The Misfits: Teenagers From Mars
Last December, I wrote the following article for The Hundreds in order to promote the release of the book, Teenagers From Mars: The Misfits Among Us 1978 – 2006. Unfortunately, due to the usual legal horseshit that lingers around Danzig and crew, the book was pulled from the shelves and the article being killed. (Check out Larry Lingo with the journalistic slang!)
So, in the non-celebration of The Misfits playing Madison Square Garden this weekend, I figured to run the article here on the site. Maybe I’ll get a cease and desist letter from Glenn himself! Who knows? In a world where The Damned have to warm up for a band who owe their entire livelihood to them, anything is possible.
Signing off bitter and broke — TR
In the grand pantheon of American punk bands, the image projected by The Misfits looms heavy and large overall their peers. Formed during the late 70’s and working from the cultural bubble of Lodi, New Jersey the band stitched together a truly matchless concept; a dark and twisted celebration of American culture composed from an admiration for low budget horror and science fiction flicks, the production skills of music business pariah Phil Spector, the deep state tragedies from the nations’ past with some of the imported theatrics of David Bowie thrown in for good measure. Self-releasing records on their own Plan 9 imprint put them in the unique position of controlling their image and connecting one-on-one with their fanbase. Holed up in vocalist Glenn Danzig’s basement apartment, the group beamed out rumors about themselves recording in abandoned haunted houses and sleeping in coffins to create an air of intrigue and mystery the deep pockets of major labels couldn’t begin to conjure up.
After their initial break up in 1983, the mystique about the band pushed further. Whether it was merely the masses finally catching up to their genius or the fact Metallica covered their tunes, it was obvious The Misfits would follow the lineage of The Stooges, Big Star and other seminal bands before them. In the late 90’s founding member and bassist Jerry Only along with his blood brother and guitarist for the band Doyle von Frankenstein began touring and recording with a revolving door line-up of the band which sometimes took in a stray Misfits member here and there as well as former members of the Ramones and Black Flag. But it wasn’t until 2016 when it was announced they would reunite with vocalist Glenn Danzig to play Chicago’s Riot Fest that the fans felt they were getting the real deal. Since then, the band has packed arenas with fans ranging in age, all wishing to witness this band which captured their imagination throughout all these different pockets in time.
Aside from the recent live shows, another element that can assist in getting a grip on the Misfits’ history is the recently published photo book, Teenagers From Mars: The Misfits Among Us 1978- 2006. The tome bookends two important eras of the band as captured by the younger brother of Jerry and Doyle and longtime band manager Ken Caiafa as well as renowned rock photographer, Frank White. Caiafas’ photos showcase the band in their formative stages lurking in and around their hometown plus their first trips into New York City to play legendary venues such as Max’s Kansas City and Irving Plaza while Franks’ images begin at the much-publicized and anticipated Jerry and Doyle launched a comeback in 1996.
Like many others who earned their bones in the punk scene, Ken Caiafa learned his talents for photography and management at the spur of the moment. “I was the only one there to help the band out so I did what I could,” he says about the dual role he played for The Misfits in those early years. “I was not a trained photographer, but I had a camera and knew how to work it. My goal was just to try and get some useable pictures. It was focus, adjust for light and fire. I was just trying to tie together our love for Horror, Sci-Fi and all things macabre” Ken states matter-of-factly before quickly throwing in, “And hard-hitting music of course.” Caiafa’s photos provide a window into the development of the Misfits’ aesthetic we never had prior to the publication of the book as we witness them futz with and eventually develop their ghoulish aesthetic over time. Coming from the same space of spirit over skill as his brothers and their bandmates, Ken proves himself with these photos to be the unsung element in the Misfits’ everlasting allure.
Where the photos by Caiafa give insight into the evolution of The Misfits, Frank White’s show Jerry and Doyle building upon the already proven framework of the bands’ style. Although a fan of the band from early on, Frank did not get a chance to photograph them until 1995 at a horror convention in Secaucus, New Jersey. “As I entered, Jerry, Doyle, and Ken were the first people I ran into” recalls White. “They had a very impressive horror-themed set up in the hallway of the hotel and you could not miss them. I remember thinking about how I would finally get my chance to meet and photograph them after wanting to since their heydays”. Impressed that Frank got some photos from the day of Jerry and Doyle flanking well-known Horror queen (and Hundreds collaborator) Elvira into the pages of Thrasher, Ken Caiafa made him the official photographer for the revamped line-up of the band; a title he held until 2006.
The concept for Teenagers From Mars began when the announcement was made a few years back about the reunion of the original line-up and White was approached by the UK-based Metal Hammer magazine for photos from the Misfits’ nascent days. Although he could not provide these needed shots, he helped them out in their quest by making a few phone calls. Early Misfits guitarist Bobby Steele recalled to Frank how Ken Caiafa took a good amount of photos of the band back in the day. “Ken never told me when I was working with the band for all those years that he ever photographed his brother’s band,” says a stunned White. A few days later, Ken met Frank at an undisclosed location holding a small black briefcase. “He opens it up and out comes all these envelopes with the time period being from 1978 to 1981. I was in a state of shock, and all of a sudden ideas were swirling inside my head. I said to Ken that not only do we have enough photos here for the Metal Hammer story but we have enough here for a book between his photos and my photos.”
Working quickly, Ken reached out to Ian Christe over at Bazillion Points Publishing who leaped at the opportunity of releasing a book crammed with photos from the two most important historic eras of this much-storied band. Now out and ready for consumption, Teenagers From Mars will not only please fans due to its exclusive imagery but the detailed recounts from both Caiafa and White on their time spent with the band at both these important stages in their career.
Even though the combination of words and imagery in Teenagers From Mars plainly lays out the reasons behind The Misfits’ legacy and why they transcended the underground to continuously inspire and inform pop culture, I still ask both Frank and Ken their take on why the band still manage to retain and collect such rabid fans into the present day. “I think its a combination of their horror look, the kind of music they play and their time not on stage with original members for many years brings out the masses to their sold-out arena shows now” White responds. Caiafa – who seems to have a knack for being strikingly direct with his statements – boils it down to the painfully obvious, “It’s great imagery and great songs. It’s hard to beat. Nobody does it better than them.”
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