Bio: The Smashed Armadillos
Writer: Robert M Loftin





In 1983, Jacksonville,Florida was a different world than it is today. In those days the Lynard Skynard culture was still rampant and the world of "New Music" was just beginning to slowly weave it's way into the ears of select youth around town. During that time Dave Dungan,Matt Brooks, and other founding members of the band started what would become one of the biggest kept secrets in what would eventually become "Alternative Music". Many bands in the Jacksonville music scene have come and gone catering to every whim since then but The Smashed Armadillos have always maintained a creative integrity second to very few.
At one time the Jacksonville underground music consisted of, perhaps, three or four live venues all of which are now long gone. The band played many of those now legendary places offering a unique brand of music that predated bands, such as The Pixies and Nirvana, by years. Frontman Dave Dungan led the original lineup of Armadillos into places such as The Blighted Area, The 7:30 Club, and The Cedar Hills Armory on the Westside blending a poetic, captivating flurry of verse over the sonic garage-rock grooves of the band. The Smashed Armadillos stood apart from groups such as The Blaine Crews Band, Stevie Stiletto and The Switchblades, and The Attitudes offering music that was honest and, to quote longtime Jacksonville music scene veteran Joe Stelcheck, pure. While other bands strove to imitate The Stooges or the Sex Pistols, The Smashed Armadillos allowed their influences to be just that: influences.
Stage performances often times were done with taste but were, nevertheless, unorthodox. Many frontmen of the time looked for ways to either shock audiences or to woo them. Dave took the microphone and simply was himself. Matt Brooks, a very solid lead guitarist, always gives the right melody in a style very similar to that of a Dick Dale with screaming leads and thunder as well as they speak but is equally comfortable delivering many other styles with command and authority. Regardless of the lineup which includes a virtual who's who of Jacksonville musicians such as Henry Westberry, Jerry Cornwell or Chuck York, The Smashed Armadillos sound is always creative,thought provoking and always inspiring.
It is safe to say that the band was doing 90's rock in the mid-eighties but were always, to quote Matt Brooks, a "songwriter's band". While many bands play a certain format using and overusing formulas popular at any given moment, The Smashed Armadillos have always played strictly for the song not being afraid to delve into jazz, rock, or any other musical style while making it their own. That commitment to integrity of creative ideas has stayed with the band even until this very day. One of the first releases of The Smashed Armadillos in the eighties was uncharacteristically a techno inspired album titled simply, "The Smashed Armadillos", was produced by Jerry Cornwell featuring Dave Dungan giving performances of several songs penned by the two. Though it wasn't exactly a true representation of the band that performed in front of audiences, it does show that the band is capable of performing many different styles of music.
With that release behind them the band went on to self-producing, under very spartan conditions, a series of soon to be released recordings that showed the band's growing level of maturity from a group of itinerant garage-punks to the band that performs now. By the end of the bands first decade, The Smashed Armadillos and Dave Dungan had cult status among the elites of Jacksonville's underground community appearing from time to time on Joe Stelcheck's popular show at The Dockside.
By the time the 90's took hold the band had started a hiatus from recording and performing. During that time many of The Smashed Armadillos, though not performing together, did side projects such as the band, "Thrush", which featured long time Armadillos Henry Westberry,Matt Brooks,and Chuck York. Matt Brooks also played a vital role in Henry Westberry and future Armadillo, Robert Montgomerie's band, "The Westwoods" in the late nineties. Both projects enjoyed a good bit of success entertaining North Florida crowds as The Smashed Armadillos did.
By the year 2000 The Smashed Armadillos were back together and in full swing. Matt Brooks, Dave Dungan, and Bob Wickham took the band back to the garage writing and recording a new brand of Armadillo songs unlike any other incarnation. Matt Brooks took the creative reigns of composition creating music with chord progressions that centered more around the melody very similar to Japanese methods of composition. Dave Dungan approached the delivery of his verse more like Don Van Vleet. In a short space of time the band pooled together a very impressive, new body of work including songs such as "She Got Me", "Crucified", and "This Is A Song Called Ahhh!!!" to go along with old songs such as "Too Many Blue Lights" and "Maggot Steak". The band's sound went from a youthful, ahead of it's time, garage-rock sound to being a more headier, jam-band kind of sound emphasizing more musicianship than simply catchy songs. The newer sound impressed many at appearances such as Jack Rabbits and The Starlite along with other gatherings inspiring a whole new generation of fans who see the band as a viable alternative to the predictable, cookie-cutter music out today.
Since the band's return two new members have become part of The Smashed Armadillos; former Westwood and solo performer Robert Montgomerie and Doug Klingensmith former member of The John Muka Band. In 2004 the band produced another album called, "This Is An Album Called Ahhh!!!" in 2004, and has since been working on an EP called, "Screen Test". The Smashed Armadillos also have several other projects on the works sure to please their current and growing fan base.