Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story – Kickstarter campaign

Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story – Kickstarter campaign

There’s a case to be made that Redd Kross is the seminal Los Angeles band of the last 40 years. And ‘BORN INNOCENT’ is gonna make it.

 

Formed in 1978 by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, and still actively playing and recording today, Redd Kross are the ultimate rock and roll lifers. They have influenced independent music in ways that beg to be acknowledged. From helping invent Beach Punk to influencing the Grunge and Glam Metal movements, Redd Kross have maintained the highest level of musical integrity, originality and quality for over forty years.

Born Innocent will introduce a wider audience to two of the coolest people alive. The McDonald Brothers embody Southern California, rock and roll, and what it means to be an artist.

 

In 1978, in the Southern California beach suburb of Hawthorne – home of The Beach Boys – two brothers, Jeff McDonald, age 15, and Steven McDonald, age 11, started a band called The Tourists. They wrote a set of songs including “Annette’s Got the Hits” and “Clorox Girls” that would become classics and define the genre known as “Beach Punk”. The first time The Tourists played in front of anyone was at Black Flag’s legendary rehearsal space, The Church in Hermosa Beach. They got the older band’s seal of approval, along with a new name – Red Cross. They were so young that their first studio recordings were financed with money from Steve’s paper route.

 

But when Jeff saw hardcore being codified into a set of musical and fashion rules, he rebelled. Red Cross was the first band from the hardcore scene to grow their hair long, and their second record, Born Innocent, was unlike anything that had come out of the underground. It’s a record drenched in 70’s pop culture references: Linda Blair, Tatum O’Neal, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls… even a cover of a Charles Manson song. Steven Malkmus of Pavement listed it as one of his top five biggest influences, and Mark Arm of Mudhoney has said that it was the record that got all the Seattle grunge bands started.

Red Cross fought back against hardcore’s anti-rock star stance, dressing in outlandish thrift-store-glam stage costumes like their idols, The New York Dolls.

The high school-age McDonalds received a letter from the International Red Cross threatening legal action if they continued to use the name “Red Cross”. Jeff’s response was to change their name to “Redd Kross” in an homage to comedian Redd Foxx. With their new name, Redd Kross continued to evolve their sound. Their Neurotica record would prove to be one of the crucial influences on the Grunge scene in Seattle that changed music in the 1990’s.

When pop music caught up to what they were doing and grunge was on the rise, Redd Kross pivoted again, making a sugary bubblegum record for their major label debut, Third Eye, which sported a nude Sofia Coppola on the cover. And while they had previously starred in the cult classics Desperate Teenage Lovedolls and Lovedolls Superstar, the 90’s saw them star in their first studio movie. Before there was The Brady Bunch Movie, there was The Spirit of 76, a 70’s nostalgia movie that saw Jeff and Steve starring alongside David Cassidy, Leif Garrett and Devo.

 

Their next evolution had them perfecting a beefy power pop sound, with their records Phaseshifter and Show World. This was the phase that garnered them fans from Robert Plant to Joe Elliott of Def Leppard to Dave Davies of The Kinks.

While chart-topping success in America eluded them, they have toured the world to massive acclaim, treated like rock gods in the UK, Spain and Japan. Steve has played with Beck, Hole, Sparks, and Tenacious D. He currently plays in both The Melvins and Off! Redd Kross have always followed their artistic muse, wherever it led. Forty years later, they are still going strong, heading out on tour in support of their seventh studio album, Beyond the Door.

 

Redd Kross has long been a cult band, a band’s band, a secret code word among music fans that signifies taste and cool. But unlike many cult bands, their music is eminently accessible. If you like The Beatles or The Ramones or Cheap Trick, basically if you’re a rock and roll fan, you’ll like Redd Kross.

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Rainy Days & Mondays

Rainy Days & Mondays

OK, bank holiday so the commute is on hold – what better way to celebrate than with some kick-ass rock and roll.  Here ya go have some ear candy courtesy of Los Pepes with ‘Let Me Tell You Something’ from their album “Positive Negative”. Out UK/Europe via Wanda Records and Adrenaline Fix Music and the USA via Spaghetty Town Record. Pick it up, folks! Hear full LP Here:

Second up this band holiday is this New Jersey Band we love they play some mean anti-folk punk rock  Called Crazy and The Brains.  Check out this video from earlier this year

Finally, you can bounce along to this bad boy from Redd Kross.  A simply delicious way to spend any day regardless of this one being a bank holiday here on shit island.

Because its a bank holiday get an earful (and eyeful) of this stone-cold bad boy from Dead Furies with ‘Stay Gold Ponyboy’ taken from their soon to be released album ‘Stay Gold’  another one to add to the list of must-own albums.

Redd Kross – ‘Beyond The Door’ (Merge Records)

Redd Kross – ‘Beyond The Door’ (Merge Records)

“No one knows what lies Beyond the Door… but we’re all in front of it.”

So reads the PR blurb that accompanies the all-new eleven-track studio record from South Californian powerpop punk legends Redd Kross, their first new set of songs since 2012’s amazing ‘Researching The Blues’ album, and you know in many ways that opening statement pretty much summed up how I first approached ‘Beyond The Door’, largely because I really did not know what to expect from the band this time around.

With band mainstays Jeff and Steven McDonald promising their most collaborate record since their ‘Born Innocent’ debt from way back in 1981, would the inclusion of Anna Waronker (That Dog), the returning Geré Fennelly, Buzz Osborne (Melvins), and Josh Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chilli Peppers) really mess with the powerpop magic formula I have come to know and love the band forever since first discovering them via their genre-defining ‘Third Eye’ album released back in 1990?

Cautiously dipping into ‘Beyond The Door’ the most immediate thing that strikes me is that it is a very “UP” sounding album, in fact  the gangs total commitment to having the best fucking time they can have while they’re all still here is obvious during the stunning opening 1-2 of ‘The Party’ and ‘Fighting’, both tracks sounding like the natural progression to the sixties psych-pop perfection of ‘Researching The Blues’. Guitarist Jason Shapiro and drummer Dale Crover (Melvins, OFF!) are long-time members of the Redd Kross live band, and here they kick off their recording debut with the band in very fine fashion indeed, with both of the opening four to the floor rockers being what I would consider soon to be live favourites.

That live energy continues into the KISS meets Glitter Band swagger of ‘Beyond The Door’ whilst ‘There’s No One Like You’ could very easily be something the McDonald brothers recorded during their post-grunge ‘Show World’ days. ‘Ice Cream (Strange And Pleasing)’ meanwhile is the kind of sugar-sweet bubblegum pop that the band excelled at during their ‘Third Eye’ days as is the uptempo glam slammer ‘Fantastico Roberto’. Phew!! That’s one hell of a set of tunes right there. Tunes which whilst maybe not quite as refined as the ‘Researching The Blues’ album they do possess a vibrancy and unpredictability that record did miss at times.

‘The Party Underground’ is a classic example of this as it sounds like Bob Mould has just popped into the studio and cracked off a tune whilst the closing cover of Sparks’ electro-dance anthem ‘When Do I Get To Sing “My Way”’ really is a truly inspired choice, turning out to a perfect fit for the Redd Kross sound.

So, with that in mind what is the Redd Kross sound here in 2019? Well, it’s probably best summed up the trio of songs that remain for me to mention on ‘Beyond The Door’. ‘What’s A Boy To Do’ is yet another lesson in how to write bubblegum pop perfection whilst ‘Punk II’ thunders along like the Hamburg Beatles speeding their tits off before Lennon and McCartney then get whisked off to Seattle around the turn of the nineties for ‘Jone Hoople’ and all hell is duly let loose.

Look you can stand outside that door forever wondering “what if” but the real magic always lies beyond it.  Redd Kross are most certainly back with a bang with ‘Beyond The Door’ and with US dates already planned with the Melvins we here in the UK can but hope that they will finally return to these shores sometime soon.

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Buy Beyond The Door Here

Author: Johnny Hayward

 

 

Redd Kross release cover of classic Sparks song

Redd Kross release cover of classic Sparks song

Today, California legends Redd Kross have released “When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way’” the latest single to be lifted from their much-anticipated album Beyond The Door out August 23rd on Merge Records. On “When Do I Get To Sing “My Way’ Redd Kross reinterpret the beloved Sparks single with a new blast of fresh hooks and hum-able melodies.

About the cover, Sparks’ Ron Mael says, “Redd Kross has always been one of my favorite bands and that opinion was cemented when I heard their amazing version of our ‘When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way.’ To do a version of that song with a completely different musical approach from the original while keeping every ounce of the original sentiment was an amazing feat. I love it!” “When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way'”

Beyond the Door can be pre-ordered now on CD, digitally, and on limited-edition opaque purple Peak Vinyl in the Merge store. Redd Kross have also announced a massive US tour with the Melvins which kicks off on September 3rd in San Diego and includes shows in major markets including Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and more.

Beyond the Door is an album inspired by the band’s “total commitment to having the best f*cking time we can have while we’re all still here” (what they like to call “The Party”). Musically, it’s guitars, bass, and drums topped with a generous portion of sweet vocal melodies often delivered with an ambiguous edge. The album marks Redd Kross’ most collaborative record to date. Steven describes this evolution: “Jeff is still very much the driving force behind the compositions, but with more help from me than ever. Jeff and I haven’t shared this much of the writing and singing since Born Innocent in 1981.” Guitarist Jason Shapiro and drummer Dale Crover (Melvins, OFF!) are longtime members of the Redd Kross live band, but this album marks the pair’s recorded debut with the group. Mixed in Los Angeles by Steven McDonald, Beyond the Door includes notable guest appearances from Anna Waronker (That Dog), Geré Fennelly, Buzz Osborne (Melvins), and Josh Klinghoffer.

On the surface, the album title is a playful reference to an Italian horror film the McDonald brothers watched as children, a loose rip-off of both The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby that stars Juliet Mills of ’70s television program Nanny and the Professor. But like all things Redd Kross, it would be a sad injustice to stop digging there. No one knows what lies Beyond the Door… but we’re all in front of it.

Inspirations as varied as K-pop, glitter gangs, embarrassed tweens, long-term relationships, a mysterious character named Fantástico Roberto, and much more all contributed to Beyond the Door, an album that lures the listener into Redd Kross’ secret club full of riddles and inside jokes, with the ultimate reward of the perfect pop moment!

New album ‘Beyond the Door’ out August 23rd via Merge Records.

Redd Kross – Beyond the Door pre release details

Redd Kross – Beyond the Door pre release details

On August 23, Merge Records will release the much-anticipated Redd Kross LP Beyond the Door. Today, Beyond the Door can be pre-ordered now on CD, digitally, and on limited-edition opaque purple Peak Vinyl in the Merge store.

Redd Kross have also announced a massive US tour with the Melvins which kicks off on September 3rd in San Diego and includes shows in major markets including Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and more.

Beyond the Door is an album inspired by the band’s “total commitment to having the best f*cking time we can have while we’re all still here” (what they like to call “The Party”). It’s a rock and roll record and a celebration of everything brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald love, from cultures both high and low. Musically, it’s guitars, bass, and drums topped with a generous portion of sweet vocal melodies often delivered with an ambiguous edge.

Beyond the Door marks Redd Kross’ most collaborative record to date. Steven describes this evolution: “Jeff is still very much the driving force behind the compositions, but with more help from me than ever. Jeff and I haven’t shared this much of the writing and singing since Born Innocent in 1981.” Guitarist Jason Shapiro and drummer Dale Crover (Melvins, OFF!) are longtime members of the Redd Kross live band, but this album marks the pair’s recorded debut with the group. Mixed in Los Angeles by Steven McDonald, Beyond the Door includes notable guest appearances from Anna Waronker (That Dog), Geré Fennelly, Buzz Osborne (Melvins), and Josh Klinghoffer.

On the surface, the album title is a playful reference to an Italian horror film the McDonald brothers watched as children, a loose rip-off of both The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby that stars Juliet Mills of ’70s television program Nanny and the Professor. But like all things Redd Kross, it would be a sad injustice to stop digging there. No one knows what lies Beyond the Door… but we’re all in front of it.

Inspirations as varied as K-pop, glitter gangs, embarrassed tweens, long-term relationships, a mysterious character named Fantástico Roberto, and much more all contributed to Beyond the Door, an album that lures the listener into Redd Kross’ secret club full of riddles and inside jokes, with the ultimate reward of the perfect pop moment!