Redd Kross
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Redd Kross
| For The Record... |
| Band members include Eddie Kurdziel, guitar; Jeff McDonald (married to Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Gos fame, one daughter), guitar, vocals; Steven McDonald, bass, vocals; Brian Reitzell, drums. Former members include, Robert Hecker, guitar; and Gere Fennelly, keyboards. The band was formed in 1978 in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne, CA, by the McDonald brothers, when Steven was eleven years old and Jeff was fifteen; the brothers would recruit schoolmates as band members. Band was originally named Tourists; name changed to Red Cross; due to copyright infringement, band name changed from Red Cross to Redd Kross in 1981. Released Red Cross in 1980 and Born Innocent in 1981, but their parents wouldn’t allow them to tour; released Teen Babes from Monsanto in 1984; released Neurotica in 1987; released Third Eye in 1990; released Phaseshifter in 1993, released Show World in 1997. Addresses: Record company—Mercury/Polygram Records, 825 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10019; phone (212) 333-8000. |
Rock band
Hardy perennial rockers Redd Kross have managed to stay one step ahead of mainstream fame for almost two decades, often introducing musical styles a few years before they become remarkably popular. Redd Kross is considered a "band’s band," a pop rock group revered by critics, peers, and a loyal, hardcore cult following, but a musical gem of a band still largely undiscovered by the pop rock masses.
Redd Kross was founded in 1978 in the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne, by the McDonald brothers when Steven was eleven years old and Jeff was fifteen. Hawthorne was also the home town of the Beach Boys, which gave the McDonald brothers a sense of musical mission. While they appreciated the music of the Beach Boys and the Beatles, the McDonald brothers were also fans of punk music. The brothers recall being driven to Black Flag and X concerts by their parents long before they were old enough to receive their driving licenses, and they would recruit their schoolmates as band members. The duo was also influenced by 1970s glam-rock, theatrical rock, and punk rock
bands such as Queen, Cheap Trick, Kiss, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, David Bowie, Aerosmith, and the New York Dolls. The Beatles, Rush, the Rolling Stones, and the Runaways also serve as musical inspiration for Redd Kross.
The brothers recruited schoolmates to play in their band, and played their first gig in 1979. Other founding band members included a drummer from Steve’s junior high orchestra and a guitarist from Jeff’s high school photography class, who was skeptical about being in a band with someone in junior high school. "I paid for our first demo with my paper route, Steve McDonald told Entertainment Weekly’s Nisid Hajari, "I was eleven." As teens, the McDonald brothers originally called their band Red Cross. A fairly pleasant telephone call from someone at the Red Cross organization, who wanted to discuss the nuances of copyright infringement, prompted the McDonald brothers to alter the spelling of their band’s name.
In 1981 the band released a full-length album called Born Innocent without benefit of a major label. Born Innocent was given ample air play by Los Angeles radio disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer, but the brothers couldn’t gain momentum from its popularity because their parents wouldn’t allow them to tour at such a young age. They followed in 1984 with another album comprised of covers by bands such as the Stooges and the Stones, which was called Teen Babes from Monsanto.
When Redd Kross began touring in the mid 1980s, they donned bell bottoms, appropriated the general funki-ness and quirky glamour of the 1970s, sang Kiss songs, focused on silly, kitschy humor, and crooned about Linda Blair, an actress in the cult classic The Exorcist. Their style was out of synch with the explosion of jagged hardcore music at the time, which favored shaved heads, combat boots, angry lyrics, and thriving mosh pits—but their originality garnered a loyal, diehard group of followers who remained devoted throughout the decades. Most of the band’s most ardent fans are other musicians like Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and former Replacement, Paul Westerberg.
In 1987 Redd Kross released Neurotica, a psychedelic-flavored album that was streamlined and noticeably "packaged" in an era of no-frills alternative releases. The album Neurotica was the band’s first release to be distributed by a major label, RCA’s Big Time. Sub-Pop label cofounder Jonathan Poneman told Hajari, "Neurotica was a life changer for me and for a lot of people in the Seattle music community. For [a band] to embrace something so unapologetically crass and packaged—there was something really punk about doing that then."
Stretch of Ill-Luck
After the release of Neurotica, the Big Time label folded, unceremoniously dumping Redd Kross into a contractual void for two years, which hampered the band’s prospects at the time. To a band on the verge of breaking into mainstream music, this was a major setback. But, in 1989 their luck appeared to change—Atlantic Records stepped into the alternative music picture to explore the market, embracing Redd Kross in the process. The band was signed to a one-album deal for $200, 000, given $80,000 from the label for a video, and given more than $100, 000 for tour support. Redd Kross released Third Eye for Atlantic in 1990, and the record sold a meager 40,000 copies at a time when Nirvana’s grunge, anti-pop sound was dominating the musical realm. To explain the album’s poor reception, Steve McDonald told Hajari, "We’ve always been ahead of our time. We make records, and five years later another band has success with the sound we’d already done."
Redd Kross released Phaseshifter in 1993, competing as an alternative band on a major label with Billboard top ten bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Smashing Pumpkins. The fact that the band was considered an "insider band" was also problematic for its mainstream crossover appeal.
Blending Disparate Influences
Redd Kross toured with Stone Temple Pilots in 1994, and found that the tour altered their exciting, rock-myth perspective. Jeff McDonald told Dan Epstein of the Los Angeles Weekly, "I remember going to arena shows as a child … seeing the backstage entrance … and wondering what goes on back there. Well, during the tour with Stone Temple Pilots and the Meat Puppets … we would sit around and play Yahtzee."
Redd Kross released Show World in 1997, which was their most conventional pop release to date; the album was described by Guitar World’s Tom Beaujour as "the aftermath of the Stooges plowing their tour bus into the Beatles’ Let It Be sessions." The album reflects the band’s influences: the Beach Boys, the B-52s, Black Sabbath, Dusty Springfield, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles. Epstein noted, "The juicy pop melodies of ‘ Vanity Mirror,’ Mess Around, ‘Sick Love,’ and the sublime, show-stopping ballad ‘Secret Life’ can be removed from your brain only with a surgeon’s help."
Show World emphasized a shift in the band’s approach. The purposely silly lyrics and 1970s-inspired gimmicks of albums past were replaced with artfully-crafted, original pop songs. Steve McDonald worked on the album’s arrangement and harmonies, Jeff McDonald
wrote most of the songs. The band is sometimes criticized for being too "retro," and Jeff McDonald told Epstein, "But that’s what rock and roll’s all about! I mean, what were the Beatles but a retro group?"
Selected discography
Red Cross, Posh Boy, 1980.
(With others) The Siren, Posh Boy, 1980.
Born Innocent, Reckless, 1981.
Teen Babes from Monsanto, Reckless, 1984.
Neurotica, Big Time/RCA, 1987.
Third Eye, Atlantic Records, 1990.
Phaseshifter, This Way Up/Mercury, 1993.
Show World, This Way Up/Mercury, 1997.
Sources
Aquarian, February 19, 1997.
AW, February 19, 1997.
Bam, February 21, 1997.
Billboard, January 11, 1997.
Entertainment Weekly, December 3, 1993.
Guitar World, March 1997.
Los Angeles Times, February 10, 1997.
Los Angeles Weekly, February 21, 1997.
New York Times, February 22, 1994.
Online
http://www.musick.com/ReddKross/
http://www.roughguides.com/rock/entries/REDD_Kross.html
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
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Redd Kross
- Genres: Rock
Biography
Inspired as much by breakfast cereal and kiddie TV as by rock music, punk-pop cult band Redd Kross were the brainchild of Steve and Jeff McDonald, brothers from the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne (also home of the Beach Boys) who began playing music together before either had hit puberty. Fueled by a series of dubious visits to famed area rock clubs like the Roxy and the Whisky a Go Go, they formed their first band, the Tourists, in 1978; Jeff, then 15, handled vocal duties while Steve, 11, took up the bass. After rounding out the group with schoolmates Greg Hetson on guitar and Ron Reyes on drums, the Tourists played their first gig, opening for Black Flag. Following a name change to Red Cross, they issued their self-titled EP debut in 1980. After the departure of Hetson and Reyes (for the Circle Jerks and Black Flag, respectively), the McDonalds enlisted a revolving lineup of underground musicians for their full-length follow-up, 1981's Born Innocent, which found the group's pop culture obsessions bubbling over on tributes like "Linda Blair" and "Charlie" (about Charles Manson, whose "Cease to Exist" they also covered).Following the album's release, the band was threatened with a lawsuit from the real International Red Cross; as a result, the group became Redd Kross, and returned in 1984 with Teen Babes from Monsanto, a collection of covers of artists ranging from David Bowie to the Rolling Stones and the Shangri-Las. That year, they also appeared in and composed the music for the no-budget film Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, which included their transcendent cover of the Brady Bunch's "(It's A) Sunshine Day." Complete with new guitarist Robert Hecker and drummer Roy McDonald (no relation), 1987's Neurotica, with songs like "Frosted Flake," "The Ballad of Tatum O'Tot and the Fried Vegetables," and "Janus, Jeanie and George Harrison," appeared primed to push Redd Kross out of the underground, but their label, Big Time, folded shortly after the album's release, and legal hassles prevented the band from recording any new material under its own name for three years.
Instead, as the Tater Totz, the McDonald brothers corralled Three O'Clock member Michael Quercio and former Partridge Family kid Danny Bonaduce for 1989's Alien Sleestacks from Brazil, the title a nod to the Sid and Marty Krofft children's series Land of the Lost. A collection of satiric and surreal covers, the LP included renditions of "Give Peace a Chance," "We Will Rock You," and Yoko Ono's "Don't Worry Kyoko." Prior to another Tater Totz effort, 1989's Sgt. Shonen's Exploding Plastic Eastman Band Mono! Stereo (recorded with ex-Runaway Cherie Currie and future Foo Fighter Pat Smear), the McDonalds detoured into another side project, Anarchy 6, for the 1988 mock punk tribute Hardcore Lives! Finally, in 1990 Redd Kross landed a deal with Atlantic, issuing the surprisingly straightforward Third Eye. After an appearance (alongside David Cassidy) in the kitschy 1991 film Spirit of 76, the band issued a handful of singles before 1993's Phaseshifter, augmented by guitarist Eddie Kurdziel, keyboardist Gere Fennelly, and drummer Brian Reitzell. Minus Fennelly, Redd Kross returned in 1997 with Show World.
The band went on hiatus with an uncertain future following Kurdziel's drug overdose death (at age 38) in 1999. However, in 2006 the McDonald brothers reunited with late-'80s bandmembers guitarist Robert Hecker and drummer Roy McDonald and began making live appearances once again, including individual shows, festival dates, and tours that saw Redd Kross perform across the United States and in Canada, England, and Spain. A January 2007 show in Madrid was documented on the Got Live If You Must! DVD, released the following year by Bittersweet Records. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
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Redd Kross
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009) |
| Redd Kross | |
|---|---|
 Redd Kross 2007 |
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Red Cross, The Tourists |
| Origin | Hawthorne, CA, U.S. |
| Genres | Power pop Alternative rock Pop punk Hardcore punk |
| Years active | 1980–1997 2004–present |
| Associated acts | Black Flag |
| Members | |
| Jeff McDonald Steve McDonald Robert Hecker Roy McDonald |
|
| Past members | |
| Dez Cadena Gere Fennelly Greg Hetson Glenn Holland Janet Housden Victor Indrizzo Jack Irons Eddie Kurdziel Tracy Lea Johnny Nobody Dave Peterson Vicki Peterson Brian Reitzell Ron Reyes John Stielow |
|
Redd Kross, a rock band from Hawthorne, California had their roots in 1978 in a band called The Tourists begun by Jeff and Steve McDonald while the brothers were still in middle school. With the addition of friends Greg Hetson and Dave Keller on guitar and John Stielow on drums, the band's first gig was opening for Black Flag.
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Contents
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Band history
Red Cross
At the time of their first self-titled EP, in 1980, the band changed their name to Red Cross, which was allegedly inspired by the masturbation scene in the film, The Exorcist. Ron Reyes became the drummer. Eventually, Hetson left to join the Circle Jerks (and later Bad Religion) and Reyes left for Black Flag. Keller left to join Trixie and the Doorknobs as its guitarist and singer. To complete the lineup on their first full-length album, Born Innocent, they assembled a revolving door of musicians including original drummer John Stielow and drummer Janet Housden. Full of the brothers' pop culture obsessions, Born Innocent featured odes to Linda Blair (who starred in a television movie of the same name), a cover of "Look on Up from the Bottom" by the Carrie Nations from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and Charles Manson (whose song "Cease to Exist" they covered). The album also contains nods to Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Tatum O'Neal, and Lita Ford. Not long after the release of the album, the group was threatened with a lawsuit from the International Red Cross and changed their name to Redd Kross, allegedly being inspired by Redd Foxx.
Redd Kross
In 1984, Redd Kross returned with drummer Dave Peterson to record Teen Babes from Monsanto, an album featuring songs originally by such artists as KISS, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and The Shangri-Las.
In 1984, lead guitarist Robert Hecker joined the band, as Redd Kross embarked on tour in support of Teen Babes from Monsanto.
In that same year, they were featured on the soundtrack of Desperate Teenage Lovedolls with their cover of the Brady Bunch Kids' "It's a Sunshine Day". Jeff and Steve appear in the movie, along with Robert in the sequel Lovedolls Superstar which the brothers co-wrote with Dave Markey and Jennifer Schwartz. Both movies are available now on DVD.
In 1985, drummer Roy McDonald (formerly of The Things, and no relation to the brothers) joined the band.
In 1987, Redd Kross released Neurotica, an album reportedly influenced by Saturday morning cartoons and breakfast cereal (one of the songs was called "Frosted Flake"). Although the album itself was successful, the band's label, Big Time Records folded. The band continued to tour during these years however, and in 1988, drummer Victor Indrizzo joined the band.
Tater Totz
As The Tater Totz, the McDonalds teamed with Pat Fear of White Flag and Michael Quercio from The Three O'Clock and released Alien Sleestaks from Brazil, the title a tribute to the series Land of the Lost. Another cover collection, it included songs originally by Queen and Yoko Ono, and featured a cover of The Beatles' "I've Just Seen A Face" with lead vocals by guest Danny Bonaduce. The second Tater Totz album, in 1989, included Cherie Currie of The Runaways, and Pat Smear. A third Tater Totz album was released called Tater Comes Alive. A side project, Anarchy 6 had two releases, Hardcore Lives! and a cassette only album Live Like a Suicidal, and was featured in Lovedolls Superstar.
1990s
On February 20, 1990, Redd Kross appeared on Episode 2 of the cult Public-access television show "Decoupage" with Summer Caprice.[1][2]
In 1990, Redd Kross signed with Atlantic Records, releasing Third Eye, and appeared with David Cassidy in the film Spirit of '76, and issued several singles, including "Annie's Gone", which had some mild success on college radio. Former Red Hot Chili Peppers / future Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons joined for the Third Eye tours, and appears in the promotional video for "Annie's Gone", which saw some light rotation on MTV. Brian Reitzell succeeded Irons as drummer in the band, and appears in the promotional video for "1976".
In 1991, Robert Hecker took leave from the band.
The album Phaseshifter was released in 1993, with new band members Eddie Kurdziel, Gere Fennelly, and Brian Reitzell. The videos for "Jimmy's Fantasy" and "Lady In The Front Row" were both shown on MTV's 120 Minutes. They toured on Phaseshifter for over a year, headling their own shows as well as tours supporting The Lemonheads and The Spin Doctors in late 1993 and Stone Temple Pilots in 1994. In 1995, Jeff and his wife, Charlotte Caffey (from The Go-Go's), had a daughter, named Astrid.
In 1997, Redd Kross released Show World, produced by Chris Shaw (who also produced albums for Weezer and Soul Asylum) and toured supporting The Presidents of the United States of America. The band took an indefinite hiatus after the Show World tour, and their future was uncertain after the untimely death of guitarist Eddie Kurdziel on June 6, 1999.
Current
On July 1, 2006, Redd Kross returned to the live stage after almost a decade's absence. The Neurotica-era line up of Jeff McDonald, Steven McDonald, Robert Hecker and Roy McDonald performed a career-spanning set at the REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/Cal Arts Theater) at Disney Hall in Los Angeles. The band has subsequently gone on to play at the Azkena Festival in Spain, the Detour Festival in Los Angeles, give a performance of their entire first EP in honor of Rodney Bingenheimer's being awarded a star on Hollywood Boulevard, and a set consisting of the entire Born Innocent album opening for Sonic Youth (who performed Daydream Nation) at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. They toured Spain and England in January, 2007. They have played a number of one-off shows including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. In 2008 they played the Coachella Festival in Coachella, California; ATP vs Pitchfork festival in Sussex, England; and NXNE Festival in Toronto, Ontario. In 2010, Redd Kross headlined the Turbo Rock Festival in Spain.[3] In 2011 they headlined the POP Montreal Festival.
Redd Kross toured Australia as part of the Hoodoo Gurus' 30th Anniversary on the "Dig It Up" Festival concert series. Jason Shapiro of the band Celebrity Skin played guitar, sitting in for Robert Hecker on these dates.
Their new album, "Researching The Blues" will be released on Merge Records August 7, 2012.
Related projects and soundtracks
- In the summer of 2002, Steven McDonald mashed-up The White Stripes' album White Blood Cells. McDonald's album was entitled Redd Blood Cells, and featured the same track listing as the original, but with added bass tracks from McDonald. The album was an internet-only release, with 2 new songs appearing every week, along with a diary of liner notes from Steven as he worked through the process of being "Steven White". The album received very good reviews, and grew so popular that the server crashed when over 50,000 people went to download tracks on the same day.
- In addition to the Lovedolls films and Spirit of '76, members of Redd Kross have appeared in a few films of director Allison Anders. Steve, Jeff, and Brian played members of Matt Dillon's Beach Boys-esque rock band in Grace of My Heart. Jeff played a junkie songwriter in Sugar Town. Jeff and Steve both featured in Things Behind The Sun.
- Redd Kross songs appear on various on the soundtracks to Good Burger, PCU, Bordello of Blood, An American Werewolf in Paris, and Varsity Blues.
- Steven produced all of Imperial Teen's records, usually with the band and his wife, Anna Waronker. He was Beck's bassist for the Sea Changes tour. Steven also has produced Turbonegro's 2005 release Party Animals, and has had a hand in producing/recording with bands such as Be Your Own Pet, The Format, and Neon.
- Steven plays bass on the 2006 release "Hello Young Lovers" by Sparks and has also been their touring bassist.
- The McDonald brothers also produced The Donnas in 1999, on their album Get Skintight.
- Ze Malibu Kids is a band featuring the McDonald brothers, Anna Waronker, and Astrid, that released an album entitled "Sound It Out" in 2002.
- Robert Hecker has released two albums with the band IT'S OK, entitled "IT'S OK", and "Dream". Robert also appears as a special guest on a number of Chemical People records, featuring Dave Naz on drums.
- Janet Housden went on to be in several popular and not-so-popular L.A. combos, including the Lovedolls, the Waifs, the Superkools, the Excessories, and currently plays with the Shakes and the Hi Ho's. She also starred in Desperate Teenage Lovedolls and its sequel, Lovedolls Superstar, as Patch "Christ" Kelly.
- Roy McDonald has been playing with The Muffs (led by former The Pandoras member Kim Shattuck) since the mid 90s.
- Jeff McDonald produced the Sympathy for the Record Industry debut (and only) release by The Beards, which features Kim Shattuck, and Lisa Marr.
- Steven McDonald plays bass with OFF! (band) featuring Keith Morris from the Circle Jerks.
- They have done one song It's a Scream for the 2000 film Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The Thirteenth but no soundtrack or the song was ever released on CD.
- Vicki Peterson performed one show with Redd Kross, playing guitar for them at the Pomona Valley Auditorium in the spring of 1984. This performance is captured in the documentary A History Lesson Part 1.
Discography / videography
Albums
- Born Innocent (1982)
- Teen Babes From Monsanto (1984)
- Neurotica (1987)
- Third Eye (1990)
- Phaseshifter (1993)
- Show World (1997)
- Researching the Blues (2012)
EPs
- Red Cross (1980)
- 2500 Redd Kross Fans Can't Be Wrong (1993)
DVDs
- Got LIVE if you must (2008)
- A History Lesson Part 1 (2010)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Modern Rock | U.S. Mainstream Rock | UK Singles Chart[4] | |||
| 1990 | "Annie's Gone" | - | 16 | - | - | Third Eye |
| 1992 | "Trance" | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1993 | "Switchblade Sister" | - | - | - | - | - |
| "Jimmy's Fantasy" | - | - | - | - | Phaseshifter | |
| "Lady in the Front Row" | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1994 | "Visionary" | - | - | - | 75 | |
| "Yesterday Once More" | - | - | - | 45 | If I Were a Carpenter | |
| 1997 | "Get Out Of Myself" | - | - | - | 63 | Show World |
| "Mess Around" | - | - | - | - | ||
| "Secret Life" | - | - | - | - | ||
Compilation appearances
- Hell Comes to Your House (1981)
- Includes "Puss 'n' Boots"
- American Youth Report (1982)
- Includes "Notes and Chords Mean Nothing to Me"
- Enigma Variations (1985)
- Includes "Citadel"
- Shared Vision – The Songs Of The Beatles (1993)
- Band covers Beatles song "It Won't Be Long"
- If I Were a Carpenter (1994)
- Redd Kross performs a cover of "Yesterday Once More"
- Poptopia! Power Pop Classics of the '90s (1997)
- Includes "Lady In The Front Row"
- KISS Tribute In Japan (1998)
- With Kanako Nakayama, Redd Kross performs a cover of "Hard Luck Woman"
References
- ^ www.decoupagetv.com
- ^ "Yesterday Clips Gallery". Decoupagetv.com. http://www.decoupagetv.com/yesclips0201.html. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
- ^ http://turborock.es/
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 454. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
External links
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Mentioned in
Tater Totz
(Rock Band, '80s, '90s)
This Is Not a Rebellion...This Is a Mass Awakening!
(2002 Album by The Steven McDonald Group)
Bordello of Blood [Original Soundtrack]
(1996 Album by Original Soundtrack)
Tension Toy
(1998 Album by Pink Kross)
Switchblade Sister
(1995 Album by Redd Kross)
» More