Guitarist Bob Demmon was a member of the 1960s Coronado band West Coast Iron Works, which remains extant to this day, although with a few different members. He received his bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in music education from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Later in the 1960s, Demmon toured the word with RCA Records surf band Astronauts, whose biggest hit was “Baja” was released in 1963. He moved to San Diego in the late ‘60s to accept a teaching position at Coronado High.
There, he helped develop the school marching band into an award winning troupe before moving to teach at Coronado Middle School. After a battle with cancer of the larynx, he retired from teaching in 2003. When West Coast Iron Works played a 2008 Coronado High class reunion, Demmon sat in for a few songs.
Demmon died at his Coronado home on December 18, 2010, from cardiopulmonary arrest. He was 71. A memorial service was held for the beloved Coronado teacher February 19, 2011, at Coronado Middle School.