49063: Jun 18, 2008

49063

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

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MISFITS @ The Crest Theater - Sacramento, CA 1999..one should not drink too much coffee prior to filming without a tripod. http://misfits.com The Misfits are a horror punk band formed in 1977 and led by singer and songwriter Glenn Danzig (born Glenn Anzalone) and later, bassist Jerry Only (born Gerald Caiafa). They were highly influential on the genres of heavy metal, punk and rock music in general. Though they ceased recording and performing in 1983, a new version of the band (led by Only and without founder and former frontman Danzig) began operations in 1995 (see below).

The early Misfits were often quite melodic, featuring Danzig's versatile singing, which had a style rooted in Italian tenors such as Mario Lanza and in 1950s doo-wop. Musically, the band has also displayed some Rockabilly influences (but not as much as Psychobilly bands). Early Misfits songs tended to have catchy, sing-along choruses, initially backed by Danzig's distorted keyboard accompaniments (circa 1977), and later by willfully crude guitar-rock. The band began as a largely untrained ensemble. 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.

When the band originally reformed, it featured Michale Graves on vocals, Jerry Only on bass, Dr. Chud (Cannibalistic Human Underground Drummer) on drums, and Jerry's brother Doyle on guitar. Doyle is currently estranged from the group and is working with a new group named Gorgeous Frankenstein, which formed in 2005. Doyle recently reunited with Glenn Danzig's band Danzig to perform special sets of Misfits songs on Danzig's Blackest of the Black 2005 and 2006 tour.

A third, "touring" incarnation of the band, without original singer Danzig, 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. http://myspace.com/themisfits History

The history of the Misfits can be split into two main eras. The first era marks the foundation of the group, founded and fronted by Glenn Danzig. The second era saw former members of the band with various new vocalists playing a mixture of new and old material.

[edit] Glenn Danzig era

[edit] Formation

In January of 1977, after singing in several garage bands such as Talus,Whodat and Boojang that mostly played Black Sabbath songs, twenty-one year old Glenn 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.
The Misfits, circa 1977.
The Misfits, circa 1977.

For weeks, Glenn wrote songs and practiced with friends and old band mates, 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 band mate Manny Martnez on drums, Diane DiPiazza on bass, and Danzig on electric piano and vocals. However, after only about a month of practicing, both Jimmy and Diane left the band. In need of new band mates, Manny suggested that his friend, Jerry Caiafa, should audition for bass. Jerry, 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 Jerry's fledgling bass talents, Glenn accepted him into the band and offered to teach him how to play.

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, Glenn, Manny, and Jerry (who had adopted the stage name Jerry Only after a misspelling on the single 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.

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 Franch Coma to the band and ditching the keyboards, allowing Danzig to engage in antics typical of a punk frontman.

At this time The Misfits caught their first big break. Mercury Records wanted to use the name Blank Records for a subdivision, but Danzig had secured a trademark on the name. They contacted Glenn 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 hard driving direction, akin to the powerful sounds of punk at that time. Excluding the songs "Teenagers from Mars" and "Return of the Fly", they wouldn't draw on B-movies for lyrical inspiration for at least another year, and at this point their lyrics instead portrayed a futuristic dystopia of television saturation, automaton-like submissiveness, and glamorized sex and violence. As 1977 drew to a close, Glenn and Jerry decided that Manny was too unreliable and asked him to leave the band. He was replaced by Jim Catania, aka "Mr. Jim".

Once the album was complete, the band shopped it around to various labels but no one was interested in releasing it (it would later see the light of day in 1997 as Static Age). The album was shelved and would remain (for the current time) unreleased. With no labels interested, the Misfits decided to take four tracks from the album and release them as an EP. In June 1978, the Bullet EP was released on their new label, Plan 9, which Danzig had named after the infamous Ed Wood movie Plan 9 from Outer Space.

[edit] The birth of horror punk
The Misfits, circa 1979.
The Misfits, circa 1979.

Around this time, both Glenn and Jerry decided they wanted to take the band in a more horror-themed direction. Glenn began to write more songs inspired by low-grade horror and sci-fi movies, and both he and Jerry began to adopt ghoulish appearances, with Jerry applying dark makeup around his eyes and Glenn 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, Franch 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 horror direction the band was heading in, and opted to leave the band once the tour was over. Within two months, Glenn and Jerry had recruited two new band members, drummer Joey Image, and guitarist Bobby Steele. Around this time, Jerry Only began to comb his hair in The Misfits signature hair style, which would later be dubbed the devilock.

In December of 1978, after less than two months, the new Misfits 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. Glenn and Jerry adopted a skull mascot for the band from an old poster they'd come across for a 1946 Republic movie serial, The Crimson Ghost (aka Cyclotrode X). Two more records followed on their Plan 9 label, the Horror Business EP and the "Night of the Living Dead" single, respectively. They began to establish a small but loyal fan base and decided to start their own fan club, which they called the Fiend Club. Glenn operated the Fiend Club from his mother's basement, where he would print out t-shirts, assemble records, mail out merchandise catalogs, book gigs, and respond 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, Jerry spoke with Dave 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 Jerry seriously and was surprised when Jerry showed up at his front door. Instead of turning The Misfits away, Dave 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 Misfits were forced to kill time in England. Jerry spent some time with Sid Vicious' mother, who he had befriended after Sid's death. On December 2, Glenn and Bobby went to see a gig by The Jam in London, where they were harassed by skinheads while standing in line. Glenn broke off a piece of glass and used it to fend off the skinheads while Bobby ran to get help. However, when the cops arrived, they arrested Bobby and Glenn, for what they described as "threatening behavior". In an interview with Revolver in the October 2005 issue, Glenn went into greater detail about the event. He said the police found a knife in his possession and accused Glenn of being a "ripper" that had been stalking the area at the time. The police began to beat him, and Glenn fought back. He claims he did considerable damage to the police before they were finally able to subdue him. Glenn and Bobby then spent two nights jailed up in the London district of Brixton, during which time Glenn wrote the lyrics to the future Misfits song, "London Dungeon".

After the failed European tour, Joey Image decided to leave the band, and later formed the band The Mary Tyler Whores. Upon their return to America, The Misfits released the Beware EP 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, Jerry's younger brother, Doyle, who had been a huge fan of the band since the beginning, started learning to play guitar with help from Glenn and Jerry. 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. Jerry began to persuade Glenn 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. Bobby has said that during this time period, Jerry would purposely neglect to inform him of practices, in order to make Bobby look bad. Jerry denies these accusations. Regardless, in October of 1980, shortly before the band's annual Halloween show, Jerry informed Bobby 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 Jerry and Glenn'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, Glenn 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 Glenn decided to re-record it with his next band, Samhain. http://onethirtyeight.com Walk Among Us
Walk Among Us.
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. Despite Glenn's smaller stature at about 5'5", he 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, 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 Jerry. 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, Glenn would handle the Fiend Club and work on composing new songs. A common misconception is that Glenn only wrote lyrics and sang for The Misfits. Glenn 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 Jerry's garage, which they referred to as "The Pit").

[edit] 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 Glenn 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 Glenn 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, Glenn 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 Glenn, ROBO decided to leave the band. Glenn 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 in Detroit, Michigan. Glenn 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 Glenn 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.

The last show of the original Misfits was at Greystone Hall, Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday, October 29th,1983, when the band showed up and played one of their longest sets (about 30 songs). This show was filmed.[citation needed]

[edit] Jerry Only era

[edit] 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.

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.

[edit] A new beginning

Jerry and Doyle reformed The Misfits immediately, retaining Kryst the Conqueror drummer, Dr. C.H.U.D., and after Danzig rejected their offer to return as lead singer, they held open auditions for a new vocalist (Jerry 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 (sometimes referred to as "The Newfits", "MisfitsTM", "The Jerry Only Band", or "Misfits 95") 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, 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 Jerry 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.

[edit] 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 chanteuse Brendan Passey, Blondie keyboardist Jimmy Destri and also saxophonist Ed Manion from Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. Cafiero also featured strongly on backing vocals.

Meanwhile 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.

In December of 2004 Glenn Danzig performed a half hour worth of classic Misfits tracks, in the middle of his Danzig set. Joining him on guitar was none other than Doyle. It was the first time the two have performed together in 20 years, and the first time Doyle has taken to the stage since he went on hiatus. These shows have prompted rumors of a reunification of Jerry, Doyle and Glenn, although Danzig has repeatedly made public statements shooting down such rumors. Glenn and Doyle plan on performing more shows together, and Glenn has stated that this is as close as anyone will ever get to seeing a true Misfits reunion. Doyle and Danzig also performed together for approximately 30 minute sets during The 2006 Danzig Australian Tour.

Recently, Marky Ramone has left The Misfits 25 lineup, and the new lineup contains ROBO, formerly of the Glenn Danzig days of the Misfits, and originally of seminal hardcore punk band Black Flag. A full European tour has been booked with this new lineup, and some select dates in the U.S. have been 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 appeared 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, staged a show at Tony Bennett's studio complex in Englewood, N.J., for a possible future live CD and/or DVD release on Misfits Records. Original Misfits guitarist Franch Coma made a guest appearance to perform three songs from the Static Age LP. Meanwhile, Doyle returned to play with Danzig for the Blackest of the Black tour in the fall of 2005. Glenn claims that this will be his final tour, though he says he will continue to make music. He is currently slated as the producer for Doyle's upcoming band, Gorgeous Frankenstein, which currently lacks a lead vocalist, but will feature Argyle Goolsby on bass.

The Misfits are currently writing and recording material for a new studio album which they began work on in early 2006. The album will apparently feature Dez Cadena on guitar and ROBO on drums. They have yet to say whether Dez will contribute to songwriting and singing. The material planned for the new release, according to the band, is intended to be "the hardest, most aggressive Misfits material to see the pressing plant since Earth A.D.".

[edit] 30th "Anniverscary"

The Misfits will perform at the Desensitised festival on 8th September 2007. They will be one of four headline acts. http://www.myspace.com/desensitisedfe... is the website for tickets

The band will then perform a full UK tour to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Special guests are The Briefs.

It has been loosely confirmed that Michale Graves and Doyle will be returning for the 2007/2008 studio album. Dez Cadena has stated that two guitars will be featured on the new album, thus implying Doyle will be playing on the new album, although no real concrete evidence exists to back up this claim. Jerry Only has not yet commented on the status of the album.

As of June 25th, the new Misfits website has been launched, giving a list of tour dates, and confirming a US tour this fall, with dates to be added.

[edit] 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 imitated The Misfits' style, such as Balzac, Blitzkid, The Coffin Caddies, The Bathory Boys, The Zombie Mafia, and Calabrese, and these bands 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, and Guns N' Roses. Other bands who hold The Misfits in high regard are Slayer, Pantera, NOFX and more recently, Slipknot. Many local New Jersey hardcore, punk, emo and alternative rock acts such as My Chemical Romance and The Banner, cite The Misfits as a main influence. Winnipeg born Breakcore artist Venetian Snares considers the Misfits a huge influence, inspired by the subtle, but frequent use of 3/4 time. Also New Jersey based bands Northfall Division and Royal Stigma cite The Misfits as a major influence. 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, as well as Saved by the Bell and CSI.

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 . 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 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. The Texas Chainsaw Mascara covered "Halloween" for their MySpace in celebration of the holiday in 2006.

Caroline Records released an album titled "Violent World - A Tribute to the Misfits" that payed 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 on them were 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.

The 2002 release by NOFX, "45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough for our Other Records" features a cover of "Last Caress" that originally appeared on the Violent World Tribute.

In 2006 the band Sum 41 recorded a cover of the song "Attitude" for their MySpace and as a B-side for their new album expected to be released in early 2007.

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.

[edit] Discography

[edit] "Original" Misfits

[edit] Studio albums * Walk Among Us (1982) * Earth A.D. (1983) * Static Age (1997, recorded in 1978) * 12 Hits From Hell (2001, recorded in 1980, not properly released)

[edit] Live albums * Evilive (1982)

[edit] EP's * Bullet (1978) * Horror Business (1979) * Night of the Living Dead (1979) * 3 Hits from Hell (1981) * Die, Die My Darling (1984)

[edit] Singles * Cough/Cool (1977) * Teenagers From Mars (1978) * Halloween (1981) * Who Killed Marilyn? (1981)

[edit] Compilations * Beware EP (1980) * Legacy of Brutality (1985) * Collection I (1986) * Collection II (1995) * Box Set (1996)

[edit] "Resurrected" Misfits

[edit] Studio albums * American Psycho (1997) * Famous Monsters (1999) * Project 1950 (2003) * Untitled Misfits Album (2007/2008)

[edit] Live albums * Evilive II (1998)

[edit] Singles * Dig Up Her Bones (1997) * The Day the Earth Caught Fire (2002) * Monster Mash (1999) * Psycho in the Wax Museum (2006) * Scream! (1999)

[edit] Compilations * Cuts from the Crypt (2001)