SON OF SKAM #4 p.6-7, JAN/FEB 1996
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                             THE MISFITS

     The big news in the world of punk rock is that the Misfits are
back together!!!  I had the opportunity of speaking with Mark
Kennedy, the guy in charge of the Misfits Fiend Club.  It looks like
they finally decided on singer Mike Graves to replace former lead man,
Glenn Danzig.  The 'fits played their frst show in over 11 years this past
Halloween at the Wetlands [actually the Roseland] in NYC, and appeared
that same night, after the show, at Coney Island High in Long Island
[actually Manhattan] to play some more songs and to review the newest
release, Collection II.
     With a current lineup of Jerry Only on bass, Doyle on Guitar, CHUD
(Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Drummer) on Drums, and Mike Graves
handling the vocals, the Misfits will be looking to tour in February.  A
tour of Europe is in the works, and hopefully it will be followed by a U.S.
tour.
     After the breakup in 1983, Glenn retained all rights to all Misfits
material.  Since then, Jerry and Doyle formed KRyst The Conqueror in an
effort to contrast the darkness of Glenn's Samhain and Danzig recordings,
but never toured.  At the same time, they spent nearly six years building
a court case against "Uncle Glenn" in order to wrestle some of the rights
from him, including the rights to perform Misfits material.  Massive amounts
of information, including the use of Mark Kennedy's web page and discography,
allowed them to come to a settlement with Glenn, granting them the use of the
Misfits name, a cut of the royalties, and the license to perform.  Somehow,
though, Glenn escaped without paying anything.  He sold the master tapes to
Caroline Records, and appears to be sitting back and collecting some of the
Misfits royalties.  Some people have suggested that Jerry is only in it for
the money, but Mark assured me this isn't the case.  "Actually, not that
many people have said that, but it's something that's always on Jerry's
mind.  He's always explaining that he wants to play, that it's not for the
money.  Unfortunately, by always saying that, he's probably swaing some
people the other way.  Personally, I don't think he should have to defend
himself.  He should be able to do what he wants, and that's get up on stage
and play."
     If anything is proof of Jerry's intentions, it was the show at Coney
Island High.  The energy of the band removed any doubts about monetary
intentions.  When I talked with Mark about the show, he said that it was
"excellent.  It was so amazing.  They had so much energy, it was like they've
been waiting to play for so long and the finally got that chance."
     Mike Graves seems to be a perfect match for the Misfits, sounding nearly
identical to Glenn in vocal abilities.  Mike, though, has no intentions of
replacing anyone or filling anyone's shoes.  He merely wants his band "to be
the best around."  Various sources have said that Mike had never even
listened to the 'fits until about a year ago, at which time the Misfits were
still trying to acquire Dave Vanian from the Damned.  When things didn't
work out with him, Mike Graves stepped into the picture, and seems to be just
what the Misfits needed in a lead singer.
     As for upcoming releases, Jerry and company are concentrating on what
the fans want--live shows.  They've been practicing every song, every day,
and cant' wait to get out and play.  Caroline does plan on releasing some
stuff, including a box set some time in February.  Packaged in a coffin
shaped box with liner notes by Eerie Von, the four CD's will include over
100 songs, including the previously unreleased Static Age sessions.  Evil
never dies... it only goes away for a little while.

Special thanks to Mark Kennedy and Misfits Central:
 http://watt.seas.virginia.edu/~msk4m/home.html