Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (Misfits/Doyle) – by Jay Rollins
Congratulations on recently partnering Doyle with EMP Label Group for your upcoming release, As We Die. You and Megadeth’s David Ellefson, EMP Label Group’s namesake, have been friends for a couple of decades and now you are teaming up. Who approached who to initiate a business arrangement?
THANKU..!!
I believe I saw Dave at a Metal Allegiance show where my girlfriend Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy vocalist) were performing and I gave him my ABOMINATOR CD ( Which is the first Doyle record.) he said he had a label and I said ” check it out make me an offer and we’ll talk ” and then we did…
For your 2013 debut release Abominator you formed your own label Monsterman Records but much of the marketing for the album was actually overseen by EMP Label Group’s Thom Hazaert. Thom has a wealth of knowledge and experience from damn near every area of the industry. How did you decide he was the right guy for you to work with on Abominator?
My Manager Bruce Miyaki hooked up with THOM and it all worked out …
A couple of artists, including Glenn Danzig, have recently spoken out about audiences’ overuse of cellphones during performances. Do you personally find that people and their phones are aggravating during shows and do you think it takes away from the overall concert experience?
I think it’s pretty fucking lame… That people pay money to go to a show to see a show… And still watch it through their phone… This human society is nursing off that fucking phone way too much… It’s making us fucking stupid… Also… Sometimes at a smaller venue… People will have their phone right in your face with the light on!!!!
While I’ve been doing a solo… I’ve taken phones and from their hands and threw them on the ground or across the venue… Then I see them at the meet and greet after the show… And I put my phone light on and stick it in their face and ask them how they would like to have this in their face while they are trying to work at their jobs.. and I don’t have enough middle fingers for that… Unfortunately…
Judging from a few interviews I’ve seen it’s almost as though you prefer making guitars and custom equipment rather than playing them. You were only 15 when you first started with Misfits, how old were you when you made your first guitar and how did you get into it?
My favorite part of the music business is writing songs… When you write a song with someone and it’s great… It’s a great fucking feeling and everybody goes crazy…I was 23 years old I believe when I made my first guitar… A friend of mine came in with a guy to our machine shop with a guitar that they were working on… And they were doing it in an odd way I thought… So I said let me put that on one of my milling machines and clean that up for you… and then they started working at my shop on their guitars… and I had a drawing of the Annihilator from when I was in high school ,17 years old… That I drew on a book that was covered in a paper bag by my mom and I kept it ever since because it was such a badass shape… and I wanted to make it in the future…So when we were making guitars… I held the drawing up to the iceman Which I laid on the floor and it was to scale! so then I started cutting my own…
You were ready for a Misfits reunion long before Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only agreed to the dates and droves of people turned out to see you back in action. Was there a particular night or song that stands out as a highlight?
No..
After the overwhelming reception there have been whispers of a Misfits reunion album and maybe a tour. What is the likelihood of that happening?
I AM HOPEFUL…
Obviously the writing process is different for every band but considering the different band dynamics your role in creating songs with the Misfits must differ greatly from your project Doyle. Do you enjoy having a larger part in the process? How are the lyrics composed in Doyle?
In Doyle I write and arrange all the music and instruments and Alex WOLFMAN Story (singer of cancer slug) Writes all the vocal melodies and words.. He’s the songwriter and in my opinion one of and if not the greatest singer / songwriters of our time!
Abominator continued the tradition of gruesome lyrics inspired by Horror themes backed by a fusion of Metal and Punk, heavy on the metal side. How much longer will fans have to wait for As We Die and is there anything notably different about the sound compared the band’s debut release?
DOYLE II ”AS WE DIE’ Will be released on June 2, 2017 in EMP / MONSTERMAN..The difference between this album and DOYLE I ‘ABOMINATOR’ album is our drummer Branden “THE CRUSHER” Pertzborn absolutely fucking killing it on the drums!!! and we have guests on it as well. Our dear friends RANDY BLYTHE from Lamb Of God on a song called ‘Virgin Sacrifice’ and we have from Arch Enemy Alissa White-Gluz and Michael Amott on the title track called “Kiss Me As We Die”…..!!!
Doyle you’ve been in great shape your whole career and the last couple of years you’ve adopted a vegan lifestyle. What inspired you to switch to a completely vegan diet? Was it more health aspects, animal rights, or a combination of both?
My girl ALISSA WHITE-GLUZ has been vegan, I believe since the age of 13 and vegetarian her whole life before that .. She has never eaten a piece of meat in her life!!She enlightened me to the torture and horror the animals of this planet endure and also the health benefits and destruction of the earth..Eating animal and the making of animal products will eventually kill us all…
Until the new album is released Doyle is continuing on the Abominate the World Tour. You are currently in Europe with dates throughout February. How have the shows been so far?
We toured Europe in February and we toured the United States for our first leg of the tour in March /April we have more tours booked for June and September /October and the show’s been going great ..great response and bigger crowds every time…!
What has it been like on the road with The Dead XIII? Have you had a chance to catch much of their set?
No .. I never see the opening bands..
Fans from all over the Metalheads Forever masses will be anticipating the release of this interview. Thanks for everything!
Any time… THANKU
Jay Rollins / MHF Magazine
