Happy Birthday to Dr. Chud, Misfit to Some

One of the most polarizing outfits in music (regardless of genre) has been the Misfits. From their glorious stage-blood-soaked heyday in the late '70s, the campy hairdos, Caiafa family meddling, splits, and the yearslong lassoing of merchandising rights to the Samhain versus Kryst the Conqueror following, I for one will admit an almost blind devotion to The Misfits and a lukewarm familial affection for the Misfits.

I'm from the school of thought that includes Danzig in the The and everything else in the lowercase "the."

But today's Misfits entry does not deal in any which way or form with Jerry Only and/or Glenn Danzig. Nope, this one deals entirely with one of the many who tenured on the skins for the band. Unfortunately for him, his "latter days" gig is with the post-Danzig Misfits, and to many, he's plain just not part of the greatness.

I say fuck that. Taking his cue from 1984's C.H.U.D. film and switching the "cannibalistic humanoid underground dweller" to "cannibalistic humanoid underground drummer," Dr. Chud, the Chudster, born David Calabrese in Lodi, New Jersey, has been around longer than he seems.

While he might be better-known for his work with the Misfits, Chud has had a long-running career dating back to the early '80s with bands like Kryst the Conqueror, Dan Kidney and the Pulsations, Specific Ocean, Sacred Trash, and Sardonica to the more recent incursions with Michale Graves' Graves, Dr. Chud's X-Ward, and the Danzig-approved Gorgeous Frankenstein with fellow ex-Misfit Doyle.

What better way to help celebrate his 48th birthday than with some videos of his musical contributions to the world. Whether you consider him a Misfit or not, he seems like a swell guy.

Sardonica - "Soul Seller"

In the '80s, Chud was part of the thrash/skate/HC band Sardonica, and here's a live version of the excellent track "Soul Seller," recorded live last year with Chud on bass from the Your Own Back Yard seven-incher.

Dr. Chud's X-Ward - "Powerless"

After Graves folded, the Doc went on to form Dr. Chud's X-Ward, continuing on the horror-punk and seemingly caring less about contributing good role model-ship to the impressionable youths. (Feel free to picture Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny there if you want).

Misfits - "Death of the Fallen Angel"

Here's an instrumental recording from the American Psycho sessions that eventually surfaced as some convoluted "buy all this other crap and send in the proofs of purchase" Jerry Only-orchestrated scam called the Psycho in the Wax Museum EP. Oh well, of the two instrumentals (read: Michale Graves-less) tracks, this one's the better one.

Misfits - "Them"

This one's from the Famous Mosnters LP, and it's on that sci-fi tip that the resurrected Misfits were known for. I actually like it.

Misfits - "The Hunger"

Finally, here's a track from the American Psycho LP, which, though not great in comparison to the original band, showed some promise. I have this LP and occasionally let the needle do its job on both sides. No Walk Among Us but a helluva lot better than some of its Kryst the Conqueror origins.