Michale Graves - 'The Lost Skeleton Returns' CD Review (x-Misfits)

Michale Graves’ newest disc, The Lost Skeleton Return, was released last month and this is the second disc that Graves funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign. This new disc is also Graves’ second release this year as he released the “rock/folk/pop” disc, Vagabond, in late February. I found Vagabond to be a mixed bag, as much of Graves’ recent output has been, but The Lost Skeleton Returns is a nice return to the sound of The Misfits, Gotham Road and Graves’ early solo work.

The Lost Skeleton Returns is being billed as Graves’ “first anthology Monster Rock CD” and the disc contains new recordings of seven Misfits songs and three songs from Punk Rock is Dead (Graves’ last disc before going off to the Marine Corps) along with 6 brand new songs. A video for “Lost Skeleton” was included as a Kickstarter reward for certain pledge levels and the video was described as a “mini movie spectacle...shot in old school black and white...[with] a ‘low budget’ look and feel”. Videos have also been posted for "Zombie" and “Night of the Living Dead”, both of which feature horror hostess Skel-pira.





The Lost Skeleton Returns Track List
· Lost Skeleton (new)
· American Psycho (originally recorded for The Misfits’ American Psycho)
· Forbidden Planet (new - featuring Chris Motionless, from Motionless in White)
· Dig up Her Bones (originally recorded for The Misfits’ American Psycho)
· Dawn of The Dead (originally recorded for Michale Graves’ Punk Rock is Dead)
· Scream (originally recorded for The Misfits’ Famous Monsters)
· Crying on Saturday Night (originally recorded for The Misfits’ Famous Monsters)
· Die Monster Die (originally recorded for The Misfits’ Famous Monsters)
· Fiend Without A Face (originally recorded for The Misfits’ Cuts from the Crypt)
· Godzilla (originally recorded for Michale Graves’ Punk Rock is Dead)
· Fiend Club (originally recorded for The Misfits’ Famous Monsters)
· Earth Vs. Spider (originally recorded for Michale Graves’ Punk Rock is Dead)
· Zombie (new )
· Night of the Living Dead (new)
· Last Man on Earth (new)
· Something Wicked (new)

Graves’ new cuts are all stylistically similar to his work with The Misfits – all of the songs have big hooks, anthemic, sing-along chorus and Graves’ distinctive vocals are a centerpiece. While the songs on The Misfits’ discs with Graves are credited to all members, it seems pretty obvious that Graves had a major role in the songwriting. As a (sad) point of comparison, Jerry Only butchers a handful of songs from this disc on The Misfits’ Dead Alive! disc so one can quickly hear how much Michale’s vocals are an integral part of these songs.

Michale has been playing a few one-off shows over the last few months but has posted to Facebook that “the lost skeleton returns on tour...in October!”. At a show earlier this year, Michale’s touring band was Johnny B. Morbid on bass, Tony “Bones” Baptist on drums and Emilio Menze on guitar.



Links:
Michale Graves

Michale Graves Plays Club Europa on Dec. 17th // Return to Earth CD Review

Michale Graves originally released the second disc, Return to Earth, under his own name in 2006 and this disc was recently picked up for distribution through MVD Entertainment. I haven’t seen Michale play live since a show a number of years back at L’Amour (which I think was a Web of Dharma show) and then I lost track of him musically after Gotham Road went on hiatus. The only point to mentioning all of this is that I dropped on Return to Earth expecting Michale Graves' solo release to sound like The Misfits as both Web of Dharma and Gotham Road weren’t that far removed.

As compared to Michale Graves’ past work, Return to Earth is somewhat of a mixed bag. On past releases, Graves’ distinctive voice was the centerpiece and most of the songs were melodic, sing-along horror punk. The horror movie themes have stayed but this is much more of a (alt-)rock album than his past work so there is a minimal amount of group vocal melodies and some songs even push Graves’ vocals down to an equal level with the guitars.

"We Wait" and "Our Moment Away" capture the classic Graves sound of the past but the disc makes a number of stylistic jumps. "Creepy Crawl" and "Dead Beat" both sound like they came out of the Seattle grunge era, "Nobody Thinks About Me" is stylistically close to a Nirvana tune and "Return to Earth" is a multi-tracked piano ballad. The disc ends with the introspective tune "Butchershop" which showcases Michale's vocals. While Michale's stylistic jumps can be somewhat disconcerting, he has a lot more vocal prowess than I've ever given him credit for. Return to Earth is a solid release but a little more musical consistency will go a long way toward increasing the staying power of future releases.

Michale Graves is playing Club Europa this Friday, Dec. 17th, with Cryptkeeper 5 and Ignite Violet. Tickets are $10 and doors are at 7PM.

Links:
Michale Graves

Marky Ramone's New Band "Blitzkrieg" Plays Maxwell's on March 27th

I wasn't a fan of the last/current lineup of The Misfits as it just seemed so cliche to hear Jerry (who has a terrible voice) sing Ramones and Misfits songs. Marky has avoided this 'lead vocalist' problem by recruiting Michale Graves (Misfits, Gotham Road, Graves) and Blitzkreig also includes Alex and Clare from the UK glam-punk band AntiProduct.

Michale has a phenomenal voice and should be able to do justice to Joey's vocals. Alex and Clare also have established chops playing the Ramones songbook as AntiProduct have played all-Ramones sets and Clare is part of The Ramonas, an all-girl Ramones tribute band.

Here is a live video of Blitzkrieg playing "Rockaway Beach"


The show at Maxwell's is Blitzkrieg's only NYC-area show. Tickets are $15 and old-school melodic punkers The Fiendz and Ape Fight are also on the bill.

Links:
Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg

The Misfits Play B.B. King's on Halloween

My first thought when I saw this show announced was "who cares? The Misfits' last gasp was with Michale Graves." I just can't see paying $30 to see Jerry, Robo and Dez sing the Misfits songbook. Seeing Dez sing "Damaged" era Black Flag was fun in the past but I have 'been there and done that'. As for The Misfits' songs, Jerry simply has a terrible voice.

Here is where it gets interesting...according to Wikipedia it has been loosely confirmed that Michale Graves and Doyle will be returning for the 2007/2008 studio album. Dez Cadena has stated that two guitars will be featured on the new album, thus implying Doyle will be playing on the new album, although no real concrete evidence exists to back up this claim. A rumored title for the new record as been "The Return of the Fiend". Jerry Only has not yet commented on the status of the album. However, Michale Graves was quoted to say, "There are other projects also in the works that are very hush-hush. News that will blow your mind, but has to be kept under-wraps for now. Let’s just say the end of this year will be a big one for Graves fans."

It will be very interesting to see who the special guests are for the Halloween show. Don't hold your breath though that it is Doyle and Graves -- it may just be Franche Coma.

Links:
Misfits' Website