About this Episode
Osaka Popstar is the pop-punk music and art project of singer/producer John Cafiero, long-time Misfits & Ramones collaborator and platinum selling film and video director. The critically acclaimed debut album âOsaka Popstar & the American Legends of Punkâ features frontman Cafiero with a revolving lineup of punk-rock legends as guests in his backing band including members of the Misfits, Ramones, Black Flag, the Voidoids and more. Other recent Osaka Popstar releases include members of Superchunk, Bob Mould, The Smithereens, Sparks, Roxy Music, Milk ânâ Cookies, and the Voluptous Horror of Karen Black in the backing band.
Osaka Popstar transcends punk rock, comic books, and anime themes beyond music alone with limited edition vinyl toy releases, collaborations with Topps; having appeared in their Garbage Pail Kids & Wacky Packages series, and animated Osaka Popstar music videos have even debuted on the Nintendo 3DS gaming platform under license to Nintendo.
Cafieroâs long standing collaborations with the Misfits remain consistent two decades deep on both a creative and business level. Among other endeavors Cafiero edited the acclaimed book âCommando: the Autobiography of Johnny Ramoneâ, Directed the chart topping âRamones Rawâ documentary, and modern day cult-classic feature film âBig Money Hustlasâ starring the Insane Clown Posse, Rudy Ray Moore (aka âDolemiteâ), WWEâs Mick Foley, & the Jerky Boys.
In addition to the legendary Misfits (currently headlining arena shows reuniting Original Misfits co-founders Glenn Danzig & Jerry Only), Cafiero also manages the Estate of Dee Dee Ramone (of the world famous Ramones). When the Ramones received a lifetime achievement Grammy Award in 2011, Cafiero had the honor of accepting and speaking on behalf of the late punk icon.
Cafiero has produced music by everyone from punk icons the Misfits, to the late pop icon Ronnie Spectorâand the #1 charting album âDr. Demento Covered in Punkâ which he produced and conceived of. His band Osaka Popstarâs cover of the âdementedâ classic âFish Headsâ (from âDr. Demento Covered in Punkâ) was ranked in the top 10 most requested songs of 2018 on the Dr. Demento Show and the focus of a fully-animated music video.