Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein is a tough interview. The intimidating guitarist of the Misfits, who is currently touring with his own band, isn’t exactly verbose. But, he’s not unfriendly, either. Considering his latest album, As We Die, is over a year old and he’s done countless interviews since then, I’m sure interviews are a necessary evil that he would prefer to avoid. Nevertheless, when the opportunity to talk to the punk legend arrived, I jumped on it. I was 14 when I heard the Misfits for the first time and I’ve been a big fan of his solo band over the last several years.
Prior to his bands vicious set at Trees in Dallas, I got the opportunity to catch-up with Doyle about the bands current tour, his history in punk rock, and what’s in store for the future. If you get a chance to catch Doyle on his current tour (dates listed at the end of the interview), I highly recommend checking it out. Not only does the bands original material kick ass, they are a high-energy act that delivers a truly ruthless set.
the void report: This is your second U.S. run behind As We Die. Do you guys have any surprises or any major changes in the set list from the first time you were here?
Doyle: Probably. I don’t even know when that was, but Alex (Story) does it every day. He just changes it. Whatever he feels like singing, that’s what we do.
the void report: Have you been doing more material from As We Die?
Doyle: Of course. Sure, yeah.
the void report: When y’all were touring behind Abominator you were doing a few Misfits songs.
Doyle: Right.
the void report: And now that y’all have two albums you guys have kinda eliminated those from the set list.
Doyle: Yes.
the void report: Have y’all received any negative feedback from the crowd who want to hear “Die, Die, My Darling” or other Misfits songs?
Doyle: I think newsflash is the crowd can suck my dick.
the void report: Fair enough.
Doyle: Yeah.
the void report: Since you guys have done the Misfits reunions, have you noticed any changes in the crowds coming out to the shows?
Doyle: They’re still ugly.
the void report: (Laughs) Are they bigger, smaller, or…?
Doyle: The ugly people?
the void report: (Laughs) Just the crowd size in general.
Doyle: Not really. A little bit, maybe. I don’t know, but I think it’s more from us coming around.
the void report: Coming up with the Misfits back in the day…you came up when punk rock was really kinda booming…
Doyle: Punk rock has never boomed.
the void report: Well, booming in the underground sense, and I mean like the whole do-it-yourself ethic and touring everywhere. Do you think you learned something from that era that is paying off for you today?
Doyle: I’ve just always gave the show like a…I mean, we didn’t get paid back then, so…
the void report: Right?
Doyle: It’s kinda like today, we’re still not getting paid for some odd reason, but go ahead.
the void report: Well, I was just saying…did you learn stuff from what like Danzig or maybe Jerry was doing back then early-mid-80’s, that you’re still incorporating today that, you know, might be benefiting what you’re doing now. Your own record label, playing smaller markets…
Doyle: I just always did it the same way. Big show, small show. Just gonna come out, stick my cock up your ass and leave…and that’s it. That’s the end of the fucking show.
the void report: I have to ask, when you perform live, you’re beating the shit out of your guitar. Would it be fair to say you have the hardest working guitar tech in rock and roll?
Doyle: That would be fair. That would be a fair assumption, yes.
the void report: It seems like every couple of songs maybe they’re re-tuning or, I don’t know, changing strings….
Doyle: Sometimes they’re changing bridges and fucking nuts and pick-ups and everything breaks. We break everything.
the void report: Wow! That’s intense. That’s pretty demanding for your average guitar tech. I guess that you’ve vetted whoever that is, his skills and what he needs to do before he signs up for the tour?
Doyle: I have a new one every fucking tour.
the void report: Really?
Doyle: Yeah.
the void report: This current tour runs through the end of December.
Doyle: January.
the void report: Oh, really?
Doyle: Beginning of January.
the void report: What are the plans for 2019?
Doyle: To play more shows.
the void report: Just more gigs?
Doyle: Yeah, we’re gonna do a lot of Europe; hopefully Japan and South America, and…we can’t get into Canada, so…
the void report: So, where do you guys stand as far as a new album goes?
Doyle: We got a bunch of shit. We can make one in a month if we wanted to. Can we tour this one first? Everybody wants…as soon as that one came out, they’re like, “Hey, when’s the next one coming out?” Like fuck you, bro. You know this one just cost me a fucking fortune. Let me fucking tour it.
the void report: Okay.
Doyle: You know what I mean?
the void report: Yeah.
Doyle: Oh, here’s this one. “Oh, when’s the new one coming out so I can steal that one, too?” You motherfuckers. Okay. Next. But, yeah.
the void report: I know a lot of Doyle fans. I know a lot of Cancerslug fans, and they’re all devoted to what y’all are doing and buying your music, and you know, I think it’s just ’cause they love the songs and the albums. It makes them want more.
Doyle: Yeah, I don’t blame ’em. I want more, too. But you know, when people steal your records, how you gonna make more?
the void report: Sure.
Doyle: When nobody’s paying…they don’t understand it, that by them stealing it they’re fucking robbing you. They think they’re just one person, but they’re not just one person. Everybody does it and they don’t just do it to us, they do it to fucking everybody.
the void report: Sure.
Doyle: And it’s really fucking up the place and I think it should be policed on the internet and I think you should get really fucked hard by stealing one fucking song. If you were building cars in a car factory and they stole one, would that be a crime?
the void report: Absolutely.
Doyle: That’s what our songs are.
the void report: That totally sucks ’cause I buy all y’all’s stuff.
Doyle: It sucks. I buy everybody’s shit. I don’t even…I don’t fuck with Spotify. They don’t fucking pay nobody. I don’t fucking listen to shit on Spotify. If I wanna hear it, I fucking buy it. You look at bands that come out with new albums, and they sell 10,000. It’s a lot. You know? Back, you know, 20 years ago, you just fucked up. That’s a flop. 10,000. A fucking flop.
the void report: Well, has the EMP distribution deal helped you guys out much?
Doyle: I hope so.
the void report: I guess it’s gotten you into more markets globally?
Doyle: I would hope so.
the void report: Yeah. You haven’t seen the …
Doyle: I don’t know what’s going on.
the void report: As far as new material goes, do y’all have any new stuff written?
Doyle: Of course, yeah, we have a ton of stuff. We’ve got at least three. We’ve got three songs that are finished, and we have ten more. I have to demo them and give ’em to Alex.
the void report: That’s all stuff that you do on your own or are y’all writing anything when you’re on the road?
Doyle: On the day off. I got a guitar in the back that I’ll fuck around with. But, like on show days, I don’t have the fucking time, or you know, I just…every second, I gotta fucking time every fucking thing I do.
the void report: Well, we blasted through my questions pretty quick.
Doyle: That’s what we do, we blast ’em.
the void report: I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.
Doyle: Okay, man. Thanks for coming.
Oct 29 ’18 Minneapolis, MN Lee’s Liquor Lounge
Oct 30 ’18 Milwaukee, WI Miramar Theater
Oct 31 ’18 Joliet, Il The Forge
Nov 1 ’18 Green Bay, WI Green Bay Distillery
Nov 2 ’18 Lisle Il, Base Camp
Nov 3 ’18 Westland, MI Token Lounge
Nov 4 ’18 Kent, OH The Outpost
Nov 6 ’18 Morgantown, WV 123 Pleasant Street
Nov 7 ’18 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
Nov 8 ’18 Johnson City, TN The Hideaway
Nov 9 ’18 Spartanburg, SC Ground Zero
Nov 10 ’18 Fayetteville, NC The Drunk Horse
Nov 11 ’18 Richmond, VA Canal Club
Nov 12 ’18 Baltimore, MD Soundstage
Nov 13 ’18 Harrisonburg, VA Golden Pony
Nov 14 ’18 Covington, KY Madison Live
Nov 15 ’18 Huntington, WV V Club
Nov 16 ’18 Raleigh, NC The Maywood
Nov 17 ’18 Charlotte, NC The Underground
Nov 18 ’18 Wilmington, NC Calico Room
Nov 20 ’18 Worcester, MA The Palladium
Nov 21 ’18 Elmhurst, NY Blackthorn 51
Nov 23 ’18 Pittsburgh, PA Smiling Moose
Nov 24 ’18 Madison, WI Ruby Lounge
Nov 25 ’18 St Cloud, MN Red Carpet
Nov 27 ’18 Chippewa Falls, WI Every Buddy’s Bar
Nov 28 ’18 Des Moines, IA Vaudeville Mews
Nov 29 ’18 Omaha, NE Lookout Lounge
Nov 30 ’18 Springfield, MO Outland Ballroom
Dec 1 ’18 Merriam, KS Aftershock
Dec 2 ’18 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
Dec 4 ’18 Seattle, WA El Corazon
Dec 5 ’18 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater
Dec 6 ’18 Sacramento, CA Holy Diver
Dec 7 ’18 San Francisco, CA Thee Parkside
Dec 8 ’18 Temecula, Ca The Boiler Room
Dec 9 ’18 Tempe, AZ Club Red
Dec 10 ’18 San Diego, Ca Brick by Brick
Dec 11 ’18 Flagstaff, AZ The Green Room
Dec 12 ’18 Santa Ana, CA Malones
Dec 13 ’18 West Hollywood, CA Whisky a Go-Go
Dec 14 ’18 West Hollywood, CA Whisky a Go-Go
Dec 15 ’18 Las Vegas, NV Beauty Bar
Dec 16 ’18 Salt Lake City, UT Liquid Joe’s
Dec 18 ’18 Lawton, OK Railhead Venue
Dec 19 ’18 Tulsa, OK The Shrine
Dec 20 ’18 Louisville, KY Diamond Pub Concert Hall
Dec 21 ’18 Buffalo, NY Buffalo Iron Works
Dec 22 ’18 Teaneck, NJ Debonair Music Hall
Dec 23 ’18 Clifton Park, NY Upstate Concert Hall
Dec 26 ’18 Amityville, NY Amityville Music Hall
Dec 27 ’18 Philadelphia, PA Foundry
Dec 28 ’18 Providence, RI Fete Music Hall
Dec 29 ’18 Manchester, NH Jewel
Dec 30 ’18 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Dec 31 ’18 Virginia Beach, VA Shaka’s
Jan 2 ’19 Vienna, VA Jammin Java
Jan 3 ’19 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Bazaar