Reliving those timeworn garage band days, when drummers changed as often as kegs, the Misfits have shoved a new singer behind the microphone for a last-minute trial period on the road this summer. |
When the hardcore punk outfit lost its second frontman, michale Graves, just weeks before launching their fiery European tour, the band scrambled to fill the gaping hole with whomever could belt out their worth the quickest. Myke Hideous, of the obscure band Empire Hideous, stepped into Graves' stage shoes last month at the request of longtime friend and Misfits bassist Jerry Only. In a recent press release, Only said the band's tour in Europe and South America will "serve as a long audition for Myke's permanent status in the band."
Following a 24-gig stint in Germany, Italy, France and elsewhere, Only and drummer Dr. Chud will hand down the verdict for Hideous. If all goes horribly, Only will most likely take over the vocal responsibilities that once belonged to Misfits co-founder Glenn Danzig, who broke up the band in 1983 in order to form the ghoulish band Samhain and then Danzig.
In a tip-of-the-hat to Misfit "fiends" -- or fan club members -- Only asked Danzig to rejoin the band immediately following Graves' departure last month, according to Gaspar Sciacca, a spokesman for the band. Despite declining album sales, Danzig voted to stick by his namesake band and declined the Misfits' offer.
"It would be like Dave [Mustaine] going back to Metallica," Sciacca told JAMTV on Monday. "There's no hatred there, but it would be most unusual for Glenn to come back."
The archetypal horror-punk band of the late 1970s and early '80s, the Misfits reunited in 1997 with new vocalist Graves at the helm. The foursome recorded American Psycho for Geffen Records and hit the road on Monday in France, recording their live sessions along the way for an upcoming disc titled Evil Live II. Due out near the end of 1998, that album will likely contain archives as well as live material, and will chronicle some of Graves' stint with the band.
Once the band cements a certified singer, the Misfits plan to record an album of fresh material. The Misfits wrap up their European tour on June 28 in Belgium, but have no American tour dates scheduled yet, Sciacca said.
"The day of the dead is not coming, it is here," Only said in a recent press release. "As long as we have our music and our dedicated fans, the Misfits will continue to create the mayhem that we have always loved and that all of you have come to expect." (Anni Layne)
