ALLSTAR NEWS, June 7, 1999
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The Misfits: On The Verve Of Something Huge?
June  7, 1999, 12:00 pm PT

It was Halloween in June when legendary ghoulish proto-punks the Misfits
descended upon the unsuspecting town of Hoboken, N.J. Thursday (June 3) to
unveil "Famous Monsters," due Sept. 7 on Roadrunner, before assembled
international music media.

"Famous Monsters," produced by Daniel Rey (Ramones, Masters of Reality), is
the band's second effort since reforming in the mid-'90s following a long,
arduous, but triumphant legal battle with original vocalist Glenn Danzig
over the rights to the Misfits' moniker.

After a long day, which included a press conference, a listening session,
numerous photo shoots, and interviews, bassist and founding member Jerry
Only reclined in the studio's lounge and discussed the new album and the
band's suddenly bright future.

"We've been offered [lucrative] deals, but have decided to do things
ourselves for now," he admits. "We look forward to working with other
people, but the band has to be in the right position first. We believe
we're on the verge of something huge."

Metallica's cover of Misfits' "Last Caress" and "Green Hell," along with
the solo success of Glenn Danzig, gained the band name recognition in the
late '80s and helped sales of Misfits merchandise skyrocket.

"We sold more T-shirts than records, so obviously there were people wearing
our stuff who had never heard our music," admits Only, who along with
guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein, drummer Dr. Chud, and vocalist
Michael Graves, hopes to change that with "Famous Monsters."

Among the album's 14 tracks of '50s and '60-flavored punk metal are
"Forbidden Zone" (a nod to the "Planet of the Apes" film series), "Die
Monster Die" (named after the Boris Karloff film classic), the
cabaret-tinged "Hunting Humans" ("It's about hunting zombies who are giving
you a problem," explains Only), and the Elvis-ish rockabilly song
"Scarecrow Man." "We like to have an Elvis [inspired] song on each album,"
adds Only. "It's just to show people that we [remember] our roots."

Surprisingly, the band holds no grudge toward Danzig and has invited the
singer to rejoin the fold on a couple of occasions. Only even admits that
one of the new tracks, "Dust to Dust," is "very Danzig-sounding." "I wish
he would just chill," says Only of his former bandmate. "Glenn likes to be
the big man, but when he was with the Misfits he was just part of the
band."

Besides the tour that will take the band across the States in early fall,
concluding in Los Angeles on Halloween, the band appears in the upcoming
Insane Clown Posse film "Big Money Hustlas." Meanwhile, Only and Doyle are
about to become action figures.

"As kids, we always played with GI Joe dolls," remembers Only. "So we
talked to a couple of toy companies and decided we wanted to be [realized]
as 12-inch action figures with clothes you can change. The dolls [which are
being produced by 21st Century Toys and will hit toy shelves in October]
look great. Doyle's [action figure] looks perfect. They made my chin too
big, so they're in the process of tweaking my head."  -- Vinny Cecolini