Destroy All Monsters | Artist
Destroy All Monsters was an American experimental rock band formed 1973 in Detroit by Lynn Rovner aka Niagara (vocals, violin), Cary Loren (guitar, vocals), Jim Shaw (vocals, guitar) and Mike Kelley (vocals, percussion). The founding members were all art students at the University of Michigan. Later members included big names Ron Asheton (guitar) of the Stooges and Michael Davis (bass) of the MC5. The band existed from 1973-1985, with sporadic performances since. Their sound was a hybrid of punk, psychedelia, metal and droning noise rock, which took on a more hard-edged garage rock sound with the addition of Asheton and Davis. Their first concert was held on New Year's Eve of 1973, at a comic book convention in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At the time the instruments were two guitars with an echoplex and fuzz box, a drum kit played by Mission of Burma's Roger Miller, tape loops, a violin, a sax, a vacuum cleaner and a coffee can. They performed a demented version of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" and were asked to leave after ten minutes. The group continued to perform "guerilla style", setting up free at parties and playing for food along Ann Arbor's frat row. They used modified instruments, a drum machine, tape loops, toys, cheap keyboards and broken electronic devices. Aside from the comic convention, the group's only formal gig in this era was at the Halloween Ball at the University of Michigan art school in 1976. After a decade of sporadic touring, reunions and occasional recording, DAL broke up in 1985. The band's discography is somewhat scrappy, comprising a handful of singles released between 1978-1987, a bunch of cassette and CD-only releases, plus two vinyl albums, one a live LP from 1989, released only in France and Japan, plus a strange 2009 LP entitled Double Sextet, which has only two tracks, each over 16 minutes in duration. The Band's singles were re-released by Cherry Red Records on CD, however the real gems of their discography have come as archival compilations. Sonic Youth singer/guitarist Thurston Moore compiled a three CD set of the group's music in 1994, entitled Destroy All Monsters 1974-1976. Plus there's the excellent Hot Box 1974-1994 compilation from 2014. The band's enigmatic front-woman Niagara is also an accomplished performance and graphic artist, who did most of the cover art for the band's Singles. She also worked with Scott and Ron Asheton, in the short-lived band Dark Carnival. Fellow founders Kelley and Shaw left the band during the summer of 1976 to attend graduate school at CalArts in Los Angeles, California. Both have gone on to lead successful solo careers in the art world. Their work is held in major collections around the world.
Artist Website: myspace/destroyallmonsters niagaradetroit.com
Featured Albums: Destroy All Monsters
Related Artists: Mission of Burma, The Stooges, MC5, Niagara, Dark Carnival
