The Misfits were formed in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by Glenn Anzalone (aka Glenn Danzig), and were named after Marilyn Monroe's final film, 'The Misfits'. Danzig's first recruits were drummer Mr. Jim and bassist Diane DiPiazza, however, after DiPiazza never showed up and Mr. Jim was replaced by Manny Martinez, these two practiced in Martínez's garage, with Danzig on electric piano and Martínez on drums. The duo soon encountered Jerry Caiafa, who had just received a bass guitar for Christmas, and although he was still new to the instrument, he joined the band. Danzig, Martínez, and Caiafa rehearsed for three months without a guitarist, using Danzig's electric piano to provide the songs' rhythm, and they played their first gig at CBGB in New York City in April 1977. In May that year, they recorded their first single, 'Cough'/'Cool', which they released through their own label Blank Records that August, and after Caiafa's surname was misspelled on the record's sleeve, he insisted that in future he was to be credited as "Jerry, only Jerry", with Jerry Only becoming his pseudonym for the rest of his career. In August 1977, guitarist Frank Licata joined the band under the pseudonym Franché Coma, allowing Danzig to phase out the electric piano and focus on singing, while pushing the band's sound in a punk rock direction.
After Danzig and Only deemed Martínez unreliable, he was replaced by the returning Mr. Jim, and the band found a recording opportunity when Mercury Records wanted to use the name Blank Records for one of its subdivisions and offered Danzig thirty hours of studio time in exchange for rights to the name. Danzig accepted, and in January 1978 the Misfits entered a New York recording studio to record 17 songs, 14 of which were mixed for the proposed 'Static Age' album. The band were unable to find a record label interested in releasing it, so they issued four of the songs in June 1978 as the 'Bullet' single on their own new label Plan 9 Records, named after the classic sci-fi film 'Plan 9 From Outer Space. Following the 'Static Age' sessions, the Misfits began a shift in song-writing and appearance, with Danzig writing more songs inspired by B horror and science fiction films, and he painted skeletal patterns on his performance clothing, while Only began applying dark makeup around his eyes and styling his hair in a long point hanging from his forehead between his eyes and down to his chin. This style became known as a "devilock" and both Danzig and Only's brother Doyle would eventually adopt it, forming the beginnings of the subgenre "horror punk".
While in Canada in October 1978 promoting the 'Bullet' single, Coma quit the band because he did not enjoy touring, after which Mr. Jim also quit once the tour was over, citing a distaste for the horror direction in which the band was heading. Within two months the pair were replaced by drummer Joey Poole, under the pseudonym Joey Image, and guitarist Robert Kaufhold, also known as Bobby Steele, and the new line-up continued to evolve the horror elements of the band, releasing the 'Horror Business' single in June 1979. The cover featured a skeletal figure inspired by a poster for the 1946 film serial 'The Crimson Ghost', and this figure would become a mascot for the band, with its skull image serving as the Misfits' logo for the rest of their career. In June 1979 the Misfits performed as openers for The Damned in New York City, and after Only spoke with singer Dave Vanian about the possibility of the Misfits touring the UK with The Damned, they flew to England, only to find that Vanian had not taken his conversation with Only seriously and had not planned on having the Misfits on the tour. He did attempt to arrange for them to take part in the tour, but the band members were unhappy with the situation and left after only two shows.
Image then quit the band and flew back to the United States, but with their return flights not scheduled until late December, the remaining band members stayed in London. Upon their eventual return to the US they released the 'Beware' EP in January 1980, then took a four-month break before adding Arthur McGuckin as their new drummer under the pseudonym Arthur Googy. During this time Only's younger brother Paul Caiafa, a longtime fan of the band who went by the nickname Doyle, began learning to play guitar with help from Danzig and Only, and The Misfits began working on an album which they planned to release through their Plan 9 label, recording twelve songs in a studio in August 1980. Following a further six month hiatus, the band reconvened and selected three of the twelve songs from their August 1980 album sessions for release as the '3 Hits From Hell' EP in April 1981. Throughout the rest of 1981 they continued to record tracks for a full-length album, to be titled 'Walk Among Us', and although they had planned to release it through Plan 9, they instead accepted an offer from Slash Records, and decided to rework the album before its release.
In October 1981 they released two more tracks from the August 1980 sessions as the 'Halloween' single, and in March 1982 'Walk Among Us' was released through Ruby and Slash Records. A national tour in support of the album followed, and the band's performances began to grow more intense and violent, with Danzig and Googy frequently clashing, and after a heated argument at a McDonald's restaurant Danzig kicked Googy out of the band. The vacant drummer position was offered to their friend Eerie Von, who had served as their occasional roadie and photographer, but as he had already committed to drumming for Rosemary's Babies, Henry Rollins recommended former Black Flag drummer Robo, who flew to New Jersey to join the Misfits in July 1982. In September they embarked on a national tour with The Necros, during which they stopped at a studio to record the instrumental tracks for their next EP. However, they were arrested in New Orleans on charges of grave robbing while attempting to locate the grave of voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau, before bailing themselves out of jail and skipping their court date to drive to their next performance in Florida. By this time Danzig was growing increasingly dissatisfied with the Misfits and had begun writing songs for a new band project, and in June 1983 he confided to Henry Rollins that he planned to quit the group. In July 1983 the Misfits finished recording their next EP, and Danzig decided to record two more songs that he had intended for his new project, turning the EP into a full album, and 'Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood' demonstrated the increasing influence of hardcore punk and heavy metal on the band's sound.
On 29 October 1983 the Misfits played their annual Halloween performance at Greystone Hall in Detroit with the Necros, featuring new drummer Brian Damage (real name Brian Keats), although he was so drunk before the show that he couldn't play properly, and so Todd Swalla of The Necros had to fill in for the remainder of the performance. This was the final straw for Danzig, who announced to the audience that it would be the band's final show. Upon returning to Lodi the band members went their separate ways, with Danzig launching his new band Samhain, moving away from punk rock, and toward more experimental heavy metal with a grim atmosphere. In 1986 the band signed to Def American Recordings and Danzig replaced most of the rhythm section, renaming the group Danzig, and recording albums in a variety of styles, from blues rock-influenced heavy metal to industrial rock. Despite five tracks eventually being given an official release from their 1980 sessions, the album itself remains unreleased, and so here it is to fill the gap in this history of Glenn Danzig's early career. As a special bonus, this post includes 'Who Killed Marilyn!', which was originally planned for release on Plan 9 Records, but when Danzig determined that it would be too expensive to release it as a 12“ single, he considered a two- song 7“ with 'Who Killed Marilyn' / 'Where Eagles Dare', but the project was never completed and only a 12“ acetate exists.
Track listing
01 Halloween
02 Vampira
03 I Turned Into A Martian
04 Skulls
05 London Dungeon
06 Night Of The Living Dead
07 Horror Hotel
08 Ghouls Night Out
09 Astro Zombies
10 Where Eagles Dare
11 Violent World
12 Halloween II
13 Who Killed Marilyn!
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