Destroy All Bands was a New Brunswick and Court Tavern staple. Caught them at least once, the most memorable night at the Court Tavern on the same night Woodstock 25th Anniversary launched. I remember a very intense mosh pit and carrying some poor fellow who took a hit to the head down the street to the hospital. Heaven is rocking a little bit harder.
Not safe for work video of DAB performing at the Court.
https://www.app.com/story/entertain...rontman-destroy-all-bands-dead-54/2610698001/
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Glenn Bruden, the dynamic frontman of the former New Brunswick group Destroy All Bands, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 3 of natural causes at his home in Milltown, family members said.
He was 54.
Bruden’s cherubic face belied the bellowing voice, biting wit and punk-rock attitude he brought on stage. Destroy All Bands shows at the Court Tavern in New Brunswick in the ’80s and ’90s were events high on anticipation and excitement.
“I’ve never been more terrified at a concert in my life. But it was worth it,” commented a fan on a YouTube video of a Destroy All Bands Court performance.
The band’s mix of punk, metal and pop were funneled through Bruden’s showmanship.
“He was crazy on stage,” said Doug “Sluggo” Vizthum, member of the New Brunswick bands Pleased Youth and Bad Karma. “Those shows were just nuts. It was like a zoo and a lot of fun.”
“In the Court Tavern, the basement wall would be dripping wet and everyone would be covered with sweat,” said Kelly-Jane Cotter, long-time music writer for Asbury Park Press and the Home News Tribune. Stacy Bruden, Glenn Bruden’s brother, is her husband. “It was all about noise and energy but he also had a funny sense of humor and sharp comments about life and culture.”
The shows featured large audience contingents made up of fans from Spotswood, Bruden’s hometown.
“He would entertain and not just whip the crowd into a frenzy, I’ve seen him make them jump through hoops, literally,” said Bryan Bruden, Glenn’s brother and the longtime host of the “Overnight Sensations” music show on Rutgers University’s WRSU. “He brought a hula hoop on stage to see if he could get them to jump through it and they did it.”
“He had this stage persona like a huge rock star.”
Off stage, he was nothing like a rock star.
“He was a sweetheart,” Bryan Bruden said. “I would always go to Glenn when I needed someone to talk to. He was sensitive to talk to and he had great wisdom, a great view of life. He loved cats and animals and he loved Audrey (Bruden, his niece).”
Destroy All Bands, including Jim Webb on guitar, made their Court Tavern debut in 1985. It was a vibrant period for the New Brunswick music scene.
“It was a golden era for the whole New Brunswick music scene,” said Stacy Bruden, a member of the era band Leather Studded Diaphragm. “There were like four venues you could see live bands in at the time. If you went to town to see some good bands, any night you could go to a number of clubs.”
Destroy All Bands would also share stages with national acts around the region, including Bad Brains, Gwar, Flaming Lips, the Lunachicks and Monster Magnet.
Yet, it was an uphill climb.
“You can’t live on Destroy All Bands’ salary,” Bruden told the Home News Tribune in a feature about musicians’ day jobs.
He was a mailman in Milltown when he wasn’t on stage.
“My day job has never interfered with our playing,” Bruden said. “Some of my other band mates, perhaps, but not me. I’ll play any show, any time.”
The band all but ended by the mid-’90s. A reunion show in 2002 brought the old magic back, but by then the run had ended.
Glenn Bruden (Photo: Bruden family)
Family and friends may visit 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6 at the Brunswick Memorial Funeral Home, 454 Cranbury Road in East Brunswick. A graveside service will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019 at Holy Cross Burial Park, 840 South River Road in South Brunswick.
The family requests that donations be made to the World Wildlife Fun at www.worldwildlife.org and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey at nj.wish.org.
Tommy’s Tunes’ Punk and Trash Christmas Bash, scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 at the Ale ’n Wich Pub in New Brunswick, will also feature a tribute to Glenn Bruden and his music.
“There were two Glenns. His stage persona. There were very few, I say none, better,” said Bryan Bruden of his younger brother. “Off stage, he was a kind person with a good soul. I wish I could be as good as him.”
Not safe for work video of DAB performing at the Court.
https://www.app.com/story/entertain...rontman-destroy-all-bands-dead-54/2610698001/
--------
Glenn Bruden, the dynamic frontman of the former New Brunswick group Destroy All Bands, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 3 of natural causes at his home in Milltown, family members said.
He was 54.
Bruden’s cherubic face belied the bellowing voice, biting wit and punk-rock attitude he brought on stage. Destroy All Bands shows at the Court Tavern in New Brunswick in the ’80s and ’90s were events high on anticipation and excitement.
“I’ve never been more terrified at a concert in my life. But it was worth it,” commented a fan on a YouTube video of a Destroy All Bands Court performance.
The band’s mix of punk, metal and pop were funneled through Bruden’s showmanship.
“He was crazy on stage,” said Doug “Sluggo” Vizthum, member of the New Brunswick bands Pleased Youth and Bad Karma. “Those shows were just nuts. It was like a zoo and a lot of fun.”
“In the Court Tavern, the basement wall would be dripping wet and everyone would be covered with sweat,” said Kelly-Jane Cotter, long-time music writer for Asbury Park Press and the Home News Tribune. Stacy Bruden, Glenn Bruden’s brother, is her husband. “It was all about noise and energy but he also had a funny sense of humor and sharp comments about life and culture.”
The shows featured large audience contingents made up of fans from Spotswood, Bruden’s hometown.
“He would entertain and not just whip the crowd into a frenzy, I’ve seen him make them jump through hoops, literally,” said Bryan Bruden, Glenn’s brother and the longtime host of the “Overnight Sensations” music show on Rutgers University’s WRSU. “He brought a hula hoop on stage to see if he could get them to jump through it and they did it.”
“He had this stage persona like a huge rock star.”
Off stage, he was nothing like a rock star.
“He was a sweetheart,” Bryan Bruden said. “I would always go to Glenn when I needed someone to talk to. He was sensitive to talk to and he had great wisdom, a great view of life. He loved cats and animals and he loved Audrey (Bruden, his niece).”
Destroy All Bands, including Jim Webb on guitar, made their Court Tavern debut in 1985. It was a vibrant period for the New Brunswick music scene.
“It was a golden era for the whole New Brunswick music scene,” said Stacy Bruden, a member of the era band Leather Studded Diaphragm. “There were like four venues you could see live bands in at the time. If you went to town to see some good bands, any night you could go to a number of clubs.”
Destroy All Bands would also share stages with national acts around the region, including Bad Brains, Gwar, Flaming Lips, the Lunachicks and Monster Magnet.
Yet, it was an uphill climb.
“You can’t live on Destroy All Bands’ salary,” Bruden told the Home News Tribune in a feature about musicians’ day jobs.
He was a mailman in Milltown when he wasn’t on stage.
“My day job has never interfered with our playing,” Bruden said. “Some of my other band mates, perhaps, but not me. I’ll play any show, any time.”
The band all but ended by the mid-’90s. A reunion show in 2002 brought the old magic back, but by then the run had ended.
Glenn Bruden (Photo: Bruden family)
Family and friends may visit 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6 at the Brunswick Memorial Funeral Home, 454 Cranbury Road in East Brunswick. A graveside service will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019 at Holy Cross Burial Park, 840 South River Road in South Brunswick.
The family requests that donations be made to the World Wildlife Fun at www.worldwildlife.org and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey at nj.wish.org.
Tommy’s Tunes’ Punk and Trash Christmas Bash, scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 at the Ale ’n Wich Pub in New Brunswick, will also feature a tribute to Glenn Bruden and his music.
“There were two Glenns. His stage persona. There were very few, I say none, better,” said Bryan Bruden of his younger brother. “Off stage, he was a kind person with a good soul. I wish I could be as good as him.”