Rare Misfits recording unearthed after 15 years
Misfits book author and veteran punk drummer Joel Gausten (Pigface, The Undead, Electric Frankenstein) has posted an unreleased Misfits rehearsal demo of "Who Killed Marilyn?" at this location. The site also includes an in-depth blog (entitled "15 Years Ago Today?") detailing the recording of this and the other featured Misfits demos. Like Gausten's previously-posted demos ("London Dungeon", "Astro Zombies", "Hatebreeders", "Angelfuck", "She", "Nike A Go Go" and "I Turned Into A Martian"), "Who Killed Marilyn?" was recorded on February 25, 1995 - exactly 15 years ago - at the Misfits' rehearsal compound in New Jersey. The recording features Jerry Only on bass, Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein on guitar, Eric Weiss on vocals and a 17-year-old Gausten on drums. The song was part of an 11-song demo recording engineered by Misfits drummer-to-be, Dr. Chud. These tracks were recorded several months prior to Michale Graves becoming the band's official singer.
"Earlier this week, I realized that it would soon be 15 years since this recording session took place, and I wanted to do something special to celebrate that date," explains Gausten. "'Who Killed Marilyn?' remains a favorite Misfits song of mine, and it was a blast to dig out this recording, go down memory lane and hear a 17-year-old me make noise with Jerry and Doyle!"
At the time of the recording, Gausten had been serving as one of the band's fill-in rehearsal drummers while the group was auditioning vocalists. Gausten detailed his experiences with the Misfits in his out-of-print 2006 book, "Tales of Horror: The History of The Misfits & The Undead", which will be re-released this summer as a deluxe edition with a new cover by artist Shannon Gardner-Gausten, updated/expanded information on both the Misfits and The Undead and a brand-new interview with former Misfits drummer "Mr. Jim" Catania.