Exclusive interview with michale graves
Hello Michale Graves! It's a great honor to do
this interview. Thanks! We have a lot of punks here, that see you as
a role model and sing your songs :) You're one of the legendary
punk/rock icons out there, mostly known as the ex lead singer of the
band "The Misfits".
You will often say that your mom was one of your influencers when it
comes to music. Sounds sweet, every time listening to the radio, you
say you were meant to create music and express yourself in a
creative way. It's also fun to mention that you have an acting
background, so the story behind the skull is just another alter ego.
Q: In the early ages (20) your talent was discovered, so you
became the lead singer of the legendary horror/punk band "The
Misfits". I can only imagine how happy you were, but was it hard for
a young person to get on that big stage, face fame and
pressure, so many touring dates etc? Tell me about the starts.
A: Yes, there was a great amount of self imposed pressure and
responsibility to make such a historically important band relevant
again, and aside from doing so through live performances with music
of the past it was important to make relevant music again and
that fell squarely on my shoulders being the most able composer in
that band.
Q: Being a good, old friend with Legends
like Joey Ramone and Marky Ramone must be fun! :) How important was
their influence?
A: I was a bigger Ramones fan than I was a Misfits fan so the
opportunity to work with all of those guys always did and continues
to motivate me, it was great fun! Being able to sing with Marky on
the tours we did was by far the highlight of my career, and no one
other than Joey Ramone sings Ramones songs better than me and
that’s the truth!
Q: Do you
have any favorite festival that (if given chance) you want to go
there again?
A: No, I can’t say I have one favorite festival, there’s been so
many it’s just hard to single out just one, every night I try to
make each performance more special than the night before, and I’m
constantly trying to achieve the perfect performance and I haven’t
gotten there yet, but I will!
an epic photo ;)
Q: Fans could be crazy at times. Tell me about
the weirdest experience.
A: One of the craziest things a fan did was spend
an afternoon with me, it was part of a kickstarter fan giveback and
she was completely uninterested in the events we were participating
in and she was focused on and completely dedicated to pledging her
love to me and pretty much held me hostage until I could be rescued
by friends. It was a bad and weird situation, definitely the
weirdest!
Q: How important is the support from the fans?
A:
I guess every time I create a new body of work I always have the
fans in mind and what might appeal to them, is the most
important to me, in any endeavor.
Q: What makes a great show, instead of just having a great
voice and crazy energy on the stage?
A: I think having the ability and know how to execute the things
that give me the opportunity to use my voice and to use my physical
energy to entertain, that is something that doesn’t come naturally
to me and is something that I have to train for and study and
something that I must prepare for on every tour.
Q: Listening Misfits songs it's like being
part of a beautiful, horror, fairy tale. Watching you guys with
crazy hairstyles, painted skulls and black clothes, screaming angry
lyrics into a microphone, it's
easy to fall in love! hah Honestly, thanks for the freak show
guys! :)) Even that nowadays, the band is just a great memory.
But you're doing great in your solo projects. Punk Rock Is
Dead (2005), Return to Earth (2006), Illusions with Damien Echols
(2007), Supernatural (2014), are some the albums that came out since
the Misfits times. Which one is the most autobiographical?
A: Thanks! And the two that you didn’t mention, Vagabond and
Wanderer. The songs on those albums are much more overt as far as
directly taken from my life. You can read the lyrics and understand
what I’m talking about without the cloak of horror rock.
Q: Gotta mention that your voice sounds
a lot better in your acoustics versions. It's like you changed form the
angry/fast Misfits style.
A: Performing acoustically for me is a very natural state, to have
the ability to vocalize without all the other musical participants
and noise, allows a profound focus on my voice. In the style I
perform while playing acoustically I’m able to really get behind my
voice and fill it with the emotion and detail that is sometime more
difficult to achieve with all of the nuances that come with a full
band.
Q: Beautiful, dark and seductive women, are a great
inspiration for many (well-known) songs you wrote, such as "Dig Up
her Bones" (my favorite), even now in your solo projects. I like the
Skel-pira intro. Tell me more.
A: Skel-pira was a creation and idea that came from Mark Stuart from
Hydraulic-Entertainment. There hasn’t been a relevant horror host
like there was in the old days if you will, and we really wanted to
create a character in that vein of Elvira or Vampira. Skel-pira will
return.
Q: You've been on many creative journeys
after the Misftits times. Well known, as a very direct and honest
person, who doesn't care about other's opinions, (typically punk:)
Do you think that there are a lot of American psychos fed up with
the political correctness out there?
A: I think there are plenty of American psychos fed up with political
correctness, so much so that we see a significant push back to that
sort of thing. I think the anarchy spirit is natural to humans. It
is the closest we get to freedom within ourselves, the more the
anarchist spirit comes out.
Q: On your website I can see a lot of touring dates. What is the next project you
are working on?
A: The next project... I plan on more videos and more
films this summer. I’ll be back to the recording studio
for a new album this November and the acoustic version of When
Worlds Collide is imminent!
www.michalegraves.net
Q: Do you prefer being solo or the Graves band continues to rock on?
A: That’s a tough one. I guess I prefer the solo with just my guitar
because it is powerful in a way that most people don’t have the
opportunity to experience. It’s a different power and experience
that you get when you see the full band. It’s not any better or
worse, but I think people are incredibly moved by the acoustic
performances in particular.
Q: The punk-rock era is maybe dead, at
least what was known as an old school movement. Bands like "The Sex Pistols",
"Exploited", "Black Flag", "NOFX" and many more. We've seen lots of crazy stuff for sure and some of them
got on the edge of self destruction. You're not there, love
it. Now as a father of two, would you support your daughters if they want
to follow your steps in the music industry? :) They will have a good
mentor!
A: I will support my daughters in any path they choose, like my
parents did for me. I expect them to strive for excellence and
be the best people they can be and in doing so like my parents
taught me, the greatest way to honor the life that they’ve been
given.
Q: Any possible Misfits
reunion? Pleaassee say something :))
A; I am open to it and would be excited for a Misfits reunion and
if it was in my ability to make it happen I would. Mostly that
process needs to be started by Jerry Only, he holds the key to
making that happen. I’m all for it and from what I know so is Doyle.
All we need is Jerry.
Q: Any message to all the young punks out there?
A: It is of the utmost importance to educate your mind and
understand the world that we live in through history as well as
current events. You cannot or will not find truth in music or punk
rock if there is not an intellectual side to it.
Mr.Graves, Thanks a lot for the interview.
I have many more questions, but let's just stop for a while. :)
I'm gonna keep following your new projects and hopefully I will be
around the stage singing your songs with skull painted on me!