Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein | |
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![]() Doyle playing with Danzig at Wacken Open Air 2013 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Paul Caiafa |
Born | September 15, 1964 Lodi, New Jersey, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1980–present |
Member of | |
Formerly of | Gorgeous Frankenstein |
Paul Caiafa (born September 15, 1964), known professionally as Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, is an American guitarist best known for his material with the horror punk band the Misfits and his own band eponymously named Doyle.
Raised in Lodi, New Jersey, he started attending Lodi High School two years following his brother Jerry's graduation. He played on the school's football team for all four years and graduated in 1982. [1]
Doyle, the younger brother of the Misfits bassist, Jerry Only, was originally a roadie for the band and was taught how to play guitar by lead vocalist Glenn Danzig and Jerry. He joined the Misfits in October 1980 at the age of 16. Doyle was the band's third guitarist, replacing Bobby Steele after Steele failed to show up to a recording session. [2] Jerry and Doyle financed the band by working at their father's machine shop.
Like Glenn and Jerry, Doyle incorporated the devilock into his image.
In 1987, four years after the dissolution of the Misfits, Doyle and Jerry formed the metal band Kryst The Conqueror with drummer The Murp. Select songs from the album were released by Jerry Only's record label "Cyclopian Music" as an EP, and featured guest guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo of the rock band Skid Row.
In 1995 Jerry Only settled a legal battle out of court with co-founder Glenn Danzig, effectively allowing Only the rights to the band's name on a performing level. [3]
Doyle and Jerry reformed the Misfits in 1995, with Jerry acting as the band's figurehead and with Michale Graves as vocalist and Dr. Chud as drummer. The group released two full-length albums of new material.
In 2005, Doyle left New Jersey for Las Vegas and began auditioning members for his own band, Gorgeous Frankenstein.
The same year, he appeared on stage with Danzig numerous times throughout Danzig's Blackest of the Black tour. They would meet again in 2007, when Gorgeous Frankenstein played their first tour, opening for Danzig. This line up included Argyle Goolsby of Blitzkid, Dr. Chud and Gorgeous George. [4] Doyle has since joined them on several occasions to play 30-minute-long sets of classic Misfits songs. [5]
During the latter quarter of 2011, former vocalist Danzig and guitarist Doyle performed Misfits songs on four occasions as part of the "Danzig Legacy" tour. The first of the four shows, which took place on October 7 in Chicago as one of the headlining acts at Riot Fest, saw a sold-out crowd of 5,000+. The last true "Legacy" show took place on Halloween at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles with an over sold crowd of 7,000+.
In 2012, "Danzig and Doyle" headlined several worldwide Festivals and did around 70+ shows together. Danzig would play his set before Doyle would join him onstage to perform a set of Misfits songs.
The year 2013 saw the inception of Doyle's solo effort, eponymously named "Doyle". The band features Alex Story of Cancerslug on vocals, Dr. Chud of the second-era Misfits on drums, and "Left Hand" Graham on bass.
The debut album, Abominator , was released digitally through INgrooves/Fontana Distribution on July 30, 2013, through iTunes, Google Play, and other streaming services like Deezer. It was distributed by Altavoz (USA), Nippon Columbia (Japan) and Cargo Records (Europe).
The album was independently produced and released by Doyle's own Monsterman Records. The official CD release was in October 2013 in major retailers such as Best Buy and FYE. There is an "advance copy" that was sold at shows on the Danzig "Legacy Tour", as well as from Doyle's official website. This pre-released advance is lacking a 13th track, released on the final cut, entitled "Drawing Down The Moon". [6]
In May 2014, Doyle announced he was teaming up with Alan Robert, bassist of Life of Agony, for a special Halloween 2014 issue of Robert's award-winning Killogy comic series. Robert said that this was a continuation of his original Killogy comic series but issue will surround Doyle's character. The issue will be published by IDW Publishing. [7]
Doyle set out on the 2015 "Abominator Tour" in March, hitting the road as an opening act for Mushroomhead through April, with headlining dates continuing after into May. Dr. Chud left the band shortly before the band's first tour "Annihilate America" in 2014, and was replaced by Anthony "Tiny" Biuso midway through the 2015 tour. Shortly after, "Tiny" stated that he would no longer be playing with the band and would not continue on the remainder of the tour. A replacement was found immediately: Brandon Pertzborn, the latest tour drummer of Black Flag. "Left Hand" Graham was replaced for the 2015 tour and the band featured DieTrich Thrall on bass instead.
On May 12, 2016, it was announced that Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only, and Doyle would perform together as "The Original Misfits" for the first time in 33 years. They reunited for two headlining shows in September 2016 at the Riot Fest in Chicago and Denver. [8]
Doyle's guitar playing style consists heavily of downstrokes and power chords. He admits to limited facility on guitar, believing "great songs" are more important than instrumental skill in achieving professional success. [9]
Early on in Doyle's career, he used an Ibanez Iceman guitar. However, after experimenting with guitars in Kryst the Conqueror, Doyle developed his custom-made "Annihilator" guitar using his experience as a machinist to design and build the guitar himself. The bat shape was inspired by his love of Batman. [10] These guitars have neck-through design with a graphite body and are loaded with a Seymour Duncan Invader pickup, and are strung with Dean Markley strings. The guitar was made without external screws on the body, as guitars with external screws scratched and cut his skin when he played shirtless. [9]
In the 2000s, Doyle collaborated with October Guitars (now spelled "Oktober") to recreate the "Annihilator" with a signature pickup. Despite this, Doyle still uses his own Annihilator because Oktober were not able to make them the exact way that he wanted. In February 2022, he collaborated with Dean Guitars on a signature Annihilator guitar that will come loaded with his signature Sheptone pickup. The guitar more or less comes with the exact same specs as original but with custom fret markers that show music notes instead of the traditional white dots. It is priced at US$9,999 [11]
Since the mid-1990s he has used a Demeter TGP-3 rack preamp that feeds an Ampeg SVT bass head. His speaker cabinets are his own design, and have Celestion speakers. His pedalboard has a TC Electronic Chorus/Flanger, an MXR Micro Flanger, Digitech Whammy IV pedal, a Morley Bad Horsie 2 wah, an Ampeg Scrambler, a Vox Time Machine delay. In his amp rack, there is an ISP Decimator, and a Digitech Valve Distortion, Plus Line 6 G50 wireless systems. [12]
Doyle married Stephanie Bellars in 2001. The couple have one daughter. He has three sons from previous relationships. The couple has since divorced, which was finalized in 2013.
Since 2013, Doyle has been in a domestic partnership with Alissa White-Gluz, vocalist of the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. The couple are vegan. [13]
The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognized as the pioneers of the horror punk subgenre, blending punk and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery. The group was founded in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist Glenn Danzig. Over the next six years, Danzig and bassist Jerry Only were the group's main members through numerous personnel changes. During this period, they released several EPs and singles, and with Only's brother Doyle as guitarist, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983), both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement. The band has gone through many lineup changes over the years, with bassist Jerry Only being the only constant member in the group.
Glenn Allen Anzalone, better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns the Evilive record label as well as Verotik, an adult-oriented comic book publishing company.
"Cough/Cool" is the first single released by the horror punk band the Misfits. It was released in August 1977 on singer Glenn Danzig's label Blank Records. 500 copies were produced on black 7" vinyl. Both songs from the single were re-recorded and re-released in various versions over the following twenty years.
Gerald Caiafa Jr., better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup.
"Dig Up Her Bones" is the seventh single by the punk rock band the Misfits. It was the first single released by the re-formed lineup of the band, after the original incarnation broke up in 1983. It was the only single released from their 1997 album American Psycho, and the accompanying music video was the first official Misfits music video ever released.
American Psycho is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band Misfits. Released on May 13, 1997, it was the first to be recorded and released without the band's founder and former leader Glenn Danzig. Bassist Jerry Only, after years of litigation, reached a settlement with Danzig and was granted the rights to use the band's name and image to record and perform. The album also marked the addition of singer Michale Graves and Dr. Chud on drums.
Cuts From the Crypt is a collection of demos, formerly unreleased tracks and cover songs by the American horror punk band Misfits. All the album's tracks were recorded by the band in the years following their reformation without original singer Glenn Danzig. The enhanced version also contains the music video for the song "Scream!".
Famous Monsters is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band Misfits, released on October 5, 1999. It is the second in the post-Danzig era of the band, and the last album to feature Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, Michale Graves, and Dr. Chud, who would all quit the band in 2000.
Kryst the Conqueror was an American Christian metal project formed in August 1987 by two former members of the horror punk band, The Misfits. The project was led by bassist Jerry Only, who adopted a new stage name, "Mo the Great", and his younger brother, guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein. The band fused fantastical and sci-fi imagery with religious themes and messages. The band has also been referred to as a "guitar shop project", as Only and Doyle constantly tweaked and refined their instruments throughout the band's existence, in an attempt to create what they felt would be the ultimate bass and guitar.
Evilive II is a 1998 live album by the American punk rock band Misfits. Featuring the "resurrected" Misfits lineup of vocalist Michale Graves, bassist Jerry Only, guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, and drummer Dr. Chud, the album was recorded between October 1997 and March 1998 at a number of concerts in the United States. The album was released on CD by Caroline Records on August 14, 1998, and was made exclusively available through the official Misfits' fan club, known as "the Fiend Club", and was also sold on tour. The CD has since gone out-of-print.
David Calabrese, known professionally as Dr. Chud, is an American horror punk drummer best known for his work with the Misfits.
Steve Zing is an American drummer and bassist. He has performed with Implosion, Mourning Noise, and The Undead before joining Samhain.
The Misfits is a boxed set of material by the horror punk band the Misfits, released in 1996 by Caroline Records. Packaged in a coffin-shaped, velvet-lined box, the set includes four compact discs covering most of the band's recorded material from the years when Glenn Danzig was their singer and songwriter. It also includes a "Fiend Club" pin and a booklet containing photographs, song lyrics, a discography, and a history of the band written by their photographer and associate Eerie Von. The exterior cover of the booklet was illustrated by artist Dave McKean.
Legacy of Brutality is a compilation album of early songs by the American punk rock band Misfits, released in September 1985. It contains overdubbed mixes of previously unreleased songs, mainly from the January–February 1978 Static Age sessions. Besides The Misfits box set, this is the only official album containing the songs "Who Killed Marilyn?" and "American Nightmare".
Gorgeous Frankenstein was an American horror punk/heavy metal band formed in 2005 in New Jersey by Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and his former wife and ex-professional wrestler Stephanie Bellars. The band's name is a combination of both Doyle and Bellars' stage names.
Doyle is an American horror punk band formed in 2012 by Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and Cancerslug frontman Alex Story. Doyle has released two studio albums.
Abominator is the debut album of the horror punk/heavy metal band Doyle, founded and led by guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein of the Misfits. The album was released in July 2013.
Alex "Wolfman" Story is an American singer best known for being the lead vocalist of punk/metal bands Cancerslug (1999–present) and Doyle (2013–present). He also performs as a solo artist under his own name, as well as in multiple side projects. Story sports large sideburns and often disguises himself as a werewolf inspired by the 1940s movie The Wolf Man when performing live.
Argyle Goolsby is an American musician, best known for being the lead vocalist, bassist and co-founder of horror punk band Blitzkid (1997–2012).