Skip to content
Riot Fest 2023 – September 15th-17th
Tickets
Search
  • RIOT FEST
    • 2023 Lineup
    • Tickets
    • Newsletter
    • Photos
    • Past Lineups
    • Riot Mall Vendors
    • Lost & Found
    • News
    • FAQ
  • Upcoming Shows
  • Magazine
    • Home
    • Playlists
    • New Music
    • Interviews
    • Comics
    • TV+Film
    • Staff Picks
  • Community
    • Neighborhood Guide
    • Community Involvement
    • Street Team Sign Up
  • Merch
  • Search
Remembering Destroy Build Destroy, an Andrew W.K. Show About Teamwork and Wrecking Stuff

Remembering Destroy Build Destroy, an Andrew W.K. Show About Teamwork and Wrecking Stuff

Looking back at the short-lived Cartoon Network game show, which—while cancelled—outlasted the network’s other experiments with live-action series
May 6, 2022 (May 5, 2022) // Dustin Krcatovich

Some things are just too beautiful to stick around in this world. Cherry blossoms bloom, then quickly fall to the ground. Exquisitely detailed mandalas are made by Buddhist monks, only to be ceremonially wiped away. Andrew W.K. hosts a game show where he lets a bunch of tweens let loose on piles of smoldering wreckage to help them learn how to work together and build stuff, only to see it canceled. Ah, the simple beauty of impermanence!

Don’t remember that last one? Sadly, you might not be the only one.

Destroy Build Destroy, the show in question, premiered in 2009 as part of the Cartoon Network’s short lived “CN Real” reality show lineup, and ended in 2011. As I mentioned, the show was hosted by longtime Riot Fest favorite Andrew W.K., who brought his usual manic party energy to the proceedings. There were some variations on the central gimmick throughout the series, but the premise was basically this: two groups of three kids, divided by a shared interest (musicians vs. gamers, for example) start by deciding how two large objects—RVs, boats, etc.—get demolished. After watching the wanton acts of destruction, each team would then have to build something from whatever was left. What they build would allow them to compete in a challenge with the other team. Cash prizes were typically involved with the winner, but the real prize was getting to (re)demolish what the losing team had built.

At four seasons in two short years, Destroy Build Destroy was the most successful show in the CN Real lineup, but this wasn’t enough to keep it going. The show, and in fact the entire CN Real lineup, was scrapped. Andrew moved on to other party-friendly avenues, as he always does, and was little worse for the wear. The show, however, sank into obscurity, and is not currently streaming anywhere semi-reputable (save for a couple episodes on YouTube, as of press time).

How could this happen? Andrew’s casual fans may come and go, but he’s still got one of the most dedicated core bases in popular music. (I’ve personally seen him live in different parts of the world many times, and never without a sizable, adoring crowd.) The show’s basic idea was sound, too: kids get to show off their nerdy skill sets and learn about teamwork, and even more importantly, they get to blow stuff up or smash it with a bulldozer. Andrew’s energy, of course, is the cherry on top, a treat for kids of all ages. What’s not to love?

One can only guess at the machinations and motivations of the Cartoon Network suits, of course, but Destroy Build Destroy’s failure to catch on big can probably be chalked up mostly to timing. The largest chunk of Andrew’s fans are millennials; between the Great Recession and general social trends, much of that generation just wasn’t ready for kids in 2009, and Destroy Build Destroy was definitely a show geared more towards kids than young adults. 

A show like Yo Gabba Gabba! was able to generate a cross-generational cult audience in the same timeframe because its cast and vibe was perfectly appointed to appeal to Gen X-ers and older Millennials with fond memories of Sesame Street and H.R. Pufnstuf. These adults were delighted to share a hip, now version of the shows of their youth with their kids, especially one that included 1980s/90s musical heroes like Mark Mothersbaugh, Erykah Badu, and the late, great Biz Markie. Andrew, being a bit younger, would fit in superbly in a similar milieu now that his early diehard fans are firmly into child-rearing age; I personally know more than one current parent who is just now starting to share their love of Andrew W.K. with their young children. In 2009, though, those same parents and I were still focused on sharing our love of bad Canadian whiskey.

People love Andrew W.K. because he brings a dash of party magic to everything he does. Destroy Build Destroy was perhaps not the ultimate manifestation of that magic, but it was an admirable effort to bring the party to the kids. It deserves to be remembered. Here’s hoping it becomes easy to find again soon, or even better, that Andrew gets a second chance to be a kids show host. Few were more built for the job than him.


The Related Rabbit Hole

Remembering Ronnie Spector: An Illustrated History Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey on New Members, Old Traditions, and Staying Pro-Union
About The Author
Dustin Krcatovich

Dustin Krcatovich is a writer, musician, DJ, and insufferable contrarian based in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Reportedly, his writing once deeply offended a member of the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Posted in TV+FilmTagged TV+Film

Post navigation

  Previous PostNext Post 
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • TikTok
  • Mail
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
Riot Fest Tickets
Upcoming Shows Playlist
Riot Fest Presents Shows
Feb. 17, 2023
Cobra Lounge
Future Teens & Macseal

Future Teens & Macseal

Woolbright

Tickets(Opens in new window).
Future Teens & Macseal
Feb. 18, 2023
Cobra Lounge
Dune Rats

Dune Rats

Telethon

Devon Kay & The Solutions

Low Tickets(Opens in new window).
Dune Rats
Feb. 26, 2023
Metro
Bayside

Bayside

I Am the Avalanche

Koyo

Tickets(Opens in new window).
Bayside
Mar. 3, 2023
Bottom Lounge
Prince Daddy & The Hyena + Drug Church

Prince Daddy & The Hyena + Drug Church

Anxious

Webbed Wing

Low Tickets(Opens in new window).
Prince Daddy & The Hyena + Drug Church
Mar. 9, 2023
Cobra Lounge
Free Throw

Free Throw

Can’t Swim

Equipment

Early Humans

SOLD OUT
Free Throw
Mar. 11, 2023
Reggies
Flatfoot 56 / The Rumjacks

Flatfoot 56 / The Rumjacks

The Drowns

Criminal Kids

Tickets(Opens in new window).
Flatfoot 56 / The Rumjacks

MORE SHOWS

Greatest Hits

  • Foundation
  • History
  • Contact
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
InstagramTwitterYouTubeTikTokFacebook

Copyright © 2023 Riot Fest Corporation. Privacy Policy.

Search for:

Send me emails so I don’t have to go to your website to look for shows.

"*" indicates required fields

Name
Email me about
Music I like
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Listen to the upcoming shows playlist to hear all the artists playing near you: Apple Music or Spotify
Listen
This is default text for notification bar
Learn more