Local bands, take notice. Nathan Garman, rhythm guitarist for infamous Kalamazoo punk rockers The Hex Bombs is about to drop his secret for longevity.

“Passion, pride and a whole lot of booze,” he stated.

Buy it or not, that magic equation has kept The Bombs intact and rocking hard since 2006. Four years is not an eternity, but considering most local bands have the shelf life of a year or so, the feat is pretty legit.

“A single mind, goal and vision,” said Hex Bombs vocalist Mike Mann, further exploring what has kept the group together amid a handful of shake-ups to its personnel. “We keep the band a well-oiled war machine. Plus, these guys are my best friends.”

Line-up changes are generally the first sign of demise for local bands – but not for The Bombs. Not only has the band cycled through three bass players, two drummers and two lead guitarists, but they stayed active, displaying their classic punk sound at seemingly every opportunity.

Currently, the Hex Bombs are comprised of Mann, Garman, Jake Carrick (lead guitar/vocals), Darryl Arning (bass/vocals) and Stephen Borr (drums/vocals).

“My brother actually filled in for bass and guitar on two occasions during our changes so we could keep trucking, which we are very grateful,” Garman said.

And, according to Mann, it doesn’t look like anyone has a bucket of water big enough to douse their fire and passion for the music they play.

“We love playing in this band,” Mann said. “We have all worked real hard and sacrifice a lot to keep it together. I don’t think any of us would wanna let it die and have to start over. We will continue to drive this thing ’til the wheels fall off.”

Helping The Bombs’ cause is their no-nonsense brand of rock that has stayed in style as well as blue jeans have. The Hex Bombs bring listeners back to the good old days of punk before it was infiltrated by skinny jeans and eyeliner.

The Bombs have been transforming area venues into CBGBs with their Ramones-era sound.

“All walks of life, scenesters, the old and the young seem to enjoy what we do,” Garman said. “But, to say the style of music we play has anything to do with the reason we’ve progressed or lasted the test of time, is farthest from the truth. The truth is we’ve busted our asses over the last four years and we all have full-time jobs. We believe that the music we write and perform means something. We fight for every fan we have. We fight, because at this point in our lives, it’s the struggle that keeps us moving forward and gives us something to look forward to.”

The Hex Bombs will next be in action on March 4 at Mac’s Bar in Lansing opening up for Chicago punk rockers The Tossers, signed to Victory Records.