Our Story
After playing in different variations of different rock bands in the local area, founding members MJ (vocals/guitar), Doug (guitar), Bill (bass), and Mike (drums) realized that they just “clicked” when making music together and Dagger was born.
It was 1972 and as high school friends from the Endicott NY area, they began honing their craft in the garage and eventually began playing locally wherever they could. Personnel changes occurred over the years; MJ departed, Jim Minor came and went as a lead vocalist, and Ted (keyboards) joined the band. Towards the end of 1976, Rick joined as the band's lead vocalist.
At the beginning of 1977 Dagger entered Pyramid Studios in Ithaca N.Y. and with Alex Perialas at the helm, they recorded and released their first single, All I Want To Do/Behind the Curtain. With the assistance of local WENE DJ Phil Courtright, they were able to garner some considerable local air play and they began to build a local following,
After the release of the single, Ted left and Mikie (guitar) was added to the line up and Dagger began touring extensively throughout the northeast. Life on the road eventually began to take it's toll and in August of 78, Dagger's final line up of Doug, Mike, Bill, and Mikie played their final performance.
There was a semi-reunion of the band for Bill's surprise 60th birthday when Mike and Rick joined the party band for a rendition of All I Want To Do, resulting with Bill joining them on stage to play it again. This generated talk and ideas about getting the band back together somehow, someway.
The way was the pandemic and the how was Zoom. In early 2020, with the pandemic keeping everyone at home, Phil Courtright sent out a Zoom invite to everyone who had ever been a member of Dagger. Amazingly everyone accepted and attended. After an hour or so of reliving the glory days, it was decided to make the Zoom call a weekly thing. Eventually the creative juices began flowing again and songwriting began to happen. Larry (Percussion/Drums) became an official member of the band and with the aid of modern technology, each member was able to record and send their individual tracks in for a final mix down. Currently, Dagger has a library of 30 tunes and counting.
On September 3rd, 2022 Dagger played their first performance since 1978 at a private party in Owego, NY. Encouraged by the response of the attendees, the band began to make plans for a public performance. With Rick living in Florida, Doug and Mikie in North Carolina, and juggling the schedules of eight band members, it seemed like a daunting endeavor. Where there is a will there is always a way and Dagger played their first public performance in 45 years at the Ransom Steele Tavern on October 13, 2023. It was a huge success!
Rock On !!!