By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Punk rock fans in Rio de Janeiro are in for a treat as the iconic American band the Misfits return to the city this Sunday, April 20th bringing with them their legendary horror film influenced punk rock to Lapa’s Circo Voador stage. Throughout their career the band has played numerous times in Brazil, including a 2011 show at the same venue, and now they are back on Easter Sunday.
They are currently on tour of South America and after Rio will head to the Brazilian cities of Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Maringá, and São Paulo with a final South American stop in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
With eight studio album releases during a career that spans almost four decades and countless tribute bands formed in their honor, the Misfits are considered one of the most influential names in punk. Their most well known songs include; “Mommy Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?”, “Halloween”, “Dig Up Her Bones” and “Die, Die My Darling.”
Mary Byker, a British expatriate living in Rio and frontman for the band Pop Will Eat Itself – as well as owner of Mekong restaurant – told The Rio Times, “I saw them play as the original line up […] with Glen Danzig they were awesome,” adding “if you like your punk rock old school and no nonsense then get yourself down to catch one of the few remaining originators of the genre left standing.”
The Misfits started in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, United States. Formed by singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig and bassist and current singer Jerry Only, the band’s name was chosen to pay homage to actress Marilyn Monroe’s final film, 1961’s “The Misfits.”
Over the years, the band experienced several line-up changes. Danzig, who left in 1983 when the Misfits disbanded, went on to form the band Samhain and later the self-titled group, Danzig. Before his departure, the band built up a body of work and a strong following. They released singles, live albums and the studio albums; Static Age (1978), Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D. (1983).
They also became well known for incorporating horror film imagery and themes into their music and overall presentation including in album artwork and stage sets. That mixture would go on to become a musical subgenre, known as “horror punk”.
In 1995 bassist Jerry Only (Gerald “Jerry” Caiafa) and guitarist Paul “Doyle” Caiafa, younger brother of Only, re-formed the Misfits and choose Michale Graves as vocalist while also bringing Dr. Chud on as drummer.
After years of legal disputes with Danzig, Jerry Only and Doyle retained the rights to record and perform works using the Misfits name. Together with Dr. Chud and Graves they released two new studio albums, American Psycho in 1997 and Famous Monsters in 1999, before disbanding again.
For a the 25th Anniversary tour of the Misfits, Jerry Only took over as lead vocalist. Guitarist Dez Cadena, formerly of Black Flag, and drummer Marky Ramone, formerly of the Ramones, joined him on the tour.
Cadena stayed on and eventually Eric “Chupacabra” Arce replaced Ramone as drummer. The trio of Jerry Only, Cadena and Arce released the album, The Devil’s Rain in 2011, making it their first album of new material in twelve years. They have been touring in support of the album since.
What: Misfits
When: Sunday, April 20th, gates open at 7PM. Show scheduled to begin at 8:30 PM.
Where: Circo Voador, Rua dos Arcos, S/N, Lapa
Entrance: R$80-R$160. Available at the Circo Voador box office and online at Ingresso.com.