The Depot
York PA
September 16th 2017

A NIGHT A ICON CAME BACK TO SLAY ONCE AGAIN.

Tonight in York, we were all excited to see Michale Graves return to the stage. The former Misfits front man still is a master of his trade and proved it by putting on one hell of a show. Before we got to witness his performance, Empire Extreme talked to Michale to discuss all sorts of life and entertainment questions.

Michale and crew drove from Portland, Maine to be at the show tonight. It was a long 8 plus hour drive.

EE: Welcome.

MG: Thanks.

EE: You last released the “Backwoods” album, how was that process compared to others?

MG: The process was basically the same, what’s different is good music, good art, anything from a true nature comes from a true place, your heart, and your soul. To tap into that truth and after two decades what I believe comes from those places is true. When writing the album it was difficult at times, because it’s an exercise in introspection, externality, and really big themes. How do I put what I feel out in a way to communicate to you? What’s that zeitgeist? Sometimes it’s painful because it’s an exercise in psychology. It’s a labor of love. I just recently moved to mid Hudson Valley in New York State. I have a lot of history there. A lot of what I am was forged from that area. I lost a really good friend when I was 18 on the creek, and my house is there to. It’s an old sheep farm and dairy farm in the 1800s, but that creek runs right outside my house. There’s all that in that record.

EE: How was it making the “Nightmares” (which was the album where he spoke and did stories in it)

MG: People just sent in their stuff, that was part of a Kickstarter campaign with Hydraulic Entertainment. They would send the stories and I would put effects and audio to it. I also picked out a few old stories and fables. It was just a different way to communicate with the fans. I’m an old theater kid, so I get off on all those kinds of things.

EE: What was it like playing with the Misfits?

MG: That’s such a big blanketed questions. I can talk forever about it. I was just a normal kid from NJ who got an opportunity to work with this amazing band, legendary, cornerstone of punk rock. For me to come on as the point guy, and have all of the weight of what everybody was looking in a a huge comeback, a lot of that fell on my shoulders. I was the lead singer of the band, the strongest writer, and I was stepping into a roll that Glen Danzig did those years before. So when “American Psycho” and “ Famous Monsters” came out it was a small town boys dreams come true.

EE: Which Reunion you think was bigger and better? Misfits in Chicago or The Guns and Roses?

MG: Well, GNR is the bigger reunification because they are a bigger outfit, a bigger band economically and record sales. The Misfits though is just as noble and worthy as the GNR reunion. There’s no reason why anybody shouldn’t work together. I’m glad they put to rest or dealt with working together. The ultimate thing for the The Misfits is the Fans.

EE: If you had the opportunity to change places with or be in any band, what band would you choose?

MG: I would change places with Eddie Vedder. I’d say Eddie go home do some surfing or something. I got this. Maybe Pearl Jam.
EE: I would love to hear your spin on some Pearl Jam songs.
MG: Ya, I’ll kill it.

EE: If you can bring anyone back from the dead, who would it be?

MG: Martin Luther King JR.
EE: What Musician would you bring back?
MG: Maybe Kurt Cobain. When you get away from all the bullshit, he was a great musician and trying to focus on going back to old blues and working with Michael Stipe. I think we lost Kurt in a crucial time in his career.

EE: Anything you want to say to the fans?

MG: I’m always asked this question, so today’s Graves tip of the day is. To all the young people I say to pick up a book and pay attention to business and finance and how money works. Learn about the music industry and the arts so you can be not just one thing. You can be a drummer but also teach drums or write about drums and make blogs about it. You have these huge companies like YouTube and Spotify and Facebook all these social platforms that build billion dollar corporations on our creations and our art and our music and ideas, and we get nothing for it. We should make a fair amount of money for what we do.

Graves dawning some of his old school make up, came to play and that’s exactly what he did. The set was loaded with song after song that had the crowd going insane. There was much moshing, crowd surfing, and simply going completely crazy. It was intense to be up close to take in the sho, and show was exactly what you would have expected. Graves to put on a great show, great energy and did what he has been doing for years.

About Author

Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

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