| U.S. Bombs | |
| Origin: | United States |
| Years Active: | 1993–present |
| Label: | Slope Records |
| Current Members: | Duane Peters |
| Past Members: |
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U.S. Bombs are an American punk rock band, formed in 1993 in Orange County, California, by Duane Peters and Kerry Martinez. For much of the band's career, the U.S. Bombs consisted of Peters and Martinez, with bass guitarist Wade Walston and drummer Chip Hanna. They have also played with Jonny "Two Bags" Wickersham. The U.S. Bombs play '77 style punk, influenced by The Clash, Heartbreakers, Ramones, Flyboys, Chelsea, Stiff Little Fingers, Shane MacGowan & The Popes, Sham 69, the Flys, & the Ruts.[1]
In 1993, Duane Peters left The Exploding Fuck Dolls and teamed up with Kerry Martinez to start a new band called U.S. Bombs. The band's first release was a double 7-inch called "Scouts of America" released in 1994 on Vinyl Dog Records with Peters on vocals, Martinez on guitar, Steve Reynolds on bass, and Benny Rapp III on drums. Next they released their first full length Put Strength in the Final Blow.
After a few different lineup changes in their early years, they settled into a lineup of Peters, Martinez, and Reynolds, with Chuck Briggs on guitar and Alex Gomez on drums. In 1996, they released their second album Garibaldi Guard! on Alive Records. The next year, they put out an EP called Nevermind the Opened Minds...Here's the U.S. Bombs.
In 1997, due to touring commitments, the rhythm section of the band was replaced with Wade Walston on bass and Chip Hanna on drums. That year, the band released a 10-inch picture disc on Outsider Records. Next they moved to Tim Armstrong's Hellcat Records for a 4-record deal. The first album on Hellcat was War Birth.
Before the band's fourth full-length, The World, guitarist Chuck Briggs died. Briggs was replaced by Jonny "Two Bags" Wickersham. The World was released in 1999.
During this time, the band developed a relationship with Beer City Records/Skateboards and released three 7-inch records with them. In 1997, they released "Outtakes from a Beer City Basement" which had two exclusive songs, "Hot Seat" (an Empire cover) and "Rejected". Next was a split with The Bristles, where the U.S. Bombs did a cover of the Radio Birdman song "Breaks My Heart". The third Beer City release was called "The Great Lakes of Beer" in 2001 and had two exclusive songs, "The Great Lakes of Beer" and "The Critic!".
In 2000, Peters left to start his new band, Duane Peters and the Hunns. After a few releases and some touring, in 2001 he had to return to the studio with the U.S. Bombs as they were still under contract to make 2 more records with Hellcat. They recorded Back at the Laundromat, their fifth full length.
The band appeared on Premium Blend as the stage band during Jim Breuer's hosting stint, and contributed the song "Yer Country" to the soundtrack for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.
In 2006, the U.S. Bombs recorded their 7th full-length album. With Peters, Martinez, Gove, Jaime Reidling and studio bassists, they released We Are The Problem on Sailor's Grave Records.
In March 2015, Peters posted on Instagram, "The Bombs 1993–2013 RIP". In a separate post, he confirmed that the band had broken up.
In the spring of 2017, Peters posted on Instagram that he was going to be getting the U.S. Bombs back together with a completely new crew. The band scheduled a west coast tour for late Summer 2017 including the "It's Not Dead" festival. Peters announced that a new 7-inch of Clash covers was recorded and slated for release on Slope Records in 2017.
Road Case, the band's first album in twelve years, was released on November 23, 2018.[2]