The Misfits!

Cafe Society
1

Any fans of the Misfits on the boards? I was poking through some old vinyl records and got nostalgic at the sight of the old Misfits platters, both legit and bootleg, that I spent many years and many dollars.

Like a lot of people, I got seriously interested in them in the late 80’s after hearing Metallica cover their songs on the *Garage Days Re-revisited * EP. I immediately went to the record store and purchased everything available, which at the time wasn’t much and hardly a good representation of the band…Legacy Of Brutality , a posthumus LP of unreleased songs that had been badly re-recorded and remixed by Glenn Danzig, Evilive , a horrible live album, and *Earth A.D. *, the band’s swan song foray into high-decibel thrash-metal that still puzzles many fans to this day.

At the time, their definitive album Walk Among Us was out of print and their Collection release was CD only, which didn’t help much, since I didn’t have a CD player. I had to wait for the re-issue of WAU and the birthday gift of a CD player to add these two releases.

The fun (and annoyance) of being a Misfits fan was due to the elusive and mysterious nature of their discography. The original 7-inch vinyl releases from the band were astronomically priced collector’s items. The available releases didn’t cover all of their songs, and finding bootlegs that contained these missing gaps could be a bit of a chore in the pre-Internet days. I remember paying upwards of 30 dollars for bootleg vinyl of live recordings simply to get crappy live tracks of “Children In Heat” and “Last Caress”. Exacerbating this was the wearying fact that the Misfits are probably the most bootlegged punk band of all time, with the same recordings showing up under different titles, and for years their merchandise (T-shirts, stickers, posters, etc.) was completely unauthorized due to legal disputes between the members.

All of this had sort of a quasi-illicit feel to being a fan, since pretty much anything you bought was technically illegal. Plus, next to nothing was known about the band members (except for Glenn Danzig) or the history of the group, which led to the mystique. If you haunted record conventions (like I did) you’d occasionally see a impossibly rare 45 vinyl that went for hundreds of dollars.

The reformation of the band in 1995 after a 13 year hiatus was a major event for a long-time fan like myself, and the first concerts with the new members were pretty exciting. (I got so drunk at the first show I went to that I busted my head open somehow and bled all over myself without even realizing it). The band put out a decent new album, American Psycho , and attracted a new generation of fans, many of which thought the Misfits were a new band. Alas, the band got involved with WCW wrestling and put out a lame follow-up album. Then the two new members quit the band, along with the original guitarist, leaving only the bass player, Jerry Only.

Only proceeded to grab Marky Ramone and former Black Flag guitarist/vocalist Dez Cadena and stitched together a lame-assed tribute band that plays Misfits, Black Flag, and Ramones songs, still using the now-questionable Misfits moniker. I couldn’t be less interested in the band now.

But I still like listening to the older albums, and sure wish I could have seen them in their original heydey.

2

At a film festival last year I saw a movie called “Fans and Freaks,” which was a documentary about science fiction and fantasy conventions and the people who frequent them. Great movie, if you ever get a chance to see it.

Anyway, there was a sequence shot at Dragon Con where Only and one of the other members of the band wrestled the Sexecutioner from Gwar. It was worth the price of admission, let me tell you.

3

Well, I’m not as much of a fan as you from that OP, but I’ve always loved their stuff and I treasure the boxset! :slight_smile:

4

I was expecting a thread on the horrid filmy dreck from the the 50’s starring M Monroe and C Gable. Filmed on the very dry lake bed I live on now…

Overheard at the Shakespear festival: “This play is stupid. No-one would ever mistake that woman for a young boy. Look at the boobs on her!”

5

I think they rock. I’ve got Walk Among Us, Collection II, American Psycho, and Famous Monsters. FM is not too good but the rest are great. ‘Real Misfits Fans’ seem to hate American Psycho but if you don’t believe ‘only Danzig is Misfits’ it s a pretty great disk.

FTR is is really great to listen to the Misfits at work using headphones and sing along…

“Prime directive… extermine the whole human race…”

6

Just started listening to them a few months ago, after hearing (like the OP) Metallica’s covers of their stuff.

Since I’ve got burned copies of their albums, I still have that “quasi-illicit feel.” And, having so recently joined the fan base, I still know next to nothing about the band members or the history of the group. Just like the good ol’ days, eh?

7

I will forever associate Hollywood Babylon with high school.

8

Ahhhhh…I still remember the first time I heard Mommy, can I go out and kill tonight?

9

Call what Jerry is doing now lame as an extension of the Misfits all you want , but how can a band consisting of the original bass player from the Misfits, a guy who joined the ramones in 1978 (at least I think that’s the year) and a guy who sang for Black Flag before Henry Rollins joined the band be considered uninteresting? That’s a travelling history lesson in the roots of punk rock. Besides, I don’t think there is anybody out there who cares about the fans as much as Jerry Only does. Name me one other band that comes out after EVERY show and signs autographs until everyone who want one has it or the venue makes everybody leave. That’s not counting that when they get out to the Winnie afterwards, they talk to the fans and even invite them onboard. Hell, Danzig won’t even sign Misfits items anymore. Nor bootleg ones, either. Jerry, Marky and Dez will sign anything and everything. Simply put, Glenn doesn’t care about what his fans want. The fact that he hasn’t played even one show with the band proves that.
Keith, you’re right about Famous Monsters, though. That was pretty lame. As was the last album Glenn ever did with the band, Earth AD. That should have been called Samhain, Part 1. That’s why he quit. He wanted to keep moving in that direction and the rest of the band wanted to stay true to their original roots.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh the Misfits. I could go on about them for long periods of time. So many interesting stories, so little time.

10

All-time greatest birthday present? A friend in New Orleans gave me one of the later 12" bootlegs of “Beware.” Hey, I know it wasn’t one of the original pressings, but it still had a big, clear, beautiful version of “Last Caress,” which I’d been lusting after for years. It’s still one of my prize belongings.

For a while there, I was among a group of Dopers who had “We were 138!” as a sig in tribute.

11

I remember in grade school high a good friend of mine used to come over and play Misfits tapes for me while I played Challenge of the Ancient Empires. I will forever associate the two.

12

For some Reason I am reminded of Jem and the holograms…

13

Legacy of Brutality is my favorite.
I don’t have the money for the boxed set though.
I can’t be bothered with Misfits without Glenn Danzig.

14

Heh heh. I usually listen to the Misfits at this time of year when it starts feeling spring-like. I’m one of those Glenn Danzig only fans. I don’t even think I’ve heard any non-Glenn Misfits.

15

Rats. I was hoping this would be about The Misfits of Science.

16

o/" it’s a missile girl with a long white face, a missile girl… well Nike is her name you remember it Oh OH OH Oh Deadlier than any girl on any world Oh OH OH OH Nike be good be everything… Go go go go "\o

… Love the Misfits… good memories there.

17

…I know when you’re home…
The misfits rock, and I like them just as much now as with Danzig. And you’re right - they seem to care about the fans more than just about anybody else.

I never managed to see them play a show while I was in Jersey, but just about everybody who was ever in that band lived (and probably still lives) in Lodi, NJ. They were practically my neighbors, and there have been so many faces in that band that they probably make up the half of Lodi that isn’t in the mob. :smiley:

18

…I know when you’re home…
The misfits rock, and I like them just as much now as with Danzig. And you’re right - they seem to care about the fans more than just about anybody else.

I never managed to see them play a show while I was in Jersey, but just about everybody who was ever in that band lived (and probably still lives) in Lodi, NJ. They were practically my neighbors, and there have been so many faces in that band that they probably make up the half of Lodi that isn’t in the mob. :smiley:

19

…I know when you’re home…
The misfits rock, and I like them just as much now as with Danzig. And you’re right - they seem to care about the fans more than just about anybody else.

I never managed to see them play a show while I was in Jersey, but just about everybody who was ever in that band lived (and probably still lives) in Lodi, NJ. They were practically my neighbors, and there have been so many faces in that band that they probably make up the half of Lodi that isn’t in the mob. :smiley:

20

Well, I certainly respect Jerry Only, because he does know how to communicate with his fans. I’ve met him myself a few times, and he’s not only willing but eager to engage fans, and will field questions all day and give out quite a bit of free merchandise. I certainly don’t agree with the direction he’s taken the band, however. They lost a lot of long-time fans with the WCW thing.

I do think the M25 line-up is uninteresting, however, cause they’re strictly a nostalgia act…they play nothing but old songs, and apparently have no intentions of writing and releasing new material. Their upcoming release “Misfits 1950” is a album of 50’s cover songs.

Now, a lot of people didn’t like American Psycho or Famous Monsters , but like or not, you have to respect the fact that they came back as a viable unit with new material, and didn’t just rehash the old stuff like a lot of re-united bands usually do. But M25 seems to be doing just that…rehashing.

It would be a bit more interesting if they had some original members making guest appearances, like Bobby Steele, Arthur Googy, Joey Image, or Franche Coma. They have all expressed interest in doing a few shows, but have never been invited to.