Nightbitch-Chaimaker EP

Ear One Productions
2013

As I went to listen to this 3-track EP my first thought was "Why didn't anyone tell me that Glenn Danzig had a side-project? "Chainmaker" opens up this short EP and right off the bat Chris Taylor (Kingdom of Sorrow) does his best to make this heavy metal outfit sound like a Samhain/Danzig cover band. "Disrober" rides a similar path although there's one little difference here. With it's over the top "Satan is my gym partner" lyrics it sounds more like the group went to the Cronos school of songwriting. Talk about cheese! "Into the Fire" closes things off. This Deep Purple cover is actually the one cut I enjoyed the most as it sounded like Danzig and Deep Purple getting into a head on collision and then their zombiefied corpses rising up and rocking out! As this is a side-project/love-letter to all things "doom and gloom", or as the promo put's it "sleazy 70's occult / exploitation films and plagiarized Danzig riffs", Nightbitch is more of a tongue in cheek/tribute then something to be taken dead serious. In that regard there's a certain degree of charm to these 3 tracks even if I did struggle to keep a straight face during the first two cuts.

Playing the Misfits for Halloween

So Halloween is almost here and that means jack o' lanterns, horror movies, trick or treating with the kids maybe, but it also definitely means that it's time to play some Misfits. Not that you can't listen to them other times of the year, but this definitely their season. I don't mean Jerry Only lead Misfits or the short lived version with Michale Graves. Definitely not Danzig, don't even get me started on that mess. Now Glenn's mid-80's band Samhain would be a good choice as well for Halloween listening as well. With the slow foggy atmosphere and deep mysterious tones, but really the best choice for the soundtrack for my favorite holiday of the year is classic original run Misfits. Which songs you choose to play is up to you because for the most part as long as it's from that classic run you can't go wrong no matter what you pick. Although tracks like "London Dungeon" and "I turned into a martian" did more to define the band then did songs like "Rat Fink" and "Return of the fly". Still I say any Misfits is proper listening for October 31st and the weeks leading up to it. Normally I pull out the Misfits box set from some time ago and just play those over and over. Unfortunately I was too young to have gotten to them when they were still around in their prime. I discovered them in the mid-80's through trading tapes with different people. I remember being amazed by the fuzzy, blurry and raw mayhem with all the monster movie lyrics and easy to get into choruses. Tracks like "Skulls" and "Horror hotel" had me hooked from when they first attacked my eardrums. This is still a band that I enjoy and look forward to Halloween as I listen to as much Misfits as I can cram in.

****What are some of your favorite Misfits songs?

Clash of the album covers

Here you go...


Danzig-Deth Red Saboath

vs.


Force of evil-Black Empire

***Which cover do you prefer?

Danzig-Deth Red Sabaoth

The End
2010

I got into Glenn Danzig during his time with the Misfits and Samhain. The Misfits were a fun although sloppy celebration of punk rock and old horror movies. Samhain were slower and darker, but I was instantly pulled in by their sound. Then came Danzig the band and everything seemed to shift. With the Misfits and Samhain there was an aura of mystery around them. With Danzig the band that feeling was gone. Image was certainly important with the Misfits and Samhain. With Danzig the image took on the fake satanic quality that was laughable. All of a sudden Glenn was doing a lot of posing and acting tough. On top of the music from Danzig was very hit and miss for the most part. However that is the past because this time around Glenn and his band have managed to put together something worth noticing. From the hard pounding opener "Hammer of the Gods" I was immediately hopeful. The flow kept going after with tracks like the "Revengeful" and "Rebel spirit". Guitarist Tommy Victor (Prong, Ministry) provides many highlights with some sharp cutting riffs. He still mamanages to keep much of that dark plodding sound that has defined much of Danzig's work. Glenn himself has not sounded this comfortable in some time. On some of his album in the last twenty years he would very much overdue his vocals. Here he is much subtle and I prefer it. "On a wicked night" is a great example as it opens with the slow pace and Glenn just eases his voice into and just creates the mood as he goes along. The lyrics and general theme of the album are similar to Danzig previous outing. It's just that this time around there is more retraint and the album as a whole benefits greatly from that.

Clash of the album covers

It is...


Danzig-s/t

vs.


Slayer-Haunting the chapel

***Which cover do you prefer?

Interview with Eerie Von

Eerie Von might be best known for his time as bass player for Samhain and Danzig. He has also recorded solo albums, photographed the Misfits in their early days and he is an artist. I recently got to check in with him and find out more about his career and his current projects.


MM-Hey, what are you currently working on music wise?
EV-I'm recording a Country record.

MM-Tell us some about your artwork.
EV-I've been painting and drawing since I was a kid, but I've been painting full time for about 10 years. It's mostly spooky stuff. Lots of Devils, and skulls, and just weird shit I have in my head.

MM-When did you first get into music and what were some of the first albums that really pulled you in?
EV-I grew up listening to a lot of 50's Rock and Roll, and Doo-Wop, along with Motown, and the Beatles. The first record I bought was an Elvis album when I was 8.

MM-You went to school with Doyle, how and when did you first find out about the Misfits? What did you think when you first heard them?
EV-Doyle and I became friends around 13 back in Junior High, but I didn't get into the Misfits until I was 14. He gave me some of their early Eps, and made me some tapes of the unreleased MSP, and Static Age sessions. I thought it was great that they were writing their own songs, and putting out records without a record company.

MM-You took a lot of pictures of the Misfits. How did that opportunity come about? Do you still have all these pictures? What are some of your favorites?
EV-I took pictures from about 1978 on, and did all the High School sports stuff. Doyle, and his brothers were all football players, so I shot them, and once Doyle joined the band, he just asked me to shoot them. I still have all the negatives, and my favorite stuff is the "Cave" Session we did.

MM-When did you start using the name Eerie Von? Where did the idea come from?
EV-I was Eerie in High School, and Von was a nickname from my family. It was my Punk Rock name. Everybody had a Punk Rock name.

MM-I am guessing you became closer with Glenn than the other members of the Misfits since he pulled you into Samhain. What do you remember when Samhain was first forming? Didn’t you briefly play drums early on?
EV-I was good friends with Doyle really, and me and Jerry played basketball together sometimes. I got to be friends with Glenn because I was making a lot of kool T-shirts, and we both collected toys. Once he started saying he was gonna leave the Misfits, we began talking about doing a new band, so we started rehearsing in my basement, he played guitar, and I was on drums.

MM-What was the writing and recording process like with Samhain? Did the ideas flow easily? Was Glenn trying very hard to steer clear of the Misfits’ sound?
EV-Glenn had some songs that he didn't want to give to the Misfits, like Blood Feast, and Death comes Ripping, but he needed them for Earth A.D. He knew what he wanted the band to sound like, and since the Misfits had turned into a Thrash type band, playing really fast, we went for a much slower more musical thing.It used to piss people off, that we weren't playing real fast.

MM-Was Samhain’s music difficult to reproduce live? What were some of the more memorable shows you played with Samhain?
EV-I remember Glenn saying, that there was the studio, and then there was the live show, we didn't worry about what extra stuff there was on the records, so we just played the songs in the format of a 3 piece band.The 1st show in NYC at the Rock Hotel, and the Chicago Bloodbath are 2 of my favorite shows, but they were all really kool.



MM-What are some of your favorite Samhain songs?
EV-I like a lot of the stuff on November Coming Fire the most, but Samhain, and All Murder, All Guts, All fun, and He who Cannot be Named, are also favorites.

MM-How did you guys come to meet Rick Rubin? What was it like working with him?
EV-We decided to play the "New Music Seminar" at the Ritz in NY, kinda like South by South west is today, and Rubin saw us there, and wanted to work with us right away.

MM-Why the band name change (to Danzig) and why the image change?
EV-Rick thought our image was too underground, and that we might scare off, a lot of people, so we decided to change. Once Chuck Biscuits, and John Christ joined, it wasn't Samhain anymore, so it seemed like a natural progression. The name change, made sense for the same reasons. It was a new band.

MM-In Danzig the music seemed to be more basic. Was this the band’s idea or was it recommended to you guys to head in that direction?
EV-John brought a lot of the Metal influence with him, but Glenn always liked Black Sabbath, so it wasn't a big deal. It was all new to me, because I had never listened to any of that stuff. Rubin brought in an AC/DC influence, plus Glenn was into Blues, so it all came from there.

MM-What is your favorite Danzig album that you played on? Why?
EV-I like "How the Gods Kill" the most I think, because the band was at the top of it's game. We recorded the basic tracks, in 4 days, mostly 1-2 takes. We were really tight.


MM-What were some of the more memorable moments about being in Danzig?
EV-The Irvine Meadows show in California, where they filmed the Live "Mother" stuff, was a great moment. For a band like us, that wasn't selling a lot of records, it was a real achievement to put 13,000 peole in that place. The first Europe Tour with Metallica in 1988, and some of the early shows with Slayer, were awesome as well. I enjoyed touring with Type O Negative, Soundgarden, White Zombie, and later, Marilyn Manson.The whole time was really terrific.

MM-Why did you leave the band?
EV-After Chuck left, a lot of the soul of the band went with him. It just wasn't as good. The magic was gone. It was time to move on.

MM-You have done some solo albums in recent years. How has the writing and recording process with these albums been different than when you were in Samhain and Danzig?
EV-In Samhain, we recorded very quickly. As long as we got a good take, with no mistakes, that was it. For Danzig, we spent a lot of time working out the songs, and rehearsing, until we could just go in and knock them out. We never took more than a few months to do a whole album. Since I record all the music on my solo stuff, it takes longer, but I just go for the feel rather than a perfect take.I learned a lot about song writing, arranging, and producing, in Danzig, and I think I've gotten pretty good at it all of them.

MM-What music are you currently listening to?
EV-I still listen to what I always have. Blues, Country, Elvis, Motown, The Beatles, the Stones, the Doors, lots of old stuff, plus new shit too.

MM-Is there anything else that you would like say about yourself, your music or your art?
EV-I'd like to thank all the people who have supported me, from my first band, thru Samhain, Danzig, and my solo stuff, and for checking out the Paintings.

Come see me at www. myspace. com/eerievonart
or write me at EV777@AOL.COM
go to Eerievon. com, and look for my Fiend Art Paintings on Ebay.

***Thanks to Eerie Von for doing the interview.