In 2006, Douglas Burns of The Observers and Hajji Husayn of the Clorox Girls teamed up to launch the Vagabond Sound music collective. The Red Dons are the principle band of this collective which also features The Revisions and The Chemicals. Burns and Husayn have played with multiple members in the Red Dons. The original line-up enlisted Derek Skokan (Revisions) on drums and Justin Maurer (Clorox Girls, Suspects Parts) on guitar. Will Kinser (Born/Dead, No Options Records), Andy Foote (No Secret Between Sailors, Physical Challenge) Zach Brooks (Soda Pop Kids, Scott Baio Army), and Derek Willman (Hellshock, From Ashes Rise, The Estranged) have all performed and recorded with in the group. Other people who have contributed to the music collective are Jonny Cat (Triggers, Chemicals), Jesse Micheals (Operation Ivy, Classics of Love), and Vim Crony. Only Derek Skokan officially left the project for good. He was replaced by now long time member Richard Joachim (Revisions, Priory).
The band is named after a group of highly respected Cambridge professors who were later revealed to be spies. Little is known about the original Red Dons (a.k.a. the Cambridge Five), but it is suggested that during World War II they were responsible for passing information to the Soviets and misinformation to the Nazis. Despite having close ties to the Queen and the British government they eventually defected to the Soviet Union adding more intrigue and mystery to their story.
Red Dons
