Hammer Damage was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rock band

Rock Band

Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...

 from Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

, that performed from 1978 until 1984.

Career

Hammer Damage was founded in 1978, by Mike Hammer and Dave Zagar (a.k.a Donny Damage) after their split from the Rubber City Rebels

Rubber City Rebels

The Rubber City Rebels are an American protopunk band from Akron, Ohio, that formed in 1976.-Early years:The original line-up of the band consisted of Rod Firestone , Buzz Clic , Donny Damage , Stix Pelton and Pete Sake .In their early years, the Rebels were fans of fellow Greater Cleveland-area...

. The original line-up included George Cabaniss on guitar, Scott Winkler on bass, Damage on guitar and Hammer on drums. The Hammer Damage Band started out in 1978 and quickly built a strong following in the Akron-Kent music scene. They also enjoyed some modest success in Cleveland, Columbus, Kent and Youngstown.

Some of the band's highlights included opening for the B-52's

The B-52's

The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...

 and Public Image Ltd.

Public Image Ltd.

Public Image Ltd are an English post-punk band formed by vocalist John Lydon , guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble, with frequent subsequent personnel changes. Lydon is the sole constant member of the band....

 at the Cleveland Agora, and several shows in New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 with the Dead Boys

The Dead Boys

The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. Among the first wave of early punk bands, the Dead Boys were initially active from 1976 to 1979, briefly reuniting in 1987, 2004 and 2005.-Formation and 1970s punk rock era:...

. The band released a couple of singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 and appeared on a compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

s of Ohio bands. After some extended trips to New York and Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, and several line-up changes, the band finally fizzled out around 1984.

Hammer Damage contributed a song, "Noise Pollution" to the Bowling Balls From Hell II LP on Clone Records. Hammer Damage were one of the three bands profiled in the 2005 PBS documentary

Documentary

A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...

, If You're Not Dead, Play

If You're Not Dead, Play

If You're Not Dead, Play is a 2005 PBS rock music documentary that's a Western Reserve Public Media/ PBS production and the sequel of It's Everything, And Then It's Gone...

, along with Chi-Pig

Chi-Pig

Chi-Pig was a New Wave power trio hailing from Akron, Ohio. During the 1960s and 1970s, Susan Schmidt and Deborah Smith were active in several area bands, notably The Poor Girls, Cinderella's Revenge, and Friction...

and Unit 5.

2010 reunion

Hammer, Zagar, Cabaniss, Winkler, and Kal Mullens teamed up to bring Hammer Damage back to life, and they performed in April 2000 at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, and in May at the Tangier Akron.

Original lineup

• Dave Zagar ("Donny Damage") - Vocals and Guitar
• Michael Hammer - Drums
• Scott Winkler - Bass
• George Cabaniss - Guitar (left in 1979 to join the Dead Boys)

Later members

• Bob Basone - Bass
• Ray Wolf - Bass
• Kevin Mullins - Guitar
• Dave Ihmels ("Dave Illinois" / "Hollywood Illinois") - Guitar (joined in 1979)
• Alison Berger - Guitar
• Ig Morningstar - Guitar