In January of 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, two guys would get together to form one of the most alternative musical ensembles in history. Jerry Only and Glenn Danzig would form the hardcore horror punk band called the Misfits, which would create a new genre in rock n’ roll and become the influence for bands even to the present day.

The Misfits

Inside a Wall Street mind a psycho lurks. Lines of cocaine cut in Hell

Jersey Band

In January of 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, two guys would get together to form one of the most alternative musical ensembles in history. Jerry Only and Glenn Danzig would form the hardcore horror punk band called the Misfits, which would create a new genre in rock n’ roll and become the influence for bands even to the present day.

First Start

Jimmy Battle, Jerry Only, Glenn Danzig, Diane DiPiazza, and Manny Martinez to create the rock group who called themselves the Misfits; however, the band would have troubles from the start and DiPiazza and Battle would leave the band after about four weeks of rehearsals. On the recommendation of one of the other band members, the group hired Caifa for their bassist. Interestingly enough, Ciafa had only been playing bass for about two months as he had just received a bass guitar for Christmas.

Without a guitarist, the group could only practice using an electric keyboard for their rhythm section but would eventually pick up Frank Licata later in August of 1977 to play guitar. Getting a break from Mercury Records who wanted to use the name Blank Records, Danzig’s independent record label, Mercury offered the group thirty hours of free studio time in exchange for the name.

Hard Road

The group was constantly going through changes and band members. For the next couple of years, they would release nothing but singles and gain very little attention. Their best opportunity came when The Damned wanted them to open up for them on their European tour. This, however, proved somewhat unsuccessful affording them very little but a few nights in jail and some bumps and bruises.

Again, the group would go on furlough or hiatus and release only singles as they could not find the right moment or time to create a full album release. Finally, in 1983, the band released their first album called Walk Among Us under the record label Ruby and Slash Records. This would gain the band national attention and the group would quickly form a tour in support of the release although more problems would ensue while on the road as their act became more violent and out of control. The drummer was fired and they would eventually pick up an old drummer for the group Black Flag.

Couldn’t Get It Together

Problems seemed to come naturally for the band and at one point they were arrested for grave robbing in New Orleans when trying to find the grave of a supposed voodoo practitioner. The group would skip their court date so they could drive to their next gig and would never be brought up on those charges in New Orleans.

The group then attempted their annual Halloween show although that didn’t quite work out for them either. While waiting to play, their new drummer became severely intoxicated to the point to where he could not play and had to be escorted off stage. This would be the band’s last performance and immediately upon arrival back in Lodi, New Jersey, the group would split ways.

This was generally the circumstances that surrounded the group for most of their career. There was a brief moment when a couple of the original members not including Danzig, who wanted to get the band back together in the mid 1990’s.

There were some rehearsals, an album or two, and even some touring, but in the end, the band ended up right where they found themselves within one month of their first rehearsal; with unhappy members and internal struggles that could not be overcome. The band the Misfits would eventually call it quits on all fronts. With their music being so spread out and no one knowing exactly who owns the rights, some of their music may be available as free music downloads on the internet.

Did You Know

• Band member Doyle was only sixteen years old when he joined the band.

• Danzig had a self titled band that gained fame in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

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