Paul Caiafa (born September 15, 1964), known professionally as Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, is an American guitarist best known for his material with the horror punk band the Misfits and his own self-named band named Doyle.
Raised in Lodi, New Jersey, he started attending Lodi High School two years following his brother Jerry's graduation. He played on the school's football team for all four years and graduated in 1982.
1980–1983: Misfits (Glenn Danzig era) guitarist
Doyle, the younger brother of the Misfits bassist, Jerry Only, was originally a roadie for the band and was taught how to play guitar by lead vocalist Glenn Danzig and Jerry. He joined the Misfits in October 1980 at the age of 16. Doyle was the band's third guitarist, replacing Bobby Steele after Steele failed to show up to a recording session. Jerry and Doyle financed the band by working at their father's machine shop.
Like Glenn and Jerry, Doyle incorporated the devilock into his image.
1987–1989: Kryst the Conqueror
In 1987, four years after the dissolution of the Misfits, Doyle and Jerry formed the metal band Kryst The Conqueror with drummer The Murp. Select songs from the album were released by Jerry Only's record label "Cyclopian Music" as an EP, and featured guest guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo of the rock band Skid Row.
In 1995 Jerry Only settled a legal battle out of court with co-founder Glenn Danzig, effectively allowing Only the rights to the band's name on a performing level.
Doyle and Jerry reformed the Misfits in 1995, with Jerry acting as the band's figurehead and with Michale Graves as vocalist and Dr. Chud as drummer. The group released two full-length albums of new material.
2000s: Touring with Danzig and forming Gorgeous Frankenstein
In 2005, Doyle left New Jersey for Las Vegas and began auditioning members for his own band, Gorgeous Frankenstein.
The same year, he appeared on stage with Danzig numerous times throughout Danzig's Blackest of the Black tour. They would meet again in 2007, when Gorgeous Frankenstein played their first tour, opening for Danzig. This line up included Argyle Goolsby of Blitzkid, Dr. Chud and Gorgeous George. Doyle has since joined them on several occasions to play 30-minute-long sets of classic Misfits songs.
During the latter quarter of 2011, former vocalist Danzig and guitarist Doyle performed Misfits songs on four occasions as part of the "Danzig Legacy" tour. The first of the four shows, which took place on October 7 in Chicago as one of the headlining acts at Riot Fest, saw a sold-out crowd of 5,000+. The last true "Legacy" show took place on Halloween at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles with an over sold crowd of 7,000+.
In 2012, "Danzig and Doyle" headlined several worldwide Festivals and did around 70+ shows together. Danzig would play his set before Doyle would join him onstage to perform a set of Misfits songs.
The year 2013 saw the inception of Doyle's solo effort, eponymously named "Doyle". The band features Alex Story of Cancerslug on vocals, Dr. Chud of the second-era Misfits on drums, and "Left Hand" Graham on bass.
The debut album, Abominator, was released digitally through INgrooves/Fontana Distribution on July 30, 2013, through iTunes, Google Play, and other streaming services like Deezer. It was distributed by Altavoz (USA), Nippon Columbia (Japan) and Cargo Records (Europe).
The album was independently produced and released by Doyle's own Monsterman Records. The official CD release was in October 2013 in major retailers such as Best Buy and FYE. There is an "advance copy" that was sold at shows on the Danzig "Legacy Tour", as well as from Doyle's official website. This pre-released advance is lacking a 13th track, released on the final cut, entitled "Drawing Down The Moon".
In May 2014, Doyle announced he was teaming up with Alan Robert, bassist of Life of Agony, for a special Halloween 2014 issue of Robert's award-winning Killogy comic series. Robert said that this was a continuation of his original Killogy comic series but issue will surround Doyle's character. The issue will be published by IDW Publishing.