Techno Destructo is a former character in the American heavy metal band
Gwar
Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...
, depicted as their long-term nemesis. The character was portrayed and created by Gwar co-founder Hunter Jackson.
Character overview
Techno Destructo is described coming "from beyond Venus, beyond Jupiter, and that's way past Uranus, buddy," and that he "drinks multi-lube and jerks off to ''
Popular Mechanics
''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...
''." It is known that Techno was one of the Scumdogs of the Universe - the Master's elite corps of warriors used to fight his ancient enemies - most notably
Cardinal Syn
''Cardinal Syn'' is a fighting video game developed by Kronos Digital Entertainment, the creators of '' Criticom'' and ''Dark Rift'', and published by Sony in 1998.
Gameplay
''Cardinal Syn'' is 3D fighting game with free roaming features th ...
; the video to "The Road Behind" shows Techno and Oderus teaming up against Syn, the only known footage of the two on the same team - and that when Gwar opposed the Master, Techno opposed Gwar.
The following millions of years, though never actually described in full, have Techno searching for his brethren to re-enlist them on the side of the Master. Gwar repeatedly engage in battle with him. His repeated defeats never seem to weaken his resolve though, and neither does his enslavement (immediately following the Tour de Scum). He remains a slave for a number of years, working to take Gwar down from within.
It was after the slave revolt that Techno regained his arm and revived Gor-Gor as a cyborg-zombie dinosaur. He didn't count on losing the remote control, which somehow found its way into Slymenstra's possession. With Gor-Gor out of his control, he was maimed, but remained alive.
It is explained from old entries at Gwar.net that Techno was responsible for sending the Morality Squad after Gwar, and that he summoned Cardinal Syn, who in turn dispatched Skulhedface. Using Techno's genitalia as a plug, Gwar was able to broadcast Slave Pit TV everywhere, and killed enough people to awaken the World Maggot, but were stopped by Skulhedface. With Skulhedface defeated, Techno tricked Gwar into thinking the year 1996 was in fact the year 1999 (the reason the tour was called RagNaRok N' Roll 1999), and thus, according to prophecy, the world was about to end with the coming of the comet RagNaRok. It was not a comet, but Cardinal Syn. Gwar had to free Techno in order to defeat him.
After Cardinal Syn's defeat, Techno had raised enough support among Gwar's other slaves to begin his next series of plans to defeat Gwar. Using a robot duplicate of Sleazy P. Martini, Techno issued radioactive crack to Gwar, which hypnotized Slymenstra Hymen. Meanwhile, he genetically engineered abused penguins (abused by Gwar) into foul creatures as his second wave of attack. This was ultimately halted, but by then Techno's wedding had begun.
Once the crack wore off Slymenstra exacted her revenge, but was not able to defeat him outright. Techno regained his arm and engaged Gwar once again, being defeated when the band revived Gor-Gor with remnants of the radioactive crack, and had the beast disarm Techno once again. He was mentioned in the Ska-Parade session "Gwar vs. The Aquabats" in which he is said to be helping Gwar fight The Aquabats, though it's not known why he helped Gwar. Techno's final appearance with Gwar was on the 2000 Halloween tour.
Jackson left Slave Pit in 2002 leading Oderus Urungus to insist that he killed Techno Destructo during the Art-Fag Wars of the early 21st century. During his comments on the 2006 DVD ''Blood Bath and Beyond'', Oderus declares his respect for Techno and Bozo, though he would still "talk shit about them any chance I get." Techno is still referenced in later Gwar songs, specifically in "
GWARnography" and "
The Litany of the Slain". In 2009 he was briefly shown as a still graphic in a pre-show video on tour.
New Destructo Duo
On Gwar's Electile Dysfunction 08' U.S tour, Gwar faced a new, revised Destructo team. A new character & long-lost Scumdog, Sawborg Destructo (played by Matt Maguire), who is armed with a saw-type weapon and bears a resemblance to the other Destructos before him, along with the more experienced Bozo Destructo, who was Techno's tag-team partner in Gwar's other, earlier Mid-Galactic Wrestling tours.
The new team battled to "The Private Pain of Techno Destructo" from
Carnival of Chaos
''Carnival of Chaos'' is Gwar's sixth studio album, released on March 25, 1997 by Metal Blade Records.
Overview
The album is Gwar's longest album (exceeding 74 minutes), and contains Stampe's solo number: "Don't Need a Man". Hunter Jackson als ...
, and they provided new lyrics, after taking turns singing Techno's original lines using their names "I got gas and oil flowing through my veins. I got wire and plastic in my brain. I'm Bozo Destructo. Bozo Destructo!".
Return
In 2017, Gwar released ''
The Blood of Gods
''The Blood of Gods'' is the fourteenth album by thrash metal band Gwar. It was released on October 20, 2017 by Metal Blade Records. It is the band's first album without founding member Dave Brockie, who portrayed Oderus Urungus, due to his heroi ...
'', featuring the first song with vocals by Sawborg Destructo, "The Sordid Soliloquy of Sawborg Destructo." The song's lyrics directly mention Techno several times, with Sawborg stating that he will "kill
echno if his ass I ever find."
In October 2020, Jackson would reunite with Gwar for the band's ''Scumdogs XXX Live'' anniversary broadcast. In a pre-concert vignette, Techno was seen rummaging through trashcans behind the venue, acting as if he had forgotten his identity. Bozo and Sawborg then appeared and began beating Techno until his memories returned, with the newly revitalized Destructo clan vowing to destroy Gwar.
Near the end of the concert, the three Destructos appeared and performed "The Private Pain of Techno Destructo" with each Destructo singing a verse. During the concert, Jackson reprised the Bad Biker Bitch character.
In June 2021, Techno was announced to be joining Gwar's Scumdogs 30th anniversary tour.
Hunter Jackson
Hunter Jackson was one of the original members of and co-founders of Gwar, having formed the
Slave Pit Inc.
Slave Pit Inc. is the artist collective, production company and independent record label created for releasing projects by the heavy metal band Gwar and related side projects such as Mensrea and Locus Factor.
History (1984–1993)
;1984
*Hunt ...
, the
art collective
An artist collective is an initiative that is the result of a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, towards shared aims. The aims of an artist collective can include almost anything that is relevant to the needs ...
which serves as Gwar's
production company
A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...
, in Richmond, Virginia in 1984.
Jackson originally intended to film a low-budget
space pirate
Space pirates are a type of stock character from science fiction. A take on the traditional seafaring pirates of history or the fictional air pirates of the 19th century, space pirates travel through outer space. Where traditional pirates target ...
movie entitled ''Scumdogs of the Universe'', for which he created what would become the costumes for the original Gwar line-up when
Dave Brockie
David Murray Brockie (August 30, 1963 – March 23, 2014) was a Canadian-American musician, who was the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Gwar, in which he performed as Oderus Urungus. He performed as a bassist and lead singer in the b ...
borrowed the costumes to wear with this then-band
Death Piggy
Death Piggy was an American hardcore punk band, that was formed in 1982 in Richmond, Virginia. They flourished briefly, before Dave Brockie, then their lead singer/bassist, decided to play a joke set while wearing monster costumes made by VCU art ...
, ultimately leading to the creation of Gwar.
In 1986, Jackson briefly moved to
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
during the period when Gwar was recording their debut album ''
Hell-O
''Hell-O!'' is the debut album by Gwar. The album was released on September 11, 1988, on Shimmy Disc Records.
Gwar's angle on the album is that of a morbid punk band (a la The Mentors, The Misfits, Butthole Surfers) obsessed with debauche ...
''. Thus, Gwar member
Don Drakulich
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
portrayed the role of Techno Destructo on the song "Techno's Song". Upon Jackson's return to Richmond, there was a brief period where Jackson and Drakulich portrayed two separate Techno Destructo characters in concerts, referred to in Gwar's comics as the result of a "split personality." Drakulich's Techno character would eventually become Bozo Destructo.
During his time with Gwar, Jackson was responsible for contributing to a lot of the band's creative concepts and non-musical artistic endeavors, acting as a writer and artist for the band's line of comic books ("Slave Pit Funnies"), monthly newsletters ("Mind Control Monthly") and scripts for the band's shows. Jackson also worked as a director, writer, producer and actor for both Gwar's live videos and long-form movies including ''
Phallus in Wonderland'' (for which he also illustrated the cover art) and ''
Skulhedface
''Skulhedface'' is a 1994 movie that was directed by Melanie Mandl. It is yet another story in Gwar's grand storyline (about the ne'er-do-well Scumdogs of the Universe), and the third to be released on video.
Story
''Skulhedface'' being the movi ...
''. Jackson, a self-described "game geek" and contributor to
d8 magazine, was also instrumental in designing Gwar's 1999
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a comp ...
''Rumble in Antarctica''.
Though not an instrumentalist, Jackson contributed occasional live vocals for Gwar's shows, and most notably sang lead on the songs "The Morality Squad" on ''
America Must Be Destroyed
''America Must Be Destroyed'' is Gwar’s third album, released in 1992 as their second album on Metal Blade Records. The album’s lyrical content was inspired by controversy over obscenity charges against the band and an incident in Charlotte, ...
'' (as his characters Edna P. Granbo and Corporal Punishment), "The Private Pain of Techno Destructo" on ''
Carnival of Chaos
''Carnival of Chaos'' is Gwar's sixth studio album, released on March 25, 1997 by Metal Blade Records.
Overview
The album is Gwar's longest album (exceeding 74 minutes), and contains Stampe's solo number: "Don't Need a Man". Hunter Jackson als ...
'' (as Techno Destructo) and "Tune from Da Moon" on ''
We Kill Everything
''We Kill Everything'' is the seventh album by Gwar, released on April 6, 1999 through Metal Blade Records.
Story
The album's story differs slightly from the version told in "It's Sleazy" and on tour.
The first three tracks on the album do not ...
'' (as Scroda Moon), all of which he received co-writing credits for. Jackson was also the voice of Cardinal Syn and provided the vocals on "Surf of Syn" from ''
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, (; non, Ragnarǫk) is a series of events, including a great battle, foretelling the death of numerous great figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disasters, and the submers ...
'', though the role went uncredited in the album's liner notes.
Jackson left Gwar in November 2000, and neither he nor his characters (with the exception of Cardinal Syn for the ''
Lust in Space
''Lust in Space'' is the eleventh studio album by Gwar. It was released on August 18, 2009. It is their first album since returning to their old label Metal Blade Records. The album also saw the return of their former bassist Casey Orr, even thoug ...
'' tour cycle) returned to the band in any capacity until October 2020. According to
Don Drakulich
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
, there were allegedly tensions between Jackson and members of Slave Pit, primarily between him and Dave Brockie, stemming from creative differences and disagreements over business which contributed to his leaving.
Since departing Gwar, Jackson has relocated to Los Angeles and continues to build artificial
prostheses
In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...
, a skill he has credited with influencing his work with Gwar and providing him with prop-building materials to work with.
Despite no longer being associated with Gwar, Jackson has continued to appear as Techno Destructo and Scroda Moon at comic conventions and independent
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
organizations in California. In 2006 and 2007, he appeared at the
Comic-Con
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book Fan (person), fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events ...
to promote Gwar's line of action figures from
Shocker Toys
Shocker Toys was a company that manufactured limited release toys and products based on comic book and cartoon characters, as well as original creations. Founded in 1998, the company was run by Geoff Beckett Jr., Lance Buttiglieri, and Bill Ros ...
which were ultimately unreleased.
Jackson has provided artwork for California comedy punk band
The Radioactive Chicken Heads
The Radioactive Chicken Heads are an American virtual band formed in Orange, California in 1993. Operating anonymously under the guise of mutant chickens and vegetables, the Chicken Heads' music is primarily a mix of punk rock, heavy metal and ...
, which the band has used for t-shirts, posters and visuals for their music video "Cluck You!". On September 1, 2013, Jackson appeared with the band as Techno Destructo during their set opening for
The Dickies
The Dickies are an American punk rock band formed in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, in 1977. One of the longest tenured punk rock bands, they have been in continuous existence for over 40 years. They have consistently balanced catchy mel ...
at the
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...
in Hollywood.
Jackson also appears and wrestles as Techno Destructo for
Sinn Bodhi
Nicholas Cvjetkovich (; born August 29, 1973) is a Serbo-Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his stint in World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE), where he worked on its SmackDown brand as Kizarny. He currently works the independents a ...
's Freakshow Wrestling promotion in California.
References
External links
House of Huntar Hunter Jackson's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Techno Destructo
Gwar members
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)