Discovering Radio Deadly

by Zach Foster

I have enjoyed listening to The Misfits ever since I was a teenager, though I never went out of my way to look for more of their songs beyond the collection of well-known hits and the Project 1950 album my friend gave me (I love oldies, especially doo wop, and hearing those songs redone as punk was an amazing experience).  Oddly enough, a recent chain of events led me to do a little digging into the band’s history and albums beyond the Danzig era.  This chain of events included me stumbling onto the song “Saturday Night,” vocalized by Michale Graves (later performed solo and retitled “Crying On Saturday Night”).  This song fascinated me and I felt compelled to listen to it many times over again.  I felt completely captivated by the juxtaposition of the disturbing lyrics and the hauntingly beautiful melody that combined the sounds of horror punk with sad doo wop.

I’m now a more serious Misfits fan, but I can now proudly state that I’m also a fan of Michale (pronounced Michael) Graves, and not just for his music.  I have a newfound deep respect for the man and not just the musician.  Many hardcore Danzig fans openly bad mouth Graves for not being Glenn Danzig.  The way I see it is that Graves should be respected for that, since it must have taken great courage and huge endeavors of creativity just to fill the gap created when Danzig left the band.  Graves did an excellent job of helping keep the musical style alive while bringing his own flavor to the band rather than trying to imitate Danzig’s style.  Many non-partisan Misfits fans like and respect Graves for just this reason.

After leaving The Misfits in 2001 and getting involved with other musical projects, Graves began to be vocal about his political beliefs in public, earning him sharp criticism from within the punk rock community; Graves was a Republican and continues to describe himself today as a conservative.  He voted for George W. Bush both times around and believed in catching those responsible for the September 11 attacks.  In 2004 he became involved in the creation of ConservativePunk.com, an outlet for punk rock fans with conservative leanings to discuss ideas and learn from each other over the internet.

The entire movement was criticized by the majority of the punk rock community which tends to lean hard to the left.  The common argument was that conservatism is a part of “the establishment” and punk rock is completely anti-establishment, so punk rockers and their followers ought to be leftists.  Leftism, however, has not resonated well with Graves ever since performing in Eastern Europe during the era just after the Berlin Wall came down.  He had personally witnessed the poverty and desolation brought about by socialist countries, as well as the disillusionment of millions who saw the civil liberties and higher standard of living enjoyed by the West.

ConservativePunk.com and the conservative punk movement were meant to be a counterbalance to the liberal Punkvoter.org project.  These conservative punks took little issue with anti-war sentiment in punk rock lyrics, but took great issue with openly anti-American lyrics like those featured in Anti-Flag’s song “Die For Your Government” that screamed “Die for your country? That’s s**t!” and “I never have, I never will pledge allegiance to the flag!”  They took major issue with the way the themes presented in these songs were considered cool and correct by the majority of the punk rock community.

What no one in the leftist majority of the punk community managed to figure out amidst their constant criticisms of the conservative punk movement is that the Punkvoter project favored one particular party in the two-party system, and taking part in republican democracy by voting in that system is an “establishment” practice.  What the liberals in the Punkvoter movement failed to grasp is that in taking part in the electoral process and getting involved in mainstream politics THEY BECAME PART OF THE ESTABLISHMENT.  They never considered the idea that punk rock might be a means of creative expression through loud, passionate rock music rather than a be-all/end-all ideology one must fundamentally subscribe to and abide by.  After all, if everyone has to think the same way and do the same thing, then they no longer oppose “the establishment,” but rather replace it with another one that is more oppressive through forced conformity.  Their vehement criticism of Graves for being the voice for a conservative punk movement stems from hypocrisy and from the fact that they simply don’t like his politics.  It’s much easier to discredit someone than it is to PROVE THEM WRONG, because challenging another’s core beliefs requires being able to back up one’s own with evidence and reason.  Many radicals are either unwilling or unable to make the effort.

Despite his negative portrayal by the punk majority, Graves was no simple flag-waving pro-Bush automaton.  He wrote articles explaining his views and why he held them.  He appeared on television and gave interviews.  Best of all, he put his money where his mouth was.  Late in 2004 he put his musical career on hold and enlisted in the Marine Corps, serving a year until an on-duty injury warranted him a medical discharge.  This kind of selfless patriotism on the part of a celebrity is almost unheard of these days.  With the exception of Pat Tillman who walked away from a career in the NFL to join the Army, surviving the Iraq War and dying in Afghanistan, no American celebrity has voluntarily left stardom to serve his country during a time of war since World War II.

These days, when not touring with Marky Ramone’s Blitkrieg, Graves and other creative musicians are involved in a project called Radio Deadly, an internet radio network where supporters can log on to RadioDeadly.net and read articles (many of them written by Graves), listen to music, and call into the talk show where Graves and friends discuss an array of topics ranging from music and the arts to politics and current events and even conspiracy theories.  Needless to say I’m a dedicated listener now.

This all goes to show that, unlike many of his contemporaries, Michale Graves not only uses the right to free speech in his punk rock music, but also uses it to passionately defend the very republic and founding documents that give him and the rest of us such a right among many other rights.  That is why I’m a fan.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons