Soto thought Brandenburg would make a good singer, and suggested this to Rikk Agnew, who at the time used the stage name General Hospital (after the television show). Soto said: "The General was going to start a new band and I suggested Tony as the singer. He was into the idea but for some reason he ended up reuniting with his old band the Detours instead." Soto left Agent Orange in late 1979 because bandleader Mike Palm wouldn't include Soto's songs in the band's set, and started a new band in January 1980 with Brandenburg, who used the stage name Tony Cadena. Soto invited Rikk Agnew to join them in the group; he declined but suggested his younger brother Frank. " was 15," recalled Brandenburg; "Steve told Frank that he was putting together a band and I was going to sing. Frank thought I was kinda weird but decided to try it out anyway". The lineup was completed with guitarist John O'Donovan and drummer Greg Williams (who went by the stage name Peter Pan), and the new group began practicing, first in Williams' garage and then at the Detours' rehearsal space, a modified chicken coop behind a house. "The band made life liveable", recalled Brandenburg; "High school was still hell, and when a couple of people found out I was in a punk band the ridicule escalated".