I honestly never would have though that twice in one year I would have the honor of doing a double whammy of members of a legendary band. In 2017, it happened. Earlier this year we spoke with Misfits guitarist Doyle and just recently we sat down, well stood up, with former Misfits frontman Michale Graves.
The setup for this interview was interesting as Michale Graves was getting his make up set while we filmed. It is worth noting that this process isn’t documented often for many bands, so seeing part of it happen in real time while he spoke with us was awesome.
Makeup Takes A Long Time…A Long Time
As noted, we filmed some of this process of Graves adding on his stage makeup. What is insane is for a say, 45min set, he allows about 2 hours to prep it all beforehand. At the time of this interview, he had been doing this for 2 months straight.
He has thought about not taking it off however he does. He mentions he loves being able to bring his former character back and that adding it all on is a fun thing to do.
Joining The Misfits, The Unknown Journey
Hindsight is 20/20 and when a buddy asks you to join his band, you never know what that band may turn into. This goes for Michale Graves joining the Misfits as he told us he had no idea what he was getting into. He knew he had an opportunity with them vs the band he was in and so he took it.
It gets a bit humorous when he mentions that his job was to do his role and keep his mouth shut. He then mentions as everyone knows later he didn’t really keep his mouth shut. He is proud of what he has achieved.
Big History, Small Clubs, Get Humbled
With a history of being in a influential band, playing massive rooms and venues is the absolute norm. However, he is playing in small rooms and clubs in which we asked if it in any way humbles him.
It does, but in a sense of bringing the music and story to life in a certain way. It is also a celebration of 22 years in doing this stuff to which many bands I’m sure would kill for a 22 year long successful career.
Why Do The Older Bands Last & New Ones Break Up?
Talking to Michale Graves, Doyle, and even seeing Def Leppard back in May, it sparked the question of why do some new bands fall away after 2 or 3 records and the older names are still trucking along. Essentially, Graves sees the older names as the gods of rock still and how in the modern metal and rock world those larger than life bands don’t event exist right now.
He even mentions how the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame is more than rock and the genre is running out of people.
To Find Out More…
To find out more of the conversation and topics we discussed, watch the video above because it has a wealth of information and insightful dialogue.
