Stuck In Lodi
By John DeRosa
An appropriate band for the holiday, that’s for sure.
In 1997, one of my best friends let me borrow their copy of Collection I by The Misfits and like most who heard their raw, dark, horror and sci-fi infused punk at a formative age – I was blown away. Horror Business. London Dungeon. Teenagers From Mars. Those who know….know.
At the time of that initial listening the band was legendary and essentially myth, having split in 1983. While Jerry Only got the band back together years later with his brother and a new singer (a version that I saw live many times, including a Halloween show in NYC featuring a mini-set of Ramones songs with Joey on stage), something always seemed missing. That something of course was the brains behind the whole operation; founding member, original singer, marketing guru, record label owner, I could go on... Glenn Danzig. He ran the show and left me wondering what it would be like to see the original Misfits live.
Enter John DeRosa’s amazing autobiographical essay of his own Misfits fandom, published on Pitchfork Media. He takes you back to where it all began, in the working class town of Lodi, NJ, not far from where he grew up. He interviews former band members, other people in the scene at the time, and even visit’s Danzig’s father.
As a HUGE Misfits fan at the time – reading this was heaven. For the past 17 years I would type “Stuck In Lodi” into google to make sure the article still existed. The fact that it’s still out there for others to find makes me smile.
Now, the Danzig-fronted Misfits are back. They’ve played huge shows all over, including Riot Fest and headlining Madison Square Garden. I haven’t gone to see them and I really have no desire to. I just don’t think seeing the Misfits in an arena really makes any sense. I like the nostalgia and the band’s place in my life exactly where it is.
I think John’s essay is a big reason why. Thanks John.
John DeRosa is an incredible musician and songwriter who makes some exceptional ambient music under the name Aarktica. He recently released a new record that’s quite lovely. Give it a listen.
This article was published by Pitchfork. Click the image to give it a read!
