Questions
Who started the Misfits and when?
Glenn Danzig formed the Misfits in February 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey. Bassist Jerry Only (Jerry Caiafa) joined shortly after and became the one constant member across the band’s history.
Where did the band name come from?
It was taken from The Misfits (1961), the final completed film of actress Marilyn Monroe.
What is the story behind the skull logo?
The Fiend Skull comes from the 1946 film serial The Crimson Ghost. Danzig adopted the skeletal character’s face for the band’s 1979 Horror Business single, and it became their signature image.
What genre did the Misfits basically invent?
They pioneered horror punk, blending punk rock with horror film themes and B-movie imagery, mixed with heavy metal and 1950s rock and roll influences.
What is that hairstyle the band is known for?
It is called the devilock, with short sides and back and a long front combed forward. Jerry Only created it, and Danzig’s version reportedly grew out of imitating Eddie Munster’s hair.
What was the band’s first single?
They recorded Cough/Cool in May 1977 and released it that August on their own label, Blank Records.
How did the original band break up?
Their final show was October 29, 1983, at Greystone Hall in Detroit. The new drummer reportedly got too drunk to play, a fill-in stepped in, tensions boiled over, and Danzig announced onstage it would be the band’s last show.
Was Danzig already planning to leave before that show?
Reportedly yes. Danzig had grown dissatisfied and had begun writing for a new project, and in June 1983 he reportedly told Henry Rollins he planned to quit the group.
What did Glenn Danzig do after the Misfits?
He launched the band Samhain, moving toward experimental heavy metal, then in 1986 signed to a major label, changed much of the lineup, and renamed the group Danzig.
What did Jerry Only and Doyle do during the years the band was gone?
They moved to Vernon, New Jersey to work full-time at their father’s machine parts factory during the hiatus.
How did singer Michale Graves join for the 1990s lineup?
A recording studio owner suggested the nineteen year old audition. Being unfamiliar with the band, he reportedly learned the songs on a walkman while working his job as a greenskeeper.
Was there a legal fight over the band’s name?
Yes. After the 1983 breakup, disputes over material, songwriting credits, and name rights led to years of litigation, settled out of court in 1995 to let Only and Doyle record and perform as the Misfits while sharing merchandising rights with Danzig.
Which famous bands have covered Misfits songs?
Metallica covered Last Caress and Green Hell on their 1987 Garage Days Re-Revisited EP, and Guns N’ Roses covered Attitude on The Spaghetti Incident? in 1993.
Did the original members ever reunite?
Yes. After 33 years, Danzig, Only, and Doyle reunited in September 2016 at Riot Fest in Chicago and Denver as The Original Misfits, with drummer Dave Lombardo.
What was the Fiend Club?
It was the band’s fan club, which Danzig ran do-it-yourself from his mother’s basement in Lodi, silkscreening shirts, assembling records, mailing catalogs, booking shows, and answering fan mail.
