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For a 2 month period in 1998 Michale Graves was unable to perform vocal duties for an upcoming Europe/South American Tour so Jerry needed to find a new singer.
Dr. Chud, Myke Hideous, Jerry Only; Chiller Theatre April 1998
As luck would have it Jerry had recently spoken with Myke Hideous (Empire Hideous) at the April 1998 Chiller Theatre Convention; Myke had actually auditioned for The Misfits™ back in 1995 and had known Jerry and Doyle since 1987. Empire Hideous' 1991 EP, The Evil on Earth was co-released through Cyclopean Music.
The Misfits™ with Myke Hideous (May 1998), photo by Tony Woolliscroft;
shared by https://www.instagram.com/fred_graves/
Jerry got a hold of Myke and told him that Michale Graves was dropping out of an upcoming tour and they needed someone "just to fill in". In May 1998 Myke went to ProEdge and auditioned with Jerry, Chud and Daniel Rey (on guitar), Myke new all the old songs but had to learn the American Psycho stuff. During the middle of his "audition" Ken Caiafa handed Myke a block of wood which read something to the effect of, "get your passport, I need extra photos, get me this, get me that..". Reportedly the day after Myke was accepted into the band Ken received a phone call from Michale Graves saying he quit the band apparently due to learning of Myke's audition/position. Even though it was rumored that Michale had left the band, Myke's European/South American tour with the band didn't guarantee him the singing position for good, whether Michale came back or not.
"I walk into the band knowing about the Misfits. I knew what they were about. I knew what the whole thing was about....I wanted to give back the ghoulish style that I felt The Misfits could have had if I was their singer. I wanted to bring back some of the traits of Danzig and also bring the traits and characteristics of Myke Hideous in as well. So I looked at Graves and he wasn't imitating Danzig. He was himself. Which is fine. I just didn't like it. It wasn't to my taste and my standards. So, I get into the band and I've got my look and I've got my idea of what I wanted to do with the band. You know, you look at the Misfits and you say these guys are creepy. They're really ghoulish…..Nah. They're a bunch of jocks. I was the truest thing they could have ever had to a real life ghoul. I lived my life everyday the way I appeared on stage; the way you may have seen me in pictures. That was me. You come to my studio where I live and you'll see my collection of gargoyles, tombstones, skulls, bones, rosary beads, candles and shellacked cats and other various dead things. You go to Jerry's house and you see posters of the Giants. You see football and wrestling on TV. You get to hang out with him while he's wearing his sweat pants and his sneakers. Now, far be it from me to judge anyone, but after living with these guys on a bus for almost forty days while on tour, I have every right to speak my mind, because I was put through hell. I tried to give them what they needed and that was a boost. They needed to get a boost back again. They had a couple of good tours with Graves. They did Japan and Europe a couple of times, all of America and all of a sudden Graves is gone. Half the audience didn't even know he had left when we went on tour to Europe. It was literally ten days that I had to get ready from when Michale quit to where I joined and had to learn 35 songs to go on tour and be ready to go for the shows. It was a lot of stress man. People wanted to kick my ass. People were cursing me out from the audience. Threatening me, throwing shit at me. Every fucking show I did, there was some son-of-a-bitch in the audience that was throwing their drink at me, giving me the finger and saying, "Fuck you. Jump into the audience so I can kick your ass." What did I do to upset this person?! Nothing! It was the same for Graves because he wasn't Glenn Danzig."~Myke Hideous
Eventually cooler heads prevailed and mmediatley upon the bands return from South America, Myke Hideous was given the cold shoulder; after a few more rehearsals he was finally told he was out of the band in a short telephone conversation with Jerry. This decision left Myke Hideous at a loss because as far as he knew, Mike was out for good and he was in. Myke was even told to begin writing material for the Misfits sophomore release and began doing just that on the return flight from Puerto Rico.
"After the South American tour, it was apparent to me that something was going on. It actually got to a point where a couple of members of the band were no longer talking to me. I was so alone, and I had nobody. I literally had nobody. I just didn't know what was gonna happen next. I don't know why I didn't see it coming.. they must have known that they were gonna bring back Michale Graves. I also found out they had Graves convinced to come back the day before we left for Europe. Which means that, if he had showed up, and I would have showed up that day, they would have taken him and he would have sang. So, when I came back from the tour, there was just no communication. I went to rehearsal for two days, and on the third day I called because I was going to be late, and Jerry answers the phone. I said "Hey look I'm going to be a little late.." and Jerry says "Did you talk to Kenny?" - "No" - "Well I guess he didn't tell you yet." - "Tell me what?" - "Well, Doyle's unhappy with your performance and wants to get a new singer.". Just like that. I was in shock. I gave up everything for this band."~Myke Hideous
Up next...Back From The Grave
This note was made possible by Misfits Central, James Greene Jr.'s book This Music Leaves Stains as well as various Misfits interviews. As always thanks to all the fiends (and photographers) that have provided all the photographic history.