After declining media inquiries for more than a decade, former Misfits drummer Dr. Chud recently granted an exclusive interview to music writer Joel Gausten to discuss his years with the band and current musical activities. An excerpt from this rare chat appears below:

Q: You went to high school with (Misfits guitarist) Doyle. How familiar were you with The Misfits and what Doyle was doing with them back then? Did you attend many/any shows? If so, what did you think of the band in those days?

Chud: "I went to high school with Doyle, Eerie Von and Steve Zing. I knew about the band and went to a few rehearsals. At the time, Blondie, Aerosmith, Queen and Zep were on my record machine, so watchin’ them really didn’t inspire me much. I think I remember the drummer not being so good, so it was a turn-off. They weren’t popular at all, but they looked cool.

I wasn’t very social and kept to myself. The town was full of bullies and I never felt I fit in anywhere, so I just wanted to immerse myself in learning how to play drums the best I could. I listened to a lot of great drummers, like the ones from the bands I just mentioned, and had a few high school bands I jammed with. Nothing came easy for me; I’ve worked hard for everything I have, and I’ve sacrificed a lot to do it."

Q: How did you end up drumming for the brothers up in Vernon, NJ in the mid ’90s? Legend has it that they were still doing Kryst The Conqueror when you started playing drums with them. Is that true or was Kryst already done by that point?

Chud: "I ran into Jerry at a funeral. I asked him what he was up to; he said he was getting a band together or something to that effect. I gave him my number, and I believe I was called to roadie for their drummer at the time, The Murp. The band was still Kryst The Conqueror. The Murp was not showing up all the time, so I just sat in at the rehearsal and finally replaced him."

Q: What are some memories that stand out for you still from those first few ProEdge rehearsals?

Chud: "Getting a wake-up call at like 6am to come jam. I would spend all day there to rehearse with Jerry a few times a day. Doyle would show up once in a while. Eventually, Jerry put me to work at ProEdge (the family machine shop), but it was the worst job anyone can have – but at least I wasn’t sitting around waiting for Jerry to have a break to jam! Well, maybe that would have been better. Thank God I got my union card a few years later! I loved talking with the few people working there. Jerry’s mom and pops, too. I’ll never forget the smell of the shop. To this day, all of my equipment still smells like oil!"

Q: How did having Daniel Rey come in as the producer impact the band and what ultimately became 1997’s American Psycho?

Chud: "Danny is a calm dude, something I believe we needed in the middle of that storm. I think it worked out okay."

Q: Looking back 21 years later, what are your favorite moments from the album?

Chud: "I loved the fact Geffen Records gave us freedom to make the record we wanted. I can’t say enough about that record company. They truly care for their artists, so being able to walk into the studio with a kids’ toy piano and say, 'Hey, I got an idea. Push record' and having it work was amazing. I was able to try any ideas I had – from rattlin’ bones to backwards subliminal messages!"

While best known to fiends around the world for his five-year stint with the band (1995-2000), Dr. Chud has enjoyed a lengthy musical career that has included stints with (among others) Sardonica, his own group Sacred Trash and the ’80s/’90s New Jersey act Dan Kidney & the Pulsations. In addition to his current project, Dr. Chud’s X-Ward, he can be heard on Doyle’s 2013 album Abominator and Sonic Creeps’ 2014 release A Future Dead. In 2016, he released a limited-edition solo CD single, “We’re The Garbage Pail Kids” / “1980’s Was So Great.” Both songs were written for the 2016 Indican Pictures documentary 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story. 

The complete interview is available at this location.

Photo by K. West