EDUCATION/ CAREER: Beecher Grade and High Schools, Beecher, IL (1965-1977). Prairie State College, Chicago Heights, IL (1978-79) Electronics Technology. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (1980-1983) B.S. Journalism, with a minor in Creative Writing. Took up guitar at the age of 13. Mostly self-instructed until college. Studied classical guitar under Joseph Breznikar at SIU-C, and later (1992) with Eric Lugosch, of the Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago. Worked for TV fitness personality, John Abdo, inventor of the ABDOer, from 1992 to 1998 as production and personal assistant, and editor. Previous to that, seven years in the retail paint business while pursuing the ever-elusive “music career”. Currently private guitar and bass instructor, and guitar instructor for Warren County Summer Music School (see Links).

NOTEWORTHY THRUSTS and PHILOSOPHICAL LEANINGS:
As “Danny Sleeze” frontman (guitarist, vocalist, songwriter) for Chicago 80s era punk/metal band CERTAIN DEATH, Imig becomes known as the guitarist who single-handedly tries to introduce the improvised guitar solo into punk rock. The combination of “poppy,” intelligently-crafted songs with blistering guitar solos confuses many, and writers and critics who cling to the old adage that punk rock should be void of personal egos, especially ones voiced through instrumental prowess, become irked. The band is frequently panned for “too many, and too long guitar solos,” especially by the west coast scene which is busy forging their own band of “jock” punk, mosh-pit style, which will ultimately take all the fun, dance-ability, and musicality out of punk rock altogether. Guitar solos are subtlety “banned” from punk rock songs, and bands like METALLICA, METAL CHURCH, and MEGADEATH reap the rewards and garner the praise of wandering guitar fans. Metal bands with “punk” energy and nothing much to say succeed wildly, while punk bands with “metal” fusions propelling inflammatory lyrics are shunned. Finally NIRVANA happens upon the scene as the ultimate hypocrisy—a punk band which becomes popular and successful, and the lid on the coffin of punk rock is sealed forever. Imig subsequently contemplates the pursuit of fame as a lifetime goal, and becomes convinced it is a frighteningly contagious and incurable mental disease driven by media corporations bent on marketing to children and stunted adolescents, and destined to destroy the productive lives of millions. Having invested so much time and effort in the pursuit of music however, Imig quietly continues to perform, compose, and record, in hopes the art form of improvised music and the language of guitar may someday be rediscovered.

THE BANDS:

1974-1977 “EFFIGY”– high school cover band. Proms, dances, weddings, etc. Hard rock of the mid-70s: Aerosmith, BTO, Zeppelin, etc. No recordings survive. Main guitar this period: black Gibson L6-S.

1980-1981. “RIFF RAFF”– Carbondale’s premier newWave, ska, punk, reggae band. Corresponding cover songs of the time, and originals by Imig. No official recordings available yet, although some recordings exist and may be remastered to CD at a later date. Imig pegged with the alias “Danny Sleeze” lasting until 1990. L6-S destroyed at a benefit gig, Hangar-9, Carbondale, January 1981. Imig uses money his grandmother gave him for college to purchase his first of three Hamer guitars, a green Hamer Special, then, a very new brand of Chicago-made guitars.

1982.“D.S. COOTIE”– Imig pioneers an esoteric, multi-genre, all-original music band-- the beginnings of “P’ssed Over Pop Songs”. Trio format forces Imig to sing for the first time. All songs © D.B. Imig. Performs routinely in Carbondale’s infamous “The Club” (later torched.)

1983. “KILL 4"– Another 3-piece, mostly originals band. This band is less poppy and starts to sound more metal and punk. This band and previous– limited recordings of questionable quality prevent release. Also 1983, Carbondale’s “Agent Orange”– a reworked version of the previous band with the inclusion of the singer from Riff Raff, Carlos Penny, of “Dr. Bombay” fame. Again no releases available.

1984-1989. Chicago’s “CERTAIN DEATH”– One of the area’s premier punk bands of the time; the ultimate punk/metal power trio features Imig (alias Danny Sleeze) on guitar and vocals, Jeff Anderson, a top notch guitar player in his own right, on bass, and Imig’s brother Mike, also formerly of the D.S. Cootie band, on drums. Significant exposure and airplay, limited touring. Appeared on a Metal Blade/Death Records compilation record “Complete Death II” (1988). Released one 7" record, “K.A.O.S. In Control/Dead Llama” (1989) produced by Iain Burgess, and John Haggerty, guitarist for Naked Raygun. Critically acclaimed. For reviews see catalog. Some quotes: “Crunching, metallic punk”– Jello Biafra. “Ear-bleeding charm”– Illinois Entertainer. “Best underground punk tape ever!”– Thrash ‘till Deaf fanzine. Imig, fronting Marshall stacks, shreds a zebra-striped, Explorer-shaped Hamer first, then switches to a puke-green Hamer Chaparral in time to be videotaped (still missing) at Chicago’s annual “Peacefest” (1987), formerly known as “Potfest”. See Picture Gallery. “Basement Live ‘85", tape praised above, now available on CD, as well as the complete ARS and CRC recordings titled “CERTAIN DEATH Retrospective”. Songs that fans seem to remember most: “Kill the Beatles”, “Granny’s on the SWAT Team”, “SPECKtacular leGACY” (a scathing commentary on Chicago politics and race relations), “Life is a Bitch, Then You Die”, and “Dial-a-trance” a spoof on a then-popular call-in hypnotism service.

1989-1994. Imig’s “home-recording” period. Cassette releases too numerous to list here (see Discography). The two most popular 90-minute releases were “Rosy Palm Reader” (1990) still as Danny Sleeze, and, the follow-up “Media Circus Ring” (1991) now sporting his real “author” name: D.B. Imig. Glittering reviews in numerous publications (see Reviews). While working for John Abdo, (1994) TV fitness celebrity and inventor of the ABDOer, Imig writes and records the opening and closing music themes for “The Fitness Profile” TV show, those songs available on his 1994 cassette release “Never Learned Cooperate” which garnered rave reviews from the Illinois Entertainer magazine. Also composes various local radio spots.

1994-1998. Chicago’s “THESAURUS REX”. Imig hooks up again with former CERTAIN DEATH bassist Jeff Anderson to craft a 3-piece, mostly-originals, all-instrumentals, totally ignored band. Described as “The Ventures” meet “Zappa” meet “Satriani”, or a guitar-driven jazz/punk/metal circus. Like nothing heard before. One 1997 release now available on CD-- “Laryngitis X3". Other material may be released later. Imig switches to Paul Reid Smith guitars and Fender amps. Smaller is quieter you know. Imig contemplates future in jazz, acoustic folk, and lighter fares.

1998-1999. Imig moves to Warren, PA and joins Jamestown, NY’s “MsDEMEANOR”, an extensive club-working cover band– big hair music of the 80s and 90s. A balding, buzz-cut Imig questions popular music as a pursuit past 40. No releases allowed.

2001. Imig buys first Strat, and releases “Long, Lost Buddy CD” in which he claims to be Buddy Holly reincarnated. Imig turns to playing bass occasionally in jazz ensembles, and teaching. Currently a private instructor at Woods Music, Warren, as well as the guitar teacher at the Warren County Summer Music School each year in June. Planning comeback utilizing blues and jazz themes fused with various rock influences when he can find the right musicians who want to play, of course, all-original material. Continues to write and record acoustic guitar instrumentals, as well as vocally-accompanied acoustic pieces. Continues to home-record and release CDs. See Discography.

2004. Releases first professionally studio-recorded project since 1989, “SubBlued”, with Bob Priest, drummer and recording engineer at All Sound Recording, Warren. Imig performs bass parts under the pseudonym Andrew Bosconey and records just four songs due to budget constraints. Of the 100 CDs manufactured, only 2 sell for the $7.95 asking price, after being displayed in local record and music stores for a full year, making Imig wonder if something’s going wrong. Imig gives the rest of the CDs away and contemplates whether he really wants to limit himself to blues anyway.

2005. Imig, on bass guitar, teams up with local singer-songwriter Matt Maloof and helps forge one of Warren's only all-original bands: NORTH OF DIRT. Sound described as "Gutsy Earth-Rock." Band plays various gigs most of 2005 and records some demos. CD available for hardcore collectors only.

2009. Danny hooks up with newly-returned to Warren drummer Jim Sturdevant, who left after high school and went on to graduate Berkeley School of Music and tear up the clubs of Boston for the following 20 years with such notables as THE HEAVY METAL HORNS and others too numerous to list. They enlist the help of former MsDEMEANOR bassist Doug Hoffman, call themselves ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS, and start cranking out psychedelic blues, which quickly morphs into a more 60s surf and spy sound driven by jangly, Strat tones though a Fender Twin.

2011 and '12 find Doug (newly-retired and a perpetual snowbird) replaced by youngster Gavin Peterniti of Jamestown, NY whose inventiveness, drive, and tonal precision cause the band to make a name change to reflect their further plunge into the musical realms of surf, spy, and re-written TV themes, coupled with powerful originals in that same vein. And so THE ELEKTRA KINGS are born. "Like them on Facebook," and watch for their first full-length release of original material on CD in 2013.