Mike Dillard

Who is Mike Dillard?

Mike Dillard is a drummer and one of the founding members of The Melvins. He was notably the drummer who performed on what was originally intended to be the Melvins' first album but never officially released until 2005 due to lack of label interest at the time. These became known as Mangled Demos From 1983. He left the band in 1984 and was replaced by Dale Crover. In 1986 he briefly played in Kurt Cobain's first band, Fecal Matter, before they disbanded.

Dillard returned to play songs from Mangled Demos from 1983 live with Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover. They collectively played a few shows, including two shows to celebrate Jello Biafra's 50th birthday. Dillard also performed with the Melvins 1983 lineup on one of the Endless Residency sets at the Spaceland venue in San Francisco.

Dillard also plays drums on the 1983 EP, making his first recordings with the Melvins in 29 years. His drumming with the 1983 lineup also appears on the Gaylord 7", the song "Dr. Mule" on the Ten Years of Scion Compilation and the BASH 13 split/compilation on the song "American Cow". Many of these songs will appear on the album Tres Cabrones, his first appearance on a Melvins full-length.