WATT, July 1997
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[Translated from Dutch to English by Rene van Dam: rene.dam@pi.net]

PERFECT FITTING MISFITS by Robert Heeg

Founded by Glenn Danzig, adored by Metallica and Henry Rollins, and still
make your money in a factory.  This has been the destiny for Jerry Only and
the other Misfits.  But with the termination of a dragging lawsuit against
Danzig, and a deal with Geffen, there has appeared some light in the dark
Misfits ghost-tunnel.

"We are not occupied with bad energy, the Misfits are a positive energy".

Jerry Only (38) is not a real Misfit for two reasons.  First: the bassplayer
is a nice guy with a big smile on his face.  Second: also in society he is
no outsider.  He's taking care for his wife and two children.  As a proud
father and a frank story-teller, his stories are always wandering to his
basketballplaying son and his cheerleading daughter.  He's just an ordinary
family-man, with one exception: at night he's putting white schmink on his
face and is playing songs like "Dig Up Her Bones."  Maybe he is a misfit
among the misfits?  No, that was Glenn Danzig, the frontman who started
the horror-punkband together with Jerry, and stole the hearts of skate kids,
metalfans and punkers, with albums like "Walk Among Us" (82) and
"Earth AD/Wolfsblood" (83). Danzig left, to gain succes as a solo-artist.
The last concert was on Halloween 1983.  "Evil Elvis" left Jerry.  The long
struggle about the name of the band finally ended last year with a
compromise.  The zombies could leave their graves...

With drummer Dr. Chud, brother Doyle and youngster Michale Graves (22)
behind the microphone, Jerry could start again.  After some re-releases and
compilations the new album appeared: American Psycho, a tight collection
Misfits-core, sung with remarkable character by Graves.  The "baby of the
band" really had to fight for acceptence, because he was totally unknown
with the Fits!  He knew Glenn Danzig, that was music with which he grew up.
First Graves asked around about the Misfits.  He heard that, once during a
show in San Francisco, the Misfits got involved in a fight, with the
audience throwing full cans of Bud to the stage, and Doyle ruining a guy's
head with his guitar.  Graves: "I thougt: Oh my god."  And he was right,
because fanatic Danzig-addepts made it a hard job for Graves.  "They
normally start throwing things at me, sometimes they even hit me.
Unfortunately Danzig fans are often very big, haha."  Graves also had some
problems with the band.  Especially, he had some clashes with the dour Doyle.
"He didn't like me, it took a long time before we had a kind of a
relationship.  But we were forced to work together, and now we are the
biggest friends, he's like a brother to me."  In the corner of the
dressing-room, the silent Doyle stares icy in the direction of Graves.  Jerry
has heard everything.  "From the toilet" he says when he suddenly comes in.
Immediately he takes it over.  "Michale was destined to work with us,
especially because of that bullshit we had all those years."

The term "punk godfathers" is flattering, but also scary, Jerry says.  "You
must know that we didn't come back because of the punk-revival, we came
back because the Misfits are still becoming better.  And not because we had
to prove ourselves to the youngsters, because I don't have to prove
anything.  The Misfits are an important part of our society.  Look to Dylan
or the Stones, they had something to say, like us."  And like Glenn.  When he
hears the news of his old friend, he immediately looses his last tact.
"Aaa, Glenn.  He tries very hard to be evil.  I don't like him, he owes me
$900,000.  We started the band together, he had the same rights as me.
Finally we gave him the publishing rights.  They are worth a lot, especially
after the Metallica cover of "Green hell" (on the garage days revisited ep).
And we took the band name.  Glenn is only interested in the money, we are
only interested in the name."  Jerry doesn't think that that the
short-tempered Danzig will fly at him when they will meet each other.  "Oh
no, when that happens he knows that I will hurt him.  He really has a
strange character, Glenn.  As a friend he was great, the only time that I
quarrelled with him was on the last day of the Misfits.  I don't understand
him, I always want to share everything.  When something occurs, the Misfits
must continue.  Because our fans are as dedicated as the fans of Grateful
Dead.  You know, once Glenn told everyone that we (the other Misfits) all
were dead.  And have you seen his Verotik-cartoons. They all have only one
theme: tits.
 
Horror and the Misfits belong together. Songs like "Night Of The Living
Dead," "Astro Zombies" and "Teenagers From Mars" referr to old B-horror
movies.  Even their own Plan 9 label refers to Ed Woods "Plan9 From Outer
Space", generally accepted as the worst movie ever! Jerry isn't a fanatic
who knows everything about directors and other backgrounds, but he can
mention many of his favourite pulp-movies. "As a kid I was fond of 'Horror
Hotel' from 1960 with Christopher Lee, it scared the shit out of me!  I also
liked 'The Crawling Eye' starring Forrest Tucker from 1958, where gigantic
eyeball are coming from outer space.  Monster-movies like Gorgo and Godzilla
are amazing, but my all- time-favourite is the original 'Frankenstein' from
1931 with Boris Karloff.  The movie isn't just a horror-movie, but it is a
statement on social scale.  It tells something about how we are sometimes
threatening people, and how they can go on the wrong track after that.
Recently I interviewed Sarah Karloff, the daughter of Boris, for a
horror-show that Doyle and me are trying to sell.  A special moment.  I also
like the new horror movies.  "Mars Attacks" for example.  On our new album
there is a track called "Mars Attacks."  I tried to give it to director Tim
Burton in time, but in vain.  But, maybe we can use it for "Mars Attacks 2."
When I was four years old I opened, on the sly, a small bag with Mars Attack
pictures. My mother didn't agree with it, she said that those pictures were
too creepy.  I looked at the first picture, and it was the one that showed
how some Martians slaughtered a dog.  I was very shocked, because I loved my
own dog.  You see, mother was right again!"