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| Danzig Editorial |
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| Written by Jessica Skelton | |
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Danzig: Entrepreneur of the Underworld By Jessica Skelton Some might call him evil; others might consider him a God. Regardless, Glenn Danzig seems perfectly content (and successful) existing somewhere in limbo within the niche he has secured himself in rock n’ roll. He might be getting older, but at 52 who else’s voice mirrors their beefy, tight black pants wearing exterior? The man is truly one of the greatest iconoclasts of the last thirty years. And not in a loud, biting off the heads of bats sort of way. Rather in his own modest, intelligent, yet skull-bashing way. Often accredited as being the “Godfather of Horror Punk,” Glenn’s seismic impact on music can be rooted back to his preteen years where the Lodi, New Jersey native went from drum roadie to bass player, and eventually to singer. Heavily influenced by Black Sabbath, Glenn performed with bands such as Talus, and Whodat and Boojang, and began getting noticed for his undeniably rich vocal styling. In 1977, at age 21, Glenn formed The Misfits in attempt to take a more serious approach to music, the name Misfits being a tribute to Marilynn Monroe’s final film The Misfits. After two members of the first incarnation of The Misfits parted ways with the band, original drummer Manny Martinez suggested to Glenn that his friend and football player Jerry Caiafa (later to be known as Jerry Only) should try out for position of bassist. Glenn willingly taught him how to play and thus, The Misfits were officially formed. The band started off being more melodic and somber with the release of their first keyboard-driven single “Cough/Cool,” off their own label Blank Records and played their first two shows at the legendary CBGB club in New York. The Misfits went on to lose the keyboards in favor of a style more akin to the bands that were predominant in the punk scene and making an impact on their style, such as the Ramones and The Damned. They were offered their first big break, when Mercury Records wanted to use Glenn’s Blank Records as the name of a subdivision of their label. In exchange they offered The Misfits 30 free hours of recording time and Glenn agreed. So in 1978, The Misfits trekked out to New York to record their first full-length album. However, when the album was complete, no labels seemed interested in signing them. The guys decided to take some of the tracks off the album to release the Bullet EP on their new label, Plan 9. Both Glenn and Jerry were influenced by B level horror and sci-fi movies and decided to incorporate that aspect more into the band’s lyrics, style, stage performance, and appearance. And through this the genera of Horror Punk came into existence. The Misfits started to become an integral part of the music scene in the late 70’s and early 80’s until Glenn became increasingly dissatisfied with the direction The Misfits were heading in. After a series of disputes and arguments, on October 29, 1983 at the annual Halloween show at Greystone Hall in Detroit, Michigan, Glenn announced that the show would be the last Misfits show ever. As the band went in different directions (and legal battles ragged on), Glenn started the band Samhain, which was a horror-punk and death rock band that eventually evolved into Danzig by 1987. Samhain started as a side-project for Glenn, but after The Misfits dissolved, it became his number one focus. Samhain marked a transitional period in Glenn’s musical career. It existed as a kind of middle ground between the light, horror punk of The Misfits and what was to become the dark, blues influenced metal of Danzig. On July 14, 1986, Samhain played their last show at The Ritz in New York City, where Glenn was offered to be the singer of a super group envisaged by Rick Rubin of Def Jam, where Glenn’s vocals were to be the main focus of the band. However, Glen was reluctant to sign without the inclusion of Samhain bassist and friend Eerie Von. Rubin agreed and the first incarnation of Danzig was born, with John Christ on guitar and Chuck Biscuits (an ex Black Flag member) on drums. Over the last twenty years, Danzig has released eight full-length albums, including Danzig III: How the Gods Kill, which many fans view as the acme of the band’s career. Danzig has also released two EP’s, a live double album, and 2007’s double release, The Lost Tracks of Danzig, including unreleased tracks from 1988-2004. However, it was “Mother” off 1993’s Thrall: Demonsweatlive EP, that propelled the band into recognized rotation on rock radio stations through out the country and a popular music video resulting from live footage of the song that made the song MTV mainstream. Danzig has had an ever-evolving line-up, starting in 1994 with Chuck Biscuits leaving over royalty disagreements. He asked to rejoin the band, but was promptly replaced by Joey Castillo. A dominos effect led to Danzig searching openly for a new guitarist and upon learning this John Christ left the band in the summer of 1995, never really feeling content in his position in Danzig. Coincidently, the following day Eerie Von resigned from the band. The immortal era of Danzig was officially over. In 1996, Danzig 5: Blackacidevil was released with Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains on lead guitar. It is often cited as fan’s least favorite albums because of the heavy emphasis on experimentation, heavily distorted vocals, and industrial rock sound. Since then, the bands line-up has been unsteady and there have been various reported legal battles, including one with producer Rick Rubin over the rights on unreleased material recorded under American Recordings. The current members include Glenn on vocals, guitar, and keyboard; Johnny Kelly on drums; Todd Youth on guitar; Steve Zing (of Samhain) on bass guitar and vocal; and Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein (the Misfits most praised guitarists) as an occasional guitarist. In October 2007, Danzig embarked on a West Coast string of tours dubbed “The Three Weeks of Halloween” to promote his May release of The Lost Tracks of Danzig. Reportedly on the first night of the tour in Baltimore, Glenn fell off the stage and dislocated his shoulder, which led him to cut the show short. In addition to an amazing music career, Glenn is owner of record label Evilive and an adult comic book publishing company called Verotik, where he showcases his artistic abilities. At the age of 12 he reportedly worked in a comic book store, where he first began writing the music that has made Danzig, Danzig. Glenn Danzig is a versatile man, who seamlessly transitions between hardcore metal god, to quiet intellectual, to ambitious business man. He has been a touchstone of alternative culture for the past thirty years, and given he can still fit into those tight leather pant, fans can probably expect him to squeeze out another thirty. Be sure to check out Mike Romans’ review of the Danzig show in San Francisco. From Issue #55 |
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