He started The Misfits with Glenn Danzig on vocals and Manny Martínez on drums in 1977, just a few months after receiving his first bass as a late Christmas present.

During this downtime, Only and his brother Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (guitarist in the 1980-1983 lineup of the Misfits) formed Kryst The Conqueror.

In 1995, Only settled a legal battle out of court with co-founder Glenn Danzig, allowing him rights to the Misfits' name on a performing level, while they split the money on merchandising.

Only was dominated in the match but Death was distracted when the rest of the Misfits interfered and attacked his manager Oklahoma (a parody of Jim Ross), pouring barbecue sauce in his eyes.

He said that Only has purposefully led merchandisers, including Hot Topic, to believe that they are legally bound not to accept licenses to exploit the Marks from Danzig or his designees, and Only continues to do so.

On 1 February 1979, Only attended a party on Bank Street in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village and was introduced to Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious who was in town to launch himself as a solo artist.

Earlier in the day Vicious had been released on bail from Riker’s Island (where he had been undergoing forced detoxication after an assault on Todd Smith and breaking terms of his previous bail for the alleged murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen who was found stabbed to death at the Chelsea Hotel in October 1978).