FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
1. THE PONY INTERVIEW WITH THE MISFITS / FIEND FEST 2003
2. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
This Week at The Stone Pony: "Surf & Sirens" Cabaret Wednesday with Wayfinder (Wednesday), Local Showcase (Friday), Fiend Fest 2003 with The Misfits, The Damned and more (Saturday Afternoon), Ziggy Marley (Saturday Evening), Local Jams 2003 (Sunday)
New on the Pony Calendar: End of Summer Bar-B-Que with Juggling Suns (August 23), Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers (August 29), Backyard Bar-B-Que featuring Rick Springfield (September 13), Back to School Secret Show (September 17), Seth Yacovone Band (September 19), Pro Skateboard Shop "Throwdown" (September 20)
The Fiend, the the great band it represents, will be gracing hundreds of t-shirts on Saturday afternoon, August 16 as the 2003 Miller Lite Summer Concert Series brings Fiend Fest 2003 to Asbury Park. Bands performing that afternoon will include The Damned, The Dickies, Agnostic Front, Di and one of the first bands on the Misfits Records imprint, Balzac. For 25 years, the Misfits' stripped-down punk rock sound has attracted hordes of fiends, loyal fans who have been inspired by their style and attitude as much as their horror film-inspired sound. Their influence continues to be heard as countless major musical acts cover their songs or otherwise give them credit as innovators in the genre. No less a mainstream icon than Metallica covered three Misfits songs on their Garage Days Revisited CD and have worn the band's classic t-shirts on stage. While continuing to make music, The Misfits are seeking to spread their influence by supporting and promoting bands who are playing and making music in their Misfits style through Misfits Records, now distributed by major label Rykodisc. To give the newsletter some behind-the-scenes information about Fiend Fest, Misfits Records and other projects the band is involved with these days, bassist and original founding member Jerry Only teamed up with John Cafiero, President of Misfits Records and Producer of the Fiend Fest, for this special interview.
The Stone Pony: “The Fiend”, your skull logo, is one of the most famous iconic images in music. Does it bother you that a lot of fans are wearing your t-shirts who might not know anything about the band, or ever heard your music? Or, it is a kick to know that the shirt and the logo have transcended your fan base?
Jerry Only: I'd say the latter of the two. It's obviously a strong image. If nothing else, the image speaks for itself.
The Stone Pony: The big news with the Misfits is that your own Misfits Records is now being distributed by Rykodisc. After all of the meetings to pick the right distributor, what did Rykodisc offer that made you choose them?
John Cafiero: Solid criteria for us was to hook up with a company that would get behind what we were doing and help facilitate our goals on a wider scale. We're more hands on than you'll ever know. A lot of companies will see you succeeding at something independently and say "Hey we want to be a part of this!" Instead of amplifying what was appealing to them in the first place, they'll try to slap the cuffs on you, restrain you with red tape and water down what interested them and made it successful to begin with. We simply needed a company that could work with us hand-in-hand to take it to the next level. We took our time to research, without jumping on the first offer. Ryko understood where we were coming from and that was very appealing to us. Instead of being intimidated by our DIY mentality, they embraced it. They saw the big picture, not just the Misfits, but all we were looking to develop and they were really supportive of it all. In a nutshell, we wanted to team with a company that had strength, desire and was eager to lets us do what we do, while aiding us rather than trying to "control".
Jerry Only: We wanted somebody who would be dedicated to what we were looking to do and Ryko seemed like the right choice.
The Stone Pony: What sort of bands are you looking to work with?
Jerry Only: The type of bands that would suit the label would be bands that are a good fit for us, yet have originality. During our Fiend Fest Tour we've been complimented many times on how the line up of bands are all different types yet all strong choices to support the Misfits.
John Cafiero: Our label roster will reflect a well-rounded variety of bands that have a common thread, even if it's not an obvious one. They'll make sense together but not necessarily be clones of each other. Again, as Jerry mentioned the Fiend Fest, that's a good indication of what we're aiming for. While all the bands our unique onto themselves, they compliment each other well and make for a great package.
The Stone Pony: And how do you want to be different from other labels?
John Cafiero: The difference with us is we're artists and the company executives at the same time. Our approach is totally different. We understand the creative process as well as the business end. We feel the need to do our own thing and develop something unique. We've got three solid CD releases on our plate this year and we want to give them our full attention - just as we will do for any band or project we get behind. It's that kind of nurturing that makes the difference and that's what this labels about.
The Stone Pony: Your current album release is “Project 1950”, a special project of punk covers of 1950’s rock and roll classics. How did this idea develop, and how long did it take to make it into a reality?
Jerry Only: This project has been a dream of mine for a long time. I first started listening to oldies back in the early '60s. From one standpoint it took my whole life to put it together but from a mechanical standpoint it took about a full year to perfect this project.
The Stone Pony: How would you describe the similarities in attitude between those classic songs and punk?
Jerry Only: The similarity is the three-chord progression. The connection makes them one and the same, just at a different speed and approach. A strong point of this album was to bring that to light.
The Stone Pony: Project 1950 is something of a punk supergroup, with Misfits original Jerry Only, teaming with Marky Ramone from the Ramones and Dez Cadena from Black Flag. How do you all know each other, and what brought you together to record album?
Jerry Only: The Misfits 25th Anniversary tour brought us all together as musicians playing live. Project 1950 lent itself to this lineup well due to the fact that the other members were just as interested in doing it as I was.
The Stone Pony: One of the upcoming Misfits Records release will be the North American debut of Balzac, are who also playing as part of the Fiend Fest tour. How would you describe this Japanese band to fans who aren’t familiar with them, and what was it about them that caught you ears and made you want to produce the CD?
Jerry Only: Balzac was almost like a rib taken from our side and planted in a very foreign land. Balzac's guitar player has the makings of a Johnny Thunders or a prodigy-type of guitar player that are few and far between and don't come along very often. Balzac's songs are very clever, built in a 50's Misfits style yet totally original. I was impressed by their songwriting and was very excited to record one of them for our split single. I think exposing Balzac to the Misfits audience will be nothing but a home run.
John Cafiero: The first time I'd heard Balzac I was immediately impressed with them and quickly sought out everything I could get my hands on. I felt that while they were undeniably inspired by the Misfits, they had a uniqueness of their own, great musicianship and strength in their original material which transcended into something new. I'd always felt they'd be an excellent pairing with the Misfits and had been planning to bring Balzac out to the rest of the world as a frontrunner for our label roster even before we started planning the split single. Now that the label is up and running worldwide as intended, you're seeing the final execution of something that has been waiting to be unleashed for some time now. All the pieces of the puzzle have finally fallen into place and after a lot of care and planning the first full-length Balzac CD to be released outside of Japan is now in stores and their first U.S. tour with the Misfits is happening as we speak.
The Stone Pony: You’ve announced plans to add “Misfits Video” to your musical distribution with Rykodisc. Have you made any decisions about the horror or cult films that you want to release? What qualities will a film have to posses in order to receive the “Misfits seal of approval”?
Jerry Only: All I can say at this point is we'll be releasing films we know our audience will enjoy.
John Cafiero: I wish we could tell you about the films we will release on our Misfits Video/DVD extension of the record label but at this time I can't. We have our sights set on several titles that I think will be very exciting for horror and cult enthusiasts out there but we're not ready to announce them just yet.
The Stone Pony: The Misfits are nothing if not shrewd at marketing. In addition to the infamous t-shirts and the Misfits music and video, you’ve also authorized toys, bobble head dolls and Dean Markley strings. Why do you think the Misfits name and logo are so effective in selling these products, and do you handle all of the marketing and business yourself, or have other people who take care of those areas?
Jerry Only: We handle all the marketing and business ourselves. We're pretty much a self-contained company. We don't endorse anything we would not use ourselves and as a result our product is of the highest quality. If nothing else, the Misfits merchandise is always the real thing.
The Stone Pony: How were the bands selected for the Fiend Fest festivals, and how are things going with the tour so far? Do you think this will turn into a regular yearly event, and what have the crowds been like at the shows? Any plans to tape or record any of the shows for release?
Jerry Only: We plan to make it a yearly event. This was probably one of the greatest ideas we've had in a long time. The tour is going really well and the fans are already looking to line up for the next one.
John Cafiero: The tour and the concept behind it have gone over really well with the Fiends and it's been exciting to see the response. As far as selecting the bands, I really tried to approach it from the fans' perspective, keeping in mind what I'd like to see if I was going and had no ties to the business side of it. We'll continue to assemble a line-up of "bone-chilling punk bands", both well-known and breaking ones, all on one bill and, yes, it will continue in the future.
The Stone Pony: The band is heavily influenced by classic horror films, to the point where Boris Karloff ’s daughter, Sara, has been a supporter of the band and allowed you to use her father’s image. What do you think about modern horror films being put out by Hollywood these days? Is there a recent movie that lived up to the standards set by those legendary films?
Jerry Only: I think most of the modern horror films are big budget these days. It seems every year the biggest films are horror movies. People like to be scared. A recent horror movie I liked was "The Ring".
The Stone Pony: Most fans probably don’t realize that the Misfits were created in Lodi, New Jersey and are still based in the state. Does it ever puzzle you that the Misfits are generally not included in discussions about New Jersey’s musical history?
Jerry Only: No, it doesn't surprise me at all. Most of what people seem to talk about is the more commercial stuff, like Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen.
The Stone Pony: Do you feel any connection to the local music scene, or find that you’ve had your greatest successes elsewhere?
Jerry Only: Our success has been more worldwide. I feel we've totally outgrown just being a domestic band. In NJ, our best show to date was an outside show at Action Park in our current hometown of Vernon during the Resurrection Tour. It was a lot of fun to have the entire town come to see a show by the local guys who walk among them. We look forward to the same later this month when the Fiend Fest comes to the Stone Pony outdoors!
The Misfits official website can be found at www.misfits.com.
Now at AsburyPark.net:
Housing eyed for landmark building
One of Asbury Park's most prominent downtown office buildings
-- the former Jersey Central Power & Light headquarters on Grand Avenue --
could come back to life as 28 condominium units if approval is granted by
the city zoning board.
Thursday Nights: Ladies Night
The best mix of house, trance,
progressive and vocal. 18 to enter, 21 to drink (ID mandatory). Drink
specials. Doors open at 9:30 pm. DJ Prime and B.G. are on the wheels of
steel ... Dress to impress - our promoters are tough on the door ... Come
see for yourself what all the hype is about. It's on every Thursday
only at The Stone Pony!
