Destroy Everything is a punk band from the Chicago area.Their sound is derived from Midwest hardcore of the early 1980s overlayed with anthemic melodies of the late 1970s London punk scene and mixed in with a bit of Southern California skate-punk (in other words: catchy songs with a sort of turbo-charged swagger).

The founding members of Destroy Everything -- Cheddar Nines (vocals), Señor Citizen (guitar), and Stiff Mittens (bass) -- had all been playing with each other in various bands around Chicago (Happy Toons, Dead Fink, Insane War Tomatoes, Cigarettes, etc.) since the early 80s when, in the mid-90s, they began to write songs together on a casual basis. By the late-90s their sporadic writing sessions had evolved into a dedicated full-time project and they set out to record their first album together with the drumming assistance of long time friend and fellow Insane War Tomatoes alumni: Shrub.

Drawing on their extensive collective experiences in the punk/DIY music scene, DE started releasing records on their own. They did all the recording and mixing at Nines’ house on his small, but growing collection of audio gear. The band members all contributed to the packaging and artwork, and in some cases even printed and assembled the packaging themselves. If they could have figured out a way to efficiently replicate all the CDs on their own, they’d have done that too (don’t think they didn’t try). They bartered, begged and cajoled their way into fairly wide distribution with a number of indie distros and began booking tours for themselves to support their releases.

In the summer of 2003, they set off on their first tour of the US to support their first release "Please Help Me," and to promote the upcoming release of their new EP "Three Cheers for you" (2003). Shrub, being unavailable, did not play drums on the tours (or on any subsequent recordings). Instead, Cocoa Hole stepped in to man the drums. Hanover Fist (who was enlisted to record some background vocals) also joined the lineup -- first as backing vocals, then also as second guitarist. They toured on and off for the next few years, finding time in between road trips to write, record, and release a third record entitled "No More Monkeys" (2004).

In March of 2006 Destroy Everything played a show in Chicago that included Tent City Records artist American Distress on the evening’s bill. Skwert, the drummer for American Distress and also the founder of Tent City Records, expressed an interest in putting out a Destroy Everything record on his label. Happy to let someone else worry about the logistical details for a change, the DE crew set to work on some new material. The culmination of that effort is Destroy Everything’s fourth release: "Freedom of Speech Means Talk is Cheap" (2008). Cocoa Hole was not able to tour this time (due to obligations with another band) and so newcomer Skid Delicious was asked to fill in on the drum throne. Eventually, Skid was replaced by Jon Tanamo. After touring extensively in 2008 and 2009 in support of FOSMTIC, the members of Destroy Everything relaxed for a bit. They are now back at work on some new material for a record they hope to release in 2013. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.