Argyle Goolsby

Goolsby was born in Bluefield, West Virginia. In 1997, Goolsby and lead guitarist and vocalist T.B. Monstrosity (Tracy Byrd) started the punk rock band Blitzkid. Drawing their inspiration from B-movies and horror movie classics, the band was soon considered to belong to the subgenre of horror punk,[4] which emerged in the wake of the Misfits.[5]

Goolsby performing with Blitzkid at Club Relax in Moscow, October 2012

In the 2000s, Blitzkid developed an underground following in the US and especially in Europe.[4][6] Most of the band's albums were released through German horror punk group The Other's label, FiendForce Records.

Between 1997 and 2012, Goolsby recorded seven studio albums with Blitzkid[1] and several split EPs. Many of the group's songs were featured on horror punk compilations in the 2000s, such as Mullets & Alcoholics (SFL Records, 2003), Flesheaters! (1332 Records, 2006), Gothic Compilation Part XLII (Batbeliever Releases, 2008), Get Acquainted Vol. 1 (THENEXTART, 2008) or The Sound of Horror Vol. 1 (Robot Monster, 2010).

With Blitzkid, Goolsby has toured in 29 countries, played over 700 shows[7] and performed with several other bands and artists like Nim Vind, Stellar Corpses, The Cryptkeeper Five, The Damned, Leftöver Crack, The Crimson Ghosts, Strung Out and Face to Face.[6] Biltzkid was also part of many festivals and music events such as the Summer Breeze Open Air, the M'era Luna Festival or the Amphi Festival.

On November 10, 2012, during their final "Return to the Living Tour", Blitzkid played their last concert in Düsseldorf, Germany.[8]

When questioned about the band's retirement, Goolsby stated:

"It is not that we don't believe in what we are doing anymore. It's not that Blitzkid has become a burden. I have still plenty of music that I have written and that I am currently writing. Our music is not an extinguished flame. Retirement is more of a practical decision for right now."[4]

Goolsby performing with Blitzkid in Transylvania at Gambrinis in Cluj Napoca, Romania, October 2012

In November 2016, Jeff Frumess filmed a documentary titled Blitzkid: Return to the Living, which includes a part on the history of the band and two others that are dedicated respectively to the group's experience on the road and some live performances.[9] The documentary was co-written and produced by Goolsby.[9]

While remaining in Blitzkid, Goolsby collaborated on several occasions with former members of the Misfits. In 2002, Goolsby played bass as a tour member for The Undead, a horror punk band led by Bobby Steele[7] (the second guitarist of the Misfits original lineup).

The following year, he recorded three bass tracks on Diagnosis for Death (2003), an album released by Dr. Chud (ex-Misfits drummer of the Michale Graves Era) with his new band named Dr. Chud's X-Ward.[10] Goolsby was also a tour member for Chud's band[11]

In 2004, Goolsby collaborated with Mister Monster, performing back vocal duties and playing bass on the Deep Dark EP (Hell's Hundred Records).[12] Following the departure of Wednesday 13's bassist Kid Kid in 2006, Goolsby was hired as a replacing bassist to fill in for three shows.[13]

In 2007, ex-Misfits lead guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein was looking for a vocalist for his solo band project, Gorgeous Frankenstein and finally recruited Landon Blood for the recording of an eponymous album.[14] Blood left the band shortly after and was replaced by Argyle Goolsby who played bass and performed vocal duties for Gorgeous Frankenstein first tour, opening for Danzig.[15] Dr. Chud (drums) and Stephanie Bellars (aka Gorgeous George, Doyle's ex-wife) were also part of this line up.[16]

In 2009, Goolsby took part of what is sometimes referred as the Misfits "Near-Reunion" in New Jersey. Performing as an opening act for Danzig, this lineup included Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (lead guitar), Dr. Chud (drums), Michale Graves (vocals) and Goolsby (bass) (Jerry Only, the Misfits original bassist, did not participate in the event).[17]

Goolsby had written many songs that he intended to work on with Gorgeous Frankenstein, but since the band project was abandoned, most of this material became part of Blitzkid's last album, Apparitional.[18] From the ashes of Gorgeous Frankenstein, Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein founded a new horror metal band eponymously named Doyle with vocalist Alex Story in 2012.

Goolsby performing at Gilman (924 Gilman Street – Alternative Music Foundation) in Berkeley, California, November 2016

Following Blitkid's disestablishment in 2012, Goolsby started a solo career with a new band project named Argyle Goolsby and the Roving Midnight.[19] He has been steadily releasing EPs and singles since 2012. In 2015, a compilation album, Saturnalia of the Accursed[20] which collects two EPs and a few other songs was released as well as a cover of "Save Me Tonight" by White Sister, originally featured on the soundtrack of Fright Night (1985)."[2]

In 2016, Goolsby started a series of concert with a fully acoustic band, The Hollow Bodies, playing both his own material and some Blitzkid songs.

Albums

• Terrifying Tales – Death by Jersey, independent, 1999 ; A Corpse with No Name Music, 2006
• Let Flowers Die, Antidote Records, 2001
• Trace of a Stranger, Fiendforce Records, 2003
• Five Cellars Below, Fiendforce Records 2006
• Apparitional, People Like You Records, 2011

Split EPs, 7", 10"

• Blitzkid / Mister Monster, Exhuming Graves and Making Dates, EP, Fiendforce Records, 2004
• Blitzkid / The Spook, Everyday Is Halloween – Tales of Terror And Unspeakable Horror, 7", Fiendforce Records, 2004
• Blitzkid / The Cryptkeeper Five, No Balls Records, 2007
• Blitzkid / Nim Vind, Fistfull of Balls, Volume 1, 7" (2x), No Balls Records, 2010
• Blitzkid / The Cryptkeeper Five, Split Personalities, 10", The Black Sneer, 2012

Singles

• "Head Over Hills", 7", "I Used to Fuck People Like You in Prison" Records, 2011

Compilation

• Anatomy of Reanimation, Fiendforce Records, 2008

Video

• Terrifying Tales – Death by Jersey, A Corpse with No Name Music, 2006 (live at Connections in Clifton, New Jersey on May 28 and October 31, 2005)

• Deep Dark (EP), 2003

• Dr. Chud's X-Ward, Diagnosis for Death, Bloodwork Records, 2004

• A Wolf's Age, not on label, limited edition, 2009 (vocals, two songs written, credited as Steve Matthews)[25]

• A Dream Not Quite Remembered..., EP, No Balls Records, 2012
• Under The Witness Stars, EP, A Corpse with No Name, 2013
• Argyle Goolsby / The Big Bad, The Wild And Woeful West Virginia, 7", A Corpse wth No Name, 2013
• "Thickets", Single, A Corpse with No Name, 2015
• "Your Enemy's Best Friend", File, MP3, Single, A Corpse with No Name, 2015
• "Baskerville", Single, A Corpse with No Name, 2015
• Saturnalia of the Accursed, Compilation, No Balls Records/A Corpse with No Name, 2015 (Includes "The Being", a song inspired by the Flatwoods monster)
• Darken your Doorstep, A Corpse with No Name, 2017
• "Save Me Tonight", Single, A Corpse with No Name, 2017
• Hollow Bodies, A Corpse with No Name, 2018

• Serpenteens, "Destroy Your World" (vocals), The Superhuman Monstershow, Blood and Guts Records, 2007
• The Spook, Let There Be Dark (vocals), Fiendfoce Records, 2008
• The Crimson Ghosts, Dead Eyes Can See (vocals), Fiendfoce Records, 2008
• The Crimson Ghosts, Generation Gore (vocals), Contra Light Records, 2010
• The Cryptkeeper Five, The Unbeatable Cry (vocals), The Cryptkeeper Five self-released, 2011
• Zombina and the Skeletones, "Love Is Strange" (vocals), Zombina and the Skeletones self-released, 2014
• The Big Bad, The Big Bad, (vocals), Digital release, 2014
• Pyogenesis, A Century in the Curse of Time (vocals), AFM Records, 2015
• The Fright, "Edward" (vocals), Rising Beyond, 7Hard, 2015
• Bloodsucking Zombies from Outer Space, Mister Barlow (vocals), Earthquake Files, 2016
• Mister Monster, Life at the end of October (bass/vocals), 2017 (upcoming album)