his new band project, Samhain, which was darker and more experimental than The Misfits, with more emphasis on creating a grim atmosphere and less on poppy melodies. Meanwhile, Jerry Only and his brother Doyle moved to Vernon, New Jersey, where they went to work full time in their father's machine parts factory.

During this time, Only became more focused on his family and his baby daughter, Kathy. He became more serious about his Christian faith, and regretted some of the things he took part in during his time with the Misfits. He watched as Danzig continued to grow in popularity with Samhain, a band that Only viewed as Satanic. In 1987, Only decided to start a new band, one that would oppose the "dark path" chosen by Danzig. Together with Doyle, Only (who changed his stage name to "Mo the Great") started writing songs for a Christian heavy metal band with barbarian imagery, called Kryst the Conqueror. They then created the "Doyle Fan Club" to help spread the word about their new band. Despite Only's efforts, Kryst the Conqueror failed to gain a following. Although they released one limited edition EP, the band never played live. During this time, Only's younger brother guitarist Paul Caiafa (Doyle) built his first trademark Annihilator guitar.

Also in 1987, Samhain, after touring extensively and releasing two full-length albums and an EP, were signed to a major label and the band's name was changed to Danzig. Although the Misfits had gone mostly unnoticed during their seven years as an active band, by the late 80s, they were becoming icons of the underground music world, thanks in part to word of mouth, Metallica's public adoration for the band, and Danzig's success with Samhain. The Misfits' back catalogue had been reissued and was selling extremely well. Around this time, Only contacted Danzig about getting a cut of the Misfits' royalties, beginning a legal battle that lasted several years. Only concedes that Danzig wrote nearly all the lyrics and most of the music, but he contended that he and Doyle "wrote 25% or maybe 30% of the music,"[1] and deserved compensation. Danzig, on the other hand, insisted that he himself wrote all songs, and that the other Misfits' creative input was minimal at best.

In late 1988, Danzig, the band, released its eponymous debut album, the first release on star producer Rick Rubin's new Def American record label. Seven years later, in 1994 Danzig broke into the mainstream when the live video for its first album song, "Mother", became a hit on MTV, introducing thousands of new fans to Danzig's back catalog, and to his work with Samhain and the Misfits.

Around this time, many older punk bands began to do reunion tours, earning often hefty paychecks in the process. In 1994-95 Jerry Only and Doyle approached Danzig about reuniting as the Misfits, and they even went to his hotel room after a Danzig show in New Jersey. In interviews Only jokingly remarked that security escorted them from the property, and "we took that as a 'no'". Only decided to cease his pursuit of songwriting credits, and instead tried to reach an out-of-court settlement that would allow him to use "the Misfits" name and images. In 1995, Only and Danzig finally settled, with Only gaining the rights to record and perform as the Misfits, but sharing merchandising rights with Danzig.

A new beginning

Only and Doyle reformed The Misfits immediately, retaining Kryst the Conqueror drummer, Dr. C.H.U.D., a school friend of Doyle's, after Danzig rejected their offer to return as lead singer, they held open auditions for a new vocalist (Only had approached Damned vocalist Dave Vanian about filling the open position, but he declined the offer). Michael Emanuel, a nineteen-year-old New Jersey native, impressed them with his audition, and was soon established as the new vocalist, taking the stage name Michale Graves.

This new incarnation of The Misfits released their debut album, American Psycho, in 1997. The album was fairly well received, introducing The Misfits to a new generation of fans. However, many fans of the original Misfits had trouble accepting the band's renewed existence without its founder and key songwriter, Glenn Danzig, who usually refuses to acknowledge the new band's existence, and does so only with derision. Detractors also took issue with the new band's focus on a more "cartoony" image (often referring to them as "The Newfits", "MisfitsTM", "The Jerry Only Band", "The Mishits", "The Shitfits", or "Misfits 95") , and Jerry Only's apparent desire to make the band more family-friendly, by refraining from the use of vulgarities in their new songs.

In May of 1998, Michale Graves went on hiatus from the band. The Misfits were then briefly fronted by lead singer Myke Hideous of the New Jersey goth/deathrock band, The Empire Hideous, during their subsequent South American and European tour. Hideous was purportedly forced out by Only and Doyle for an unwillingness to "pump up" by lifting weights (The Misfits with Graves and Chud were featured as Characters in WCW wrestling), and left the band after the European tour. Hideous recounts details of his stint singing for the Misfits in his book "King of an Empire to the Shoes of a Misfit". Michale Graves rejoined the band later that year.

In October of 1999, The Misfits released Famous Monsters, a diverse album that further established their own sound apart from the Glenn Danzig era of the band. In 2001, The Misfits released Cuts from the Crypt, a collection of rare and unreleased "resurrected" Misfits tracks. On October 25, 2000, after months of internal band turmoil, Michale Graves and Dr. Chud officially quit the band during a performance at the House of Blues in Orlando. Doyle then took an indefinite hiatus from performing, effectively putting an end to another era of the band.

25th anniversary and beyond

Only then took over lead vocals in addition to his bass duties, and recruited punk veterans Dez Cadena of Black Flag, and Marky Ramone of The Ramones to undertake a Misfits 25th Anniversary Tour, which lasted about three years, intermittently.

Freed from the Misfits' contractual obligations to Universal's Geffen and Roadrunner imprints, Only and Misfits confidant John Cafiero formed Misfits Records and launched their new label with two releases, the American debut of Balzac (a Japanese horror punk band strongly influenced by The Misfits and Samhain), and a new Misfits album featuring the band's retakes on ten 1950s rock classics, Project 1950. The album featured not only the punk rock all-star Misfits lineup of Only, Cadena and Ramone, but prominent appearances from 60's pop icon Ronnie Spector, Blondie keyboardist Jimmy Destri, and saxophonist Ed Manion from Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. Cafiero is featured strongly on backing vocals.

During this period, Michale Graves and Dr. Chud had formed their own band, Graves, which released a single album before breaking up. In 2003, Michale Graves sang in Gotham Road. Currently, Graves is fronting his own solo project, Michale Graves, while Dr. Chud is fronting for his own band called Dr. Chud's X-Ward.

During December of 2004, Danzig performed half hour sets of classic Misfits songs during live performances. Doyle played guitar for these sets, accompanying Danzig on stage. It was the first time the two had performed together in more than 20 years. These sets also marked the first public performances by Doyle since his hiatus. These shows prompted rumors of a reunification of the classic Misfits lineup of Only, Doyle, and Danzig. Danzig repeatedly made public statements rebuking such rumors.

Danzig and Doyle continued to play Misfits sets throughout 2005's Blackest of the Black tour and Danzig's 2006 Australian tour. Danzig has stated that these tours are as close as anyone will ever get to a true Misfits reunion. He also declared them his final tours, announcing his intention to retire from touring afterwards. Surprisingly Danzig recently announced a full scale 20 year anniversary tour in North America. In 2007 Danzig "produced" Doyle's new project, Gorgeous Frankenstein.

Marky Ramone's departure from the Misfits saw the return of classic era drummer ROBO to the lineup. A full European tour was booked with the new lineup, and some select dates in the U.S. were announced. The UK leg of the tour had to be canceled due to a problem with ROBO's visa, and as a result the band could not play the City Invasion 2005 tour. A rescheduled UK tour followed in September.

Marky reappeared alongside the new line up of The Misfits in late 2006 while touring as a member of Osaka Popstar.

The Misfits and their Japanese counterparts, Balzac, performed at the Bergen PAC complex in Englewood, N.J., which was shot and recorded for a possible future live CD and/or DVD release on Misfits Records. Original Misfits guitarist Franché Coma made a guest appearance to perform three songs from the Static Age LP.

In 2006 Jerry Only stated The Misfits would write and record a new studio album with Dez Cadena on guitar and ROBO on drums.

Legacy

The influence The Misfits have had on punk rock, and rock music in general, sometimes seems disproportionate to the publicity and critical attention they have received. Myriad bands have embraced The Misfits' style, such as Balzac,Coffin Caddies, and Calabrese and have become known as Horror punk. Psychobilly has various similarities with Horror punk.

A number of bands have recently surfaced which, although in some cases less obviously horror punk, are still strongly visibly and audibly influenced by The Misfits. These include, most notably, bands such as AFI, Alkaline Trio, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Avenged Sevenfold, Wednesday 13 and the Murderdolls. Many musical groups whose resemblance to The Misfits seems far removed also cite the band as crucial influences such as Metallica, Megadeth, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N' Roses, and Marduk. Other bands who hold The Misfits in high regard are Slayer, Pantera, NOFX and more recently Slipknot. Many local New Jersey hardcore, punk, and alternative rock acts such as My Chemical Romance, Electric Frankenstein - who arranged the first new Misfits live show in 1995 at Coney island High in NYC, The Kung Fu Killers, Monster Squad,and The Banner, cite The Misfits as a main influence. In July of 2004 former Misfits drummer Dr. C.H.U.D. performed classic Misfits song Astro Zombies at Club Krome in South Amboy NJ with the band Monster Squad and was even going to record and produce the bands' album until tension arose and the band split. Today 3 out of 6 the members have formed A Midnight Tragedy who is also highly influenced by the Legendary group, occasionally using coffins and horror themed makeup and lighting in their performances. The remaining members went on to form And Then There Were Machines, a pop-punk band also based out of Northern NJ who have played huge festivals in and around NJ and have maked quite an impression on the local pop punk scene. Winnipeg born Breakcore artist Venetian Snares considers the Misfits a huge influence, inspired by the subtle, but frequent use of 3/4 time. These underground 80s punk groups have used the lyrics from many Misfits songs as basis for the lyrics of their own songs.

The Misfits' far reaching influence is also evident in the vast number of fans from all different facets of the music world who follow the band. Wildly popular among Punk rock fans, the band has also received much exposure to the heavy metal community from Metallica's numerous Misfits cover songs. Misfits fans themselves can often be easily discerned, as many completely immerse themselves in the band's imagery. At underground shows, and especially at Halloween, it is not uncommon to see many punks and metalheads dressed in black with Crimson Ghost facepaint and the devilock hairstyle. Black leather jackets, oversized leather boots, as well as gloves and bodysuits printed with the skeletal structure are also common.

The Misfits have greatly influenced the Grenade snowboard apparel company run by the two-time Olympic silver medalist and professional snowboarder Danny Kass, and his brother Matt. The Kass brothers grew up in New Jersey and are long time Fiends. Danny is a good friend of Jerry Only's son and used to skateboard on a halfpipe in the Only's back yard. Numerous Grenade products are Misfit tributes using or drawing from Misfits imagery. In classic Misfits tradition, Grenade allows 'soldiers' to enlist in their 'Army' to receive stickers and other items, following along the lines of the Misfits' Fiend Club. Grenade follows in the vein of DIY mentality displayed by the Misfits and many punk bands, and reflects its influence on snowboarding today.

Misfits posters and shirts have been spotted in numerous films and TV shows, such as Click, Men in Black, Detroit Rock City, Shorties Watchin' Shorties, "Freddy Vs Jason", "This is England", as well as Saved by the Bell and CSI, and most recently, Michael Bay's Transformers.

In March 2005, Producer Marty Munsch recruits infamous James Brown former gold record engineer, Bob Both and a New Jersey Punk outfit, The Flare-Up's to record. As a result of a test demo, Munsch requests that lead singer, Karen Flare, sing a classic style 1940's solo version to a club style techno beat-box. The result is a Misfits cover track, Hollywood Babylon, it was well received publicly. [2]

Recently My Chemical Romance did a cover of the song "Astro Zombies" for the Tony Hawk's American Wasteland videogame. The band Aiden did a cover of "Die, Die My Darling" for the Kerrang! magazine compilation. AFI have covered several Misfits songs, including "Halloween" on All Hallows E.P, "Last Caress" on the vinyl edition of Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes and "Demonomania" on A Fire Inside E.P . Cradle of Filth covered "Death comes Ripping" on their 1999 EP 'From the Cradle to Enslave'. Also Australian band "Me You and the Other Two" cover Halloween at many shows. Also in the Red Hot Chili Peppers video, "Dani California", lead singer Anthony Kiedis represented the Misfits by dressing like Glenn Danzig in a portion of the video. A Green Day side project known as The Network recently did a cover of the song "Teenagers From Mars" which originally appeared on the Misfits album Static Age. The 80s hardcore Punk styled New Jersey band The Kung Fu Killers recorded a cover of "I Turned into a Martian" on their Game of Death EP. Also, the Mexican rock band Molotov did a cover of the song "I turned into a Martian" with the song "Marciano" on their cover album Con Todo Respeto.

Caroline Records released an album titled "Violent World - A Tribute to the Misfits" that paid homage to the band with covers by various punk, hardcore and metal bands. It included the bands: Snapcase, Pennywise, Shades Apart, Tanner, Therapy?, Prong, 108, The Bouncing Souls, Goldfinger, Deadguy, Sick of it All, NOFX, Earth Crisis and Farside.

In 2002, during their Halloween show at the Metro, Alkaline Trio gave away 7" records to attendees. The two tracks featured covers of Halloween and Children in Heat. Derek Grant, the drummer of Alkaline Trio once auditioned to be in the Misfits, but the spot was taken by Michael Graves. Both Derek Grant and Matt Skiba have admitted to being influenced by The Misfits. Derek Grant can often be seen with a devilock.

In 2006 the band Sum 41 recorded a cover of the song "Attitude" for their MySpace and as a B-side for their album 'Underclass Hero'.

In May 2007, a cover song of London Dungeon was released by Throwdown.

Brodie Foster Hubbard has not only performed Misfits songs at his live shows, but fronts a Misfits tribute band called 138 with members of Night Wolf. The title and album cover of his second CD release, Legacy of Sentimentality, was an homage to the Misfits collection Legacy of Brutality. His third CD release, Don't Screw Up Like I Did, concludes with a cover of "Astro Zombies".

In common with the Ramones, The Misfits have had some of their songs covered by The Nutley Brass - on the album The Misfits Meet The Nutley Brass Fiend Club Lounge - in a lounge music style.

In the Lamb of God DVD Killadelphia, D. Randall Blythe, the band's vocalist can be seen wearing Misfits slip-on shoes in one of the hidden features when the band records their commentary.


Claudio Sanchez, Singer, guitarist for Progressive Rock band, Coheed And Cambria first learned guitar to play Misfits songs.

The Kung Fu Killers, a fast becoming popular side project by members of Electric Frankenstein, Christian Death, Pigface, and The Undead, and other bands, have covered Misfits songs live and on record.

The Mars Volta covered the Misfits song "Bullet" during their live set at the Sasquatch Festival in George, Washington. Playing it slowed down and droning as a final song for their raucous live set.

Discography

"Original" Misfits

Studio albums

Live albums

EPs

Singles

Compilations

Bootlegs

Video


"Resurrected" Misfits

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

Videos & Music Videos


"Jerry Only" Misfits (25th anniversary and beyond)

Studio albums

Singles


Tribute albums

title external info
Violent World - A Tribute to the Misfits (1997) Listing at Rolling Stone
From Hell They Came: A Tribute To The Misfits (1998) [1]
Here Come The Dead: A Tribute To The Misfits 2 (1999) [2]
Hell On Earth: A Tribute To The Misfits (2000) Listing at Rolling Stone
Stillborn Monster Babies: A Tribute To The Misfits 3 (2001) [3]
A Tribute To The Misfits (2004) Listing at Amazon
Fiend Club Lounge, The Nutley Brass (2005) Listing at Rolling Stone

Filmography

The Misfits appeared as characters or in cameos in the following movies.

Members

1977 – 1983 (Original)

The original line-up according to Misfits Central[3].

1995 – 2000 (Resurrected)

The 'Resurrected' line-up according to Misfits Central[4]

2001 – Present (25th anniversary and beyond)'

The line-up from the 25th Anniversary to present according to Misfits Central[4]

References

  1. ^ Citizine Interview - Misfits' Jerry Only (Glenn Danzig, Ramones)
  2. ^ Marty Munsch info accessed, punkrockrecords.com 1-2-2007
  3. ^ The Misfits :: MisfitsCentral.com
  4. ^ a b The Misfits :: MisfitsCentral.com

See also

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Misfits (band).

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