INTERVIEW: The Misfits are coming!!
This week I fulfilled one of my ultimate teenage ambitions, I interviewed Jerry Only, leadsinger in New Jersey horror punks The Misfits!
The Misfits will celebrate their 37th birthday next month, and as part of those celebrations they will be bringing their full live show to Bedford Corn Exchange on Monday, April 8.
Jerry, speaking from his home in Lodi, New Jersey, he said: “I’ve actually been to Bedford before, we’ve done some pretty extensive tours. The first time I was in England was in 1978 with The Damned and we’ve been to England numerous times since then. We are excited about Bedford, this tour is going to be really fun. We’ve already got all our equipment in England so will be bringing a full show.”
On the night gig-goers can expect to hear favourites such as Where Eagles Dare and Die, Die My Darling which was covered by Metallica, but the ever evolving band will also play a host of newer tracks, as well as classic covers from their early noughties album Project 1950.
Jerry said: “We’ve been going for 37 years and in that time we have evolved, Dez Cadena, our guitarist is also working on a new project with his band Black Flag.”
Jerry Only joined The Misfits in 1977 after receiving his first bass guitar as a late Christmas gift. Six albums followed including the seminal Famous Monsters and Walk Among Us which are cited by many of today’s punk acts as a defining inspiration.
And Jerry claims that punk is still alive and kicking, and it’s not just about the music.
He said: “Punk has existed since Jerry Lee Lewis came on the scene, punk is a mindset and not just a style of music, it’s an attitude that’s rebellious and do it yourself and not having to rely on other people or corporations. It’s saying this is the music that we want to play and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.
“Rock and roll had become a corporate commodity and you end up with these huge tours with people blowing millions of dollars flashing money all over the place on Limos and personal jets.
“Then The Ramones climbed into The Bowery and the next thing you know, less is more.”
And as well as enjoying the success of The Misfits, Jerry still worked in the family machine shop back home in Lodi until seven years ago when his son expressed an interest in becoming a sound engineer.
He said: “To me The Misfits has always been a family project. We started in my garage in Lodi and I worked in the machine shop until we finally launched our label.
“We were at a point in the road where the machine shop was struggling because there was so many things coming from China.
“When my son got out of high school I said what do you want to do and he told me he wanted to be a sound engineer. So I thought we’ve got to focus on the band because that’s the way he’s going to learn his trade. I put him into a position where he ended up being our tour manager, the kid’s 27 and is very well rounded. I’m sure there will be a point in the road where he’ll go and exercise his talent out in the rest of the music industry.”
For tickets and enquiries call the box office on 01234 718112.
BY Hayley O’Keeffe
hayley.okeeffe@jpress.co.uk
@misshokTC
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Weather for Bedford
Saturday 25 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 5 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North
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Temperature: 6 C to 18 C
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