Halloween season means a lot of things. It means that the
coffee shops of Gotham are rancid with the odors of pumpkin spice. It means
full-grown adults are planning to spend time and energy on Halloween costumes.
It also means that horror punk fans can look forward to Misfits cover bands and
tribute bands coming out of the woodwork to play shows.
For those not familiar, The Misfits pioneered the genre of
horror punk in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their songs are simple and fun
and punk fans have enjoyed singing along to their “Whoa”- centric lyrics for
many years. As such, punk musicians started forming Misfits cover bands and
tribute bands so local fans can get their Misfits fix for Halloween.
I am fortunate or unfortunate enough to play bass for Green Hell, one of New York’s Misfits cover bands (others have
included Psycho 78 and Ghouls Night Out, an all-female
Misfits cover band).
Green Hell is the band that can bring a lot of fun and get a
crowd to be drunker and louder than is necessary or normal Misfits songs led
themselves to crowd participation. The annual Green Hell reunion became a
favorite part of the fall season. The five of us would start messaging one
another to try to schedule rehearsals and shows. We’ make time for fewer
rehearsals than we thing we needed, spend a good portion of that rehearsal or
rehearsals drinking and goofing around, and then play a few very fun shows anyway.
Since we’ve been playing the songs for so long now, we do a pretty decent job
despite ourselves, and are usually not as sloppy as the real Misfits.
Through over-commitment, habitual aggression, and a pure
not-giving-a shit punk ethos, Green Hell became the vessel of pure,
unadulterated fun that every band should aspire to. It was the highlight of the
Halloween season for many of us.
Green Hell didn’t play last year. Our singer and drummer
each moved out of town and too much other stuff has been going on. Two of us
have kids now. It was the first year Green Hell didn’t play since the band’s
inception in 2004. It made Halloween less fun.
But this year the two guys that moved out of town, singer
Marc Sucks and drummer Joey Bones, made plans to get themselves to New York and
wanted to play Green Hell shows again. Green Hell offers those of us less
active in music now a chance to enjoy playing out again. And Green Hell is fun
because it exists with no ambition other than to have a fun time with other
people who like the same music. It’s not a complete reunion, unfortunately.
Circumstances beyond my control have led one member to sit out this year for
the sake of keeping the peace, but I am determined to have a full roster next
time around. We wouldn’t be keeping with the spirit of the Misfits if some of
us were pissed at each other about something.
We have two shows this weekend: this Friday at the Shillelagh Tavern in Astoria, Queens and Saturday night at Hank’s Saloon in Brooklyn. It’s been nearly two years since we’ve played these songs and we
haven’t had a rehearsal yet. We have more shows than rehearsals scheduled and
we wouldn’t be Green Hell if we didn’t.
Earlier this year, members of the Misfits reunited with original lead
singer Glenn Danzig for two shows at Riot Fest concerts in Denver and Chicago
for a reported $2 million. Green Hell will be happy to get a few drink tickets
each. Our crowds will be a fraction of the size and we’ll be spending more money
getting to the shows than we could ever hope to make, but I guarantee we will
have as much fun playing on stage as you can have.
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