Danzig summons fellow ex-Misfit for Fillmore show

Equipped with a distinctive, heavy howl and the creative know-how to survive several musical incarnations, Glenn Danzig keeps busy for the sake of himself and society.

“I like working,” Danzig says. “I don’t like not working because then I’ll probably get in trouble.”

Certainly, nothing avoids trouble like leading a B-horror movie-loving, makeup-wearing punk band — which is where Danzig found himself in the late 1970s with the Misfits.

In 2011, Danzig celebrated his fire and brimstone-fueled career by debuting the Danzig Legacy shows. During these performances, he played mini-sets from his Misfits, Samhain and Danzig — his self-named — band eras. The shows featured both Samhain alumni and Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein, the towering guitarist who played alongside Danzig in the Misfits’ heyday.

On Monday, Danzig will resurrect some Misfits nostalgia when he performs with Doyle at The Fillmore Silver Spring. The show will consist of both Misfits tunes and the metal-infused sounds of Danzig.

The possibility of seeing the classic lineup of the Misfits Danzig, Doyle and bassist Jerry Only may be as dead as the zombies in their lyrics. When the group disbanded in the early 1980s, Danzig went on to form Samhain while Only and Doyle eventually created the short-lived Kryst the Conqueror. After a legal battle,  Only resurrected the Misfits in 1995 and tours to this day with a different lineup.

Doyle performed with the new Misfits before venturing out on his own with Gorgeous Frankenstein. Danzig says the two remain friends, even helping release Gorgeous Frankenstein’s first album.

“We just enjoy playing on the same stage,” Danzig says. “He’s a character, I’m a character.”

Doyle remains a towering presence when he performs. With his jagged guitar strapped to his chest, he refuses to play without his trademark skull makeup.

“I think he wears more makeup now than he used to. I don’t really remember him being that way,” Danzig says. “But it’s his thing. It works for him.”
                             
Echoing his roots, Doyle still wears the Misfits’ famous haircut: the devilock. The style essentially pulls long hair forward into a spike that drapes the face. The last time Danzig rocked the devilock was in 1999 at a Samhain show. Although it has been more than a decade, he says he always has the option.

“I could pull my hair into it if I want,” Danzig says. “It’s there, it’s just slid back.”

In the studio, Danzig has been working on an album of covers. His first offering, “Devil’s Angels,” can be streamed on his website. The song is the theme to a 1967 biker movie of the same name. Danzig kept the tune’s original arrangement, but added a twist harkening back to his punk dispositions.

Switching guitars for violins, Danzig also is preparing his next classical album in the “Black Aria” series. He last channeled his inner Mozart in 2006 with the series’ second release.

“It’s just something I also like. I think there’s correlation between them,” Danzig says. “It’s definitely challenging to have all those different layers.”

After he finishes the third “Black Aria,” Danzig says he hopes to start recording his next Danzig album in the fall. However, his latest release, 2010’s “Deth Red Sabaoth,” may just be his last full-length entry.

“I think I’m not going to do full-length albums,” Danzig says. “I’m just going to do seven or eight song EPs and charge 10 bucks for them. I think one of the reasons people download stuff [illegally] is because people try to be greedy and jack prices up too high.”

After more than 30 years of blood, sweat and more blood even the wicked could use some rest.

“I think probably sometime in the future, near future, I’m going to take a break,” Danzig says. “Not always be on the road. I’m constantly working. I think... maybe just recharge.”

Photo courtesy Danzig