User:Carrite/The Detonators (band)

Carrite/The Detonators

The Detonators are a punk rock group from California formed in 1979.

1979 - 1997 edit

The Detonators were a part of the early hardcore punk scene in Los Angeles, California. Based in Redondo Beach, The Detonators were founded by friends Bruce Hartnell and Juan Camacho. After several records and tours of North America and Europe, the band relocated to Eugene, Oregon in 1987, and released their LP Balls To You. Several other tours and records followed, and then the band took a financially induced hiatus — playing their last live gig in 1997.

Hiatus edit

Hartnell went on to start a Mexican/spaghetti western band called Los Mex Pistols Del Norte, and sold his interest in his nightclub (John Henry's), to work as an audio engineer at Eugene's Hult Center for the Performing Arts. Camacho ran several versions of a Latino restaurant called Sandino's, and currently fronts a band called The Crimes Of Ambition.

In 2003, drummer Sean Schock, who had seen the band in Ohio in 1992, and had recently moved to Eugene, found Hartnell and convinced him to release some of the music the Detonators had not released to date. These tracks were from a cassette tape-only release called A Thousand Points Of Punk that was supposed to come out in 1992 on vinyl, but the idea was scrapped due to lack of funds.

2003- edit

The band played a reunion gig at John Henry's in 2003 to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of their first LP, Emergency Broadcast Systems with a line-up of Hartnell, Camacho, Kirk Black on bass, and Scott Adamo on drums. After the show, Black expressed an interest in pursuing the band further, and it was decided by Hartnell to carry on without Camacho.

Schock was added on drums, and the other guitar spot was taken up first by Robin McDougall, and finally Will Lindsay — both from the Eugene band Human Certainty. The bass player slot has been filled by Kelly Haliburton who has played in many Portland bands such as Defiance, Resist, Deprived and Detestation Schock and Saxon (from another Eugene band, the Happy Bastards) formed NFN records, and soon re-issued "Balls To You" on CD. The label has grown to include several releases from other Eugene acts, and has also released some of the "Thousand Points" material on two 7" EPs, "Live in Hope, Die in Despair" and "Sonic Manifesto" which were released in late 2004.

2011- edit

The Detonators continue to play live and have no plans of throwing in the towel anytime soon.


Category:Musical groups from Oregon Category:American punk rock groups