Misfits (band)
- For the movie of the same name, see The Misfits (film). A fictional band called Misfits appears in the animated series Jem.
The Misfits were a horror/hardcore punk band formed in Lodi, New Jersey in 1977 and led by singer and songwriter Glenn Danzig (born Glenn Anzalone). The Misfits were the progenitors and creators of the horror punk subgenre of punk rock music, and were highly influential on the genres of heavy metal, punk rock and rock music in general. Though they ceased recording and performing in 1983, a "resurrected" version of the band, without its founder and creative leader Danzig, began operations in 1995 (see below).
Glenn Danzig was very interested in Marilyn Monroe and the rumors surrounding her death, and took the band's name from The Misfits, her last film. The band's early lyrical and graphical focus was on retro (1930s-'50s) science fiction, E.C. comic books, horror films, and B-movies.
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. 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. The song "Last Caress" (a very rare track for years) is now commonly regarded as the epitome of early-Misfits songs, with blaring instruments and Danzig's melodic vocals finding a medium between Elvis Presley and the Sex Pistols.
The first album, Walk Among Us, saw the original Misfits gaining significant national exposure in the college-radio milieu. By the original band's last album, Earth A.D., they had incorporated elements from hardcore punk (evident since 1981 from their live set), with Danzig's standout vocal tone floating over a torrent of thrashing guitar, bass, and drums.
While Danzig lived with his parents in Lodi and was supported by them during the band's early career, Gerald and (as of 1980) Paul Caiafa (who recorded as Jerry Only and Doyle, respectively) helped finance the band by working long shifts at the family lumberyard, later founding a knife factory (Pro-Edge) in rural Vernon Township (which often employed later members such as ROBO, a citizen of Colombia). The Misfits seldom mixed with other New Jersey punk bands, creating their own small scene locally, while holding early acclaim in New York and expanding it nationally, largely thanks to mailing lists and other networking, including their once-small, later-considerable 'Fiend Club' fan club.
After several lineup changes, Danzig disbanded the original Misfits in 1983, having released several 7" singles and 12" records, many of which were DIY limited-editions hand-assembled by Danzig himself. For this reason, and their general scarcity, these have long been considered prime collectors' items. Epigones from Lodi, New Jersey, include the bands Mourning Noise and Rosemary's Babies, both of whom released records, and featured members who worked with Danzig in his later projects.
The band often wore ghoulish makeup 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 today.
A "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. When the band originally reformed, it featured Michale Graves on vocals, Jerry on bass, Dr. Chud 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 (2005). Doyle recently reunited with Glenn Danzig's band Danzig to perform special sets of Misfits songs on Danzig's 2005 tour.
History
The beginning
In January of 1977, after singing in several garage bands such as Talus and 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.
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 Martínez 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, entitled Cough/Cool. The single contained two keyboard-driven art rock songs which were quite different from the music for which the Misfits would later become known. The title track was somber and poetic, and very reminiscent of The Doors. The band released the single themselves through their own label, Blank Records, and it remains one of the rarest and most valuable items in the bands's entire catalogue.
Over the next several months, Glenn, Manny, and Jerry (who had adopted the stage name Jerry Only) 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 Franché Coma to the band and ditching the keyboards, allowing Danzig to engage in antics typical of a punk frontman. Their sound, as evinced on the album Static Age, was one of the most crisp, melodic, and powerful sounds in punk at that time. 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, or "Mr. Jim", who had played in a previous band with Glenn.
At this time The Misfits caught their first big break. Mercury Records wanted to use the name Blank Records for a subdivision, but Glenn Danzig had a head for business and 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. Glenn accepted the offer and in January of 1978, The Misfits headed into the 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 the hard driving punk direction they had begun to adopt. Once the album was complete, the band shopped it around to various labels but no one was interested in releasing it. The album was shelved, and would remain unreleased in its entirety until 1995, when it was finally released as the Static Age CD. With no one interested in their album, The Misfits decided to take four tracks from it and release it themselves 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.
The birth of horror punk
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, 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 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, effectively creating a new genre of music that would come to be known as Horror punk. Glenn and Jerry adopted a skull mascot for the band from an old poster they'd come across for a 1946 serial called The Crimson Ghost. The Misfits released two more records 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 to be the American equivalent of the British punk rock band, The Damned, whose singer, Dave Vanian, adopted the look of a classic vampire and sang in a brooding baritone. In June 26th, 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 2nd, 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 Magazine 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 through Plan 9 Records 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". 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 had planned to finally release the entire album, which they called 12 Hits From Hell, but the release was cancelled 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.
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 punks 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 10th, 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 Arthur was kicked out of the band. After a lengthy arguement, 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 occassional 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.").
Decaying
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 was 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./Wolfsblood, a gritty, thrashy album of hardcore punk rock, 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 29th, 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 City Gardens in Trenton, NJ, in November, 1983, when the band showed up unexpectedly with their equipment and played an abbreviated set.
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, NJ, 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 evil and 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 80's, 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.
The resurrected Misfits
Jerry and Doyle reformed The Misfits immediately, retaining Kryst the Conqueror drummer, Dr. C.H.U.D., and holding open auditions for a new vocalist (Jerry had approached Damned vocalist Dave Vanain about filling the open position, but Dave denied 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", 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. These issues became hotly debated amongst fans of the Misfits, resulting in many choosing sides between Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only. The fact that both Danzig and Only repeatedly criticized each other in interviews served to further divide the fan base.
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.
25th anniversary and beyond
Jerry 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 1950's 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 Ronnie Spector and Blondie keyboardist Jimmy Destri.
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.
On February 28th, March 1st and March 2nd 2005, 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 rumours 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.
Recently, Marky Ramone has left The Misfits 25 lineup, and the new lineup contains none other than 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 cancelled 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.
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 Franché 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 AD".
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, 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, Tiger Army, 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, 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, and emo bands, 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.
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, and Saved by the Bell.
Recently emo band 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. 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.
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."
Discography
"Original" Misfits
Studio albums
- Static Age (1978, unreleased until 1997)
- Walk Among Us (1982)
- Earth A.D. (1983)
- Misfits (1986)
- 12 Hits From Hell (2001, cancelled)
Live albums
- Evilive (1982)
EPs
- Bullet (1978)
- Horror Business (1979)
- Night of the Living Dead (1979)
- 3 Hits from Hell (1981)
- Die, Die My Darling (1984)
Singles
- Cough/Cool (1977)
- Halloween (1981)
Compilations
- Beware (1980)
- Legacy of Brutality (1985)
- Collection I (1986)
- Collection II (1995)
- Box Set (1996)
"Resurrected" Misfits
Studio Albums
- American Psycho (1997)
- Famous Monsters (1999)
- Project 1950 (2003)
- untitled studio album (2006/2007)
Live Albums
- Evilive II (1998)
Singles
- Dig Up Her Bones (1997)
- The Day the Earth Caught Fire (2002)
- Monster Mash (2003)
- Psycho in the Wax Museum (2006)
Compilations
- Cuts from the Crypt (2001)
Filmography
The Misfits appeared as characters or in cameos in the following movies.
- Animal Room (1995), as The Misfits
- Bruiser (2000), uncredited
- Big Money Hustlas (2000), as Misfits 1-4 (individually credited)
- Campfire Stories (2001), as The Misfits
Members
The (Original) Misfits
- Glenn Danzig − lead vocals (1977-1983), keyboards (1977)
- Diane DiPiazza - bass (1977)
- Jerry Only - bass (1977-1983)
- Jimmy Battle − guitar (1977)
- Franché Coma - guitar (1977-1978)
- Rick Riley - guitar (1978, not an official member, played for a couple of shows)
- Bobby Steele - guitar (1978-1980)
- Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein − guitar (1980-1983)
- Manny Martínez − drums (1977-1978)
- Mr. Jim − drums (1978)
- Joey Image - drums (1978-1980)
- Arthur Googy - drums (1980-1982)
- ROBO − drums (1982-1983)
- Brain Damage - drums (1983)
- Matt Kennedy-drums(played in 2 shows)
The (Resurrected) Misfits
- Jerry Only − bass (1995-present)
- Michale Graves - lead vocals (1995-2000)
- Myke Hideous - lead vocals (1998, South American and European Tour)
- Zoli Teglas - lead vocals (2000, Various tour dates in 2000)
- Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein − guitar (1995-2000)
- Dr. Chud - drums (1995-2000)
25th Anniversary and Beyond
- Jerry Only − bass/lead vocals (2000-present)
- Dez Cadena − guitar (2001-present)
- Marky Ramone − drums (2000-2005)
- ROBO − drums (2001-2002, 2005-present)