Bobby Steele (born Robert Kaufold on March 18, 1956) is an American punk rock musician. He is the current guitar player, songwriter, and sole original member of punk band The Undead. He has been a member of multiple other bands, most notably, as the second guitarist of The Misfits. He was replaced by Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein.
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Steele grew up in New Milford, New Jersey and lived there until 1978, when he moved into Manhattan. The house he had lived in later became the base for Post Mortem records, a label he founded.[1]
Steele was the guitarist for Parrotox, Slash and The Whorelords before joining The Misfits in 1978. While with The Misfits, he performed on the Horror Business, Night of the Living Dead and 3 Hits From Hell EPs and his playing can also be heard on the Beware and Halloween EPs as well as the "missing" Misfits album 12 Hits From Hell.[2] After being replaced in October 1980 by Jerry Only's younger brother Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein. Steele formed The Undead with Chris Natz and Patrick Blanck. The band released their debut EP, 9 Toes Later, in 1982, which Glenn Danzig helped finance. The Undead have undergone many personnel changes throughout the years and today, Steele is the only remaining original member and chief songwriter of the band.
He has also played with Sloppy Seconds, Times Square, The Migraines, and The Graveyard School, and appeared in several movies.
He adopted the stage name Steele because he has a minor case of spina bifida, which forced him to wear a steel leg brace to aid in walking, a device he would often use to gain leverage in fighting during his youth. Steele has advocated for medical marijuana legalization in front of the New York State Legislature, and has spoken out about the same at the Million Man March in New York City. He considers himself a politically incorrect individual and a social conservative.[3] On April 30, 2011, Steele married Jill Kethel, best known as one of the girls in Danzig's "Mother" video. The private ceremony was held during the Chiller Theatre Toy, Model and Film Expo in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey.
In March 2006, Steele was involved in a legal dispute with his East Village apartment's landlord, alleging that the property manager attempted to force him out of his rent-controlled apartment by removing a bulkhead over the stairwell which resulted in significant water damage to the top-floor unit.[4]
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