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"I was THERE!" What fans have to say about DAM

"They were either the best band you've ever heard or the worst. It depended on the night."

"I was a grad student at U. of M in A2 1975-'84 and used to see posters for DAM around town all the time…They would play at places like the Second Chance on Liberty St., as would Mitch Ryder, Sonic's Rendez-vouz Band, or the Rockets, all of whom had members from earlier more famous Detroit bands (Stooges, MC5, Detroit Wheels). I loved the sound of their couple of local hits, though, which fit in well on the college station in between X and Replacements cuts. In a good record store in a far away town (Rochester NY), I stumbled onto a DAM best hits CD just a few years ago and it is really worth having (DAM Live, by Fan Club, Division of New Rose records, FC 050). Sure enough, the radio songs I remembered from A2 were there (a single ca 1980: Nancy Sinatra's Boots on which Niagara really sneers up a great female power trip, b/w Nov. 22, a disgusting piece about Kennedy's head blowing up and all that. I like to play those on Nov. 22 along with some Avengers songs with the same themes. Most of the rest of the 11 tunes have a great tuneful/scary garage band sound.

---John in Denver

"I was in a band called Screaming Urge in Columbus, Ohio back in '78,and we opened for them twice. Also, I had friends in Ann Arbor and hung out there quite a bit. Niagara was famous for being a boring singer in a time when everyone tried to be exciting on stage. She was captivating."

---David Kulczyk

"I was a big fan and saw Destroy All Monsters at least 50 times during that era, as I lived between Detroit and Ann Arbor while I was attending college. Niagara was very mesmerizing and intense to say the least. She did a bit of sexual posturing and was also a notable girl punker in Detroit at the time, the best of her material in my opinion, was a song called 'On a Leash', which to this day sticks in my mind as one of my all-time favorite punk tunes."

---Martha Aiken

"I have seen Destroy All Monsters more times than I can count and they were either the best band you have ever heard or the worst, it depended on the night. Niagara was alot like Joey Ramone and stayed close to the mike...Niagara still is local (Detroit area) and is a pretty big time artist getting big time $$$ for her paintings."

---Dale Foksa

"I saw Niagra and Ron and Dennis and Larry a number of times, usually on a twin bill with Sonic's Rendezvous or The Mutants or something like that at the Second Chance. They were always incredibly loud and depending on the night - engaging or abrasive. Niagra was always "bored" and was an interesting performer."

---Tom in Royal Oak, MI

"I recall seeing Destroy All Monsters when they played at either Brown's or Major Chords in Columbus, Ohio ca. early 1979. (I still have the flyer for the show). I remember going to see them four nights in a row - with an obnoxious friend of mine from New Jersey who kept yelling, "Cut your hair!" to Niagara. The band was quite good, although anything gets tiresome after four nights. I also have the band's autograph, which in a drug induced craze I asked for for some reason - quite uncool thing to do - I think I was star struck by the lead guitarist because he used to play in Iggy and the Stooges. I had also heard that DAM made it to NYC, in 1980 or so, although I never got a chance to see them [there]. I also have their single, "Bored" and "Your Gonna Die" as well, with the cover drawn by Niagara. Not bad even after all these years."

---Blake Davis

Source: http://www.comnet.ca/~rina/destroy.html

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