After
forming in 1977, releasing a string of underground singles and
hits, and breaking up in 1983, the Misfits were pronounced "dead."
Only, his guitarist brother-- the other member from the Misfits
of old-- Doyle (Wolfgang Von Frankenstein), new-comers Michale
Graves (vocals) and Dr. Chud (drums), had to "let a lot of
things go" when it came to putting the Misfits back together.
Among such sacrifices offered by Doyle and company after winning
a protracted nine-year legal battle with former lead singer Glenn
Danzig for the rights to the Misfits' name, was the publishing
rights to their previous releases.
"We let that go to get rid of him (Danzig) and move on,"
said Only.
So,
after all the trouble Danzig stirred, it took an incredible act
of nobility on Only's part to try and give fans what they had
longed for...
Of course, reuniting the two true originals-- albeit an attempt
devoid of bursting enthusiasm-- ended only as an inevitable act
of humility.
"I just said, 'I don't wanna play with him, but I'll do it
for you guys (the fans).' (Laughs). So, we went to see Glenn in
his hotel and he basically had us thrown out by security. So,
we took that as a 'no.' But, at the same time, that's good, because
when anybody gives me bullshit about Glenn, they catch my wrath
because I asked."
Known to sometimes perform over 50 songs per night, the band apparently
still had their energy when spotted in July 1996 by Geffen A&R
rep Michael Alago, who, interestingly enough, hired the Misfits
for his first show as the booking agent for The Ritz in New York
City in 1983.
Only explained, "We had such a tremendous show (at the Milwaukee
Metal Fest) Michael said, 'Man, this is great. Do you have this
kind of intensity every night?' I said, 'Yeah, pretty much. The
hard part is going to bed.' He said, 'Look, I'm working with Geffen
now,' and wanted to sign us."
As if explaining to Alago the cornerstone of do-it-yourself fundamentals,
Only warned, "I can't get into a pissing contest with Geffen
where they're gonna take my concept and fluff it up and ruin it
on me.' He said, 'Well, they'll do whatever you want."
The magic words were spoken.
"If Geffen does what I want," said Only, "what's
the difference what label I'm on? For example, they made bubblegum
cards for me. People say, 'Have you succeeded?' I say, 'Check
out my cards.' (Laughs) Not even, 'Listen to my CD'-- fuck my
CD! (Laughs) How stupid is that? At the same time, that's what
they did for me and I appreciate that."
Only continued, "I had planned to go indie and do my own
thing, but even though we were out there busting our ass touring
all last summer long, we only made about $2,500 each. My bills
at home were double that, so I came back to the realization that
I have a great new band, I just did my U.S. tour and it was time
to go make the album."
And what better time, considering the Misfits had already written
several songs earlier in the year. "I refused to have our
band play without having any new material because that would make
me like an oldies act like the Sex Pistols or any of those fuckin'
jerks that came back," said Only matter-of-factly.
Only
said the Misfits' fan base surprisingly centers around a supportive
base of kids in their late teens-- like it did in the late '70s
and early '80s before those kids grew up.
"I'll be honest with ya', it's like seven-to-one where they're
all new kids. That's more of the direction we should be going
instead of talking about something that happened when I was in
high school. A lot of people listen to our new stuff and they
don't get it. That's understandable. But, I gave you 18 songs
that rock, so if you don't get it, you're not gonna get it."
(Laughs)
"The
problem with a lot of music is that it's very political or it's
very social-oriented. You remember Russia, right?" he said,
for example. "At one time, Russia was a big problem. It doesn't
even exist today. So, what about all those songs about Russia?
Who really gives a shit about that? (Laughs). "I Turned Into
A Martian" will never be a dated song and that's it. That's
the bottom line. It's things that are a part of your imagination,
therefore you dodge every bullet and you create an immortality
type of aura around you where these things will live on. I'll
be dust and people will still be buying my records like crazy
and they won't know why." (Laughs).
