History
The observers
Lead singer and primary songwriter Douglas Burns along with longtime friend and Speds band mate Colin Grigson formed the Observers. The intention of the band was to create a new voice in music that was true to the traditional punk sound of the 70’s and 80’s while remaining contemporary and relevant.
The observers
The band formed in 2002, but did not play their first live show until March 2003 after settling on their first line-up, which included Muslim on guitar and Skeeter Joplin on drums. Together, this line-up recorded the “Down On Today” demo and the group’s first vinyl release, “Lead Pill” (Super Secret). Later that year Muslim, and Skeeter left the group to pursue other interests while Grigson stayed on with the band despite being very active with his other band Plan R. The Hajji then introduced his brother Johnny Kashani to The Observers who then joined with Brett Ramone on drums. Shortly after that, they hit the road.
The observers
Months after joining, Ramone and the group parted ways. After that, Mike of the Minds started drumming for the band. Due to extensive touring in the U.S., Canada, and Europe in 2004 and 2005, the line-up of Kashani, Burns, Grigson, and Mike became the most recognizable line-up for The Observers. In their short time together, they recorded the critically acclaimed records “So What’s Left Now (Vinyl Warning),” “Walk Alone” (Jonny Cat),” and “Where I Stay (Deranged).” However, during this time Kashani formed the Raids, Mike helped form Blood Bath and Beyond, and Grigson joined the Clorox Girls as well as several other acts. Eventually, this line-up disbanded when Grigson, Kashani, and Warm left the group in the summer of 2005.
The observers
Grigson, Mike, and Kashani went on to form Defect Defect, but Kashani left the group soon thereafter. Muslim and Brett Ramone also formed a band together after leaving the group called, The Innocents. Johnny Kashani formed Clit Ripper, and plays with the Manholes and Self Abuse (both also feature Grigson). Burns and Hajji continued on with the band but changed the name to reflect the line-up change. Today the band plays under the name the Red Dons. The members of the Red Dons also preform in an acoustic act called the Revisions that plays Observers, Speds, and other original songs.