Concert Mon Jul 05 2010

Preview: ChristMisfits in July @ Lilly's

By J.H. Palmer

Misfits tribute bands are a longstanding tradition that includes bands like Crimson Ghosts, The Nutley Brass, and The Misfats, who bill themselves as "the fattest Misfits tribute band ever." In recent months the list has grown by at least one: The ChristMisfits, a Chicago-based tribute band who made their debut over the holidays at Lilly's dressed in Santa hats that fell over their faces in a metaphorical devil-lock hairdo. They came armed not only with instruments and vocals, but with songbooks printed on faux parchment paper so that fans could follow along to altered Misfits songs with titles like: Gratitude; Where Reindeer Dare; and I Turned Into a Snowman.

The band returns to Lilly's this Saturday for ChrisMisfits in July, and have added six never-before-heard songs to their repertoire. The ChristMisfits are comprised of Bret Tanzig on "vocals & gifts", Jonny Only on "bass & scream", Jeff Wolfgang Von Frankenstein on "guitar & tights", and Lizzie "Robo" Cook on "drums & tinsel". I spoke to them by phone and email to get some perspective on their upcoming show.

GB: So you're part of a great tradition of Misfits cover bands.

CM: Yeah, there's one called the Bitchfits that's an all girl band, and there's even another ChristMisfits band, but they're not us. They did have some pretty sweet outfits, I gotta say, they were dressed in black Santa suits. We discovered them after our December show.

GB: A Misfits novelty tribute band is a very specific kind of cover band, how did you guys decide you wanted to do this?

CM: For the love of playing Misfits songs and Christmas songs. Jon (our Jerry Only), who's from Detroit thought of it two years ago, and no one in Detroit wanted to do it. We really wanted to put our mark on the holiday tribute band circuit, and tried our hand at re-writing some classics.

GB: The lyrics to your songs are hilarious, how did you write them?

CM: We sat down and wrote six songs in one day together, and somehow one of our stupid ideas finally happened. We met up at a bar and it kinda wrote itself, and it was glorious, the way the songs came together was hilarious and completely productive and we thought: "Now there's no way we can't do this."

GB: I'm guessing you're big Misfits fans, what are some key moments as fans, or key songs that have influenced you?

CM: Misfits and Christmas obviously go hand in hand... It's a little known fact that their first singer was Bing Crosby, then once Danzig joined, he added a more horror-ey aesthetic. I fondly reminisce on my family's door-to-door Misfits caroling...my mom just LOVES singing about killing babies.

GB: This is your second show, and now you're working with a slightly different theme of Christmas in July, will this show be very different from the first? Do you think the first show prepared you for your upcoming show?

CM: Nothing could prepare us for the magnitude of Christmas in July, but we did learn SIX more songs for the summer season...

GB: I wonder how many Misfits cover bands exist.

CM: I kind of feel like maybe every town has one. I was talking to one guy in a crowd at a Misfits tribute concert, and he was really into it. He said: "I'm just here to pretend I'm seeing the Misfits."

GB: So its a two-way thing, the cover band is pretending to be the Misfits, and the concertgoers are pretending that they're seeing the Misfits. Do you think you can reach the Chicagoland Misfits crowd?

CM: They're out there man, and we just need to get the word out to them. Hopefully we'll get more Misfits fans to the show because our friends are probably going to stop feeling like they're obligated to come see us, not all of them are Misfits fans.

GB: Who do you know for sure will be there?

CM: My dad is going to be there, and stepmom. They're coming in from outside of Flint. I know, they're really cute.

GB: So people are coming from out of state to see this show is what we're saying.

CM: Yup, crossing state lines.

The ChristMisfits will be playing Saturday night at Lilly's (2513 Lincoln). Show starts at 9pm, $6 cover at the door. For more info call 773-525-2422, visit Lilly's MySpace page, or Facebook page.