On a hot, steamy night, friends of mine turned me on to this hugely energetic band playing at the Freezer Theater, a hole in the wall on Cass Avenue. I was blown away. There up on the stage is this wiry ball of energy hopping around at the speed of light plaring into a microphone. That was Mel Krugel. Then you can't but notice these total hot chicks, Janice Mae Pope and Sylvia Inwood backing him up. Damn! Those girls could sing, too - still can as of 2011.
Mel headed for the West coast, and I only see him occasionally.

SG

Band founder Mel Krugel recalls:
How we got our name - We went to the audition (for the counter convention) with one song, "The Monsters are coming"*
The M.C. liked it and put us on the list of performers.
"What's the name of the band?"
Name? Band? We huddled up.
"Are we the Monsters?"
"No man, They're the monsters. We're the Monster Slayers!"
And our audition made the evening news!

Sylvia Inwood recollects:

The Motor City Monster Slayers formed in Summer 1980 to play at the Anti-Republican Convention in Detroit:

Original band members (1980):

Mel Krugel, Vocals
Rob Gaber, Bass
Fred Ginn, Keyboard (not sure about this, ask Mel)
Jere Stormer, Guitar
Jessie Nowells, Drums

I first sang with them at an event at Wayne State U in Winter of 1980-81 with this lineup:

Next lineup 1980-81:

Mel Krugel, Vocals,
Sylvia Inwood, Vocals
Jere Stormer, Guitar
Rob Gaber, Bass
Jessie Nowells, Drums

(Drummer Leonard King was playing at this event but with his own group not with the Monster Slayers.)

At some point, the band name was shortened to The Monster Slayers.

Next:
Mel Krugel, Vocals
Sylvia Inwood, Vocals
Alan Balkany, Guitar
Basil Balkany, Bass
Joey?, Drums

1984:
Mel Krugel, Vocals
Sylvia Inwood, Vocals
Janice (then Lewitt) Pope, Vocals
Alan Balkany, Guitar
Basil Balkany, Bass
David McLaughlin, Drums

Somewhere in there Donny Kirkland had a brief tenure on Guitar.

Janice Mae Pope recalls:

Many of the songs had to do with the evils of our "modern" society - "Teenage Zombies on the Loose" , "The Ford Song" which cites exploding Pintos and "better living through chemistry", and the age old question "did your parent's bring you up to be a guinea pig?"

The lyrics were often really funny, and Mel was a very funny and charismatic performer. Musically the band was all over the place - a lot of funk/jazz underpinnings with a healthy dose of rock and roll covers. I was thrilled to be given the cover songs no one else wanted to sing, which included Iggy's "I Want to Be Your Dog" and "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf.