Jerry Only

Jerry Only
Background information
Birth name Gerald Caiafa, Jr.
Born (1959-04-21) April 21, 1959
Lodi, New Jersey
Genres Horror punk, punk rock, heavy metal
Occupation(s) Musician, singer, bassist
Instruments Bass, vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active 1977–present
Associated acts Misfits, Osaka Popstar, Kryst The Conqueror, Balzac (band), Rammstein
Notable instruments
Custom Graphite Devastator Bass

Jerry Only (born Gerald Caiafa, Jr. on April 21, 1959) is an American musician, well known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well.[1] He is credited with creating the hair style known as the devilock.

Biography

Misfits

Gerald Caiafa, Jr. was born in Lodi, New Jersey. He joined Misfits in 1977, just a few months after receiving his first bass as a late Christmas present. He would work at his father's machine shop during the week to help finance the band and play shows on the weekend. This would go on for several years and the band split due to differences between lead singer Glenn Danzig and the rest of the band. During this downtime, Only and his brother Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (the guitarist for the Misfits) formed Kryst The Conqueror. In 1995, Only settled a legal battle out of court with co-founder Glenn Danzig, allowing him rights to the Misfits' name on a performing level, while they split the money on merchandising. He reformed the band with Doyle (who played guitar from 1980 to 1983), vocalist Michale Graves, and drummer Dr. Chud.

Chud and Graves left group in 2000 to form Graves. In reaction to the loss of members, Doyle left the Misfits. Graves, Doyle and Chud were replaced on the M25 tour by Dez Cadena, formerly of Black Flag and DC3, on guitar and Marky Ramone, formerly of The Ramones, on drums. Only took up the singing duties from this point till the present date. In early 2005, Marky left the group and Only brought in ex-Misfit and Black Flag drummer ROBO to rejoin the group. A new album was recorded in 2010 in Colorado entitled The Devil's Rain which was released in October 2011. A single, "Land of the Dead", was released at the mischief night show 2009 at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ.

In 2013, Only and the Misfits released a new album entitled DEAD ALIVE! recorded live at several shows.

Caiafa was also one of the few people in attendance to the bail release party for Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious. He and Vicious's mom Anne cooked dinner. Caiafa also spoke with Vicious about potentially starting a band after Vicious name was cleared in court for the murder of Vicious girlfriend Nancy Spungen. This ended when Vicious decided to do heroin in the other room. Caiafa left with friends after Sids first overdose that night. Later on in the night another overdose would leave Sid Vicious dead at the age of 21. It is perceived that it was an intentional overdose to honor the suicide pact that Sid and Nancy had. Caiafa drove Anne to dispose of Sid's ashes onto Nancy's grave during the winter.

World Championship Wrestling

In 1999 Only and the rest of the then Misfits lineup had a brief stint in World Championship Wrestling. Only himself participated in probably the most memorable match of the Misfits' time. Only was pitted against Dr. Death in a steel cage match. Only was dominated in the match but Death was distracted when the rest of the Misfits interfered and attacked his manager, pouring barbecue sauce in his eyes. Death proceeded to whip Only into the cage door which opened as Only spilled onto the floor and won the match due to "escaping" the cage first.

Only/Danzig lawsuit

On May 6, 2014, it was announced that Glenn Danzig had filed a lawsuit against Jerry Only, claiming Only registered trademarks for everything Misfits-related in 2000 behind Danzig's back, misappropriating exclusive ownership over the trademarks for himself, including the band's iconic "Crimson Ghost" logo. Danzig claims that this violated a 1994 contract the two had. Danzig says that after registering the trademarks, Only secretly entered into deals with various merchandisers and cut him out of any potential profits in the process. He said that Only has purposefully led merchandisers, including Hot Topic, to believe that they are legally bound not to accept licenses to exploit the Marks from Danzig or his designees, and Only continues to do so. He said that through this, Only has caused merchandisers not to do business with him and it has deceived consumers as to the source of the merchandise which bore the trademarks. Danzig said a vast majority of the Misfits fans associate the trademarks with the 1977–1983 classic Misfits era when Danzig was a member of the band and not with the current era Misfits. Danzig feels that through false advertising and misrepresentations to merchandisers and consumers it has caused him to suffer damages in excess of $75,000.[2] In August of 2014, the judge dismissed the case in favor of Only.

Discography

The Misfits

Kryst the Conqueror

Osaka Popstar

Filmography

TV

References

  1. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Biography: Misfits". AMG. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
  2. ↑ "GLENN DANZIG Sues MISFITS' JERRY ONLY Over HOT TOPIC Deal". Blabbermouth.net. May 7, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  3. ↑ Brown, Marisa. "Biograph: Osaka Popstar". AMG. Retrieved May 18, 2010.

External links

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