Redd Kross: Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY 5/4/2017: Beneath The Valley Of The Teen Babes From Monsanto Tour

Hawthorne California's Redd Kross have been on tour this Spring, celebrating the reissue of their classic Teen Babes From Monsanto album. The band is one of the key figures from the late 70's LA punk scene (their first show was opening up for a Keith Morris-fronted Black Flag) who later morphed into a trashy, glammy, power pop, alt-rock outfit. After returning after a nearly ten-year hiatus with their Researching The Blues album in 2012, Kross have been going strong ever since.

The band graced Bowery Ballroom last week and put on an enthusiastic, ninety-minute, twenty-song set. The band had a new drummer (Roy McDonald was unavailable for the tour) in the form of Melvins drummer Dale Crover and touring lead guitarist Jason Shapiro (Robert Hecker, is a teacher and can't just up and tour anymore). The McDonald brothers, Jeff and Steve had a great on-stage rapport, with Steve providing a lot of funny anecdotes. The band were very well-rehearsed (except for one song, "It Won't Be Long", where there was a discrepancy over key and necessitated a few false starts).

The band played plenty of their loved singles; "Switchblade Sister", "Annie's Gone", "Jimmy's Fantasy" and "Lady In The Front Row". Plus a few deeper cuts; "Annette's Got The Hits", "Peach Kelli Pop" and "Neurotica". But the real treat was the band performing the entire Teen Babes all-covers album (ahem, "Rock And Roll Retrospective") in its' seven-song entirety (it's a short album). Hearing them perform "Ann" by The Stooges, "Saviour Machine" by David Bowie and "Citadel" by The Rolling Stones was a very nice treat for hardcore-fans, of which I am one.

They put on a great show with a very-well considered setlist. If you have to opportunity to see the band, by all means do.

Off!: The First Four EPs (Vice Records/2010)

Off! is a Los Angeles hardcore punk rock supergroup. Formed by Keith Morris of Black Flag and Circle Jerks and Steve McDonald of Redd Kross, Mario Rubalcaba of Rocket From The Crypt and Dimitri Coats from Burning Brides in 2009. The band recorded and released The First Four Eps 7” box set in 2010 on Vice Records.

The First Four EPs box set contains four 7" EP records, a very nice booklet with artwork from Raymond Pettibon and a download code. Produced by Coates and engineered by McDonald, the release is sixteen songs in just eighteen minutes. The package itself is beautiful. The tracks themselves are uniformly excellent. The music is simultaneously simple yet challenging. It's simply a must-have release for fans of classic punk rock.

Very most highly recommended. 

Here's the video review:

Redd Kross: Hot Issue (Redd Kross Fashion Records/2016)

Hawthorne, California's Redd Kross were inactive for inactive for nearly ten years. After the band's tour for 1997's Show World, they quietly went on hiatus. Lead guitarist Eddie Kurdziel passed away of a heroin overdose in 1999. Jeff McDonald formed Ze Malibu Kids and Steve McDonald for the Steve McDonald Group. In 2006 the band formally reunited with classic Neurotica-era members Roy McDonald (no relation) and Robert Hecker. This band went on to record the critically acclaimed Researching The Blues album on Merge Records in 2012.

Throughout all of this activity/inactivity the band recorded a wealth of material. Some of which have included on Hot Issue, which is a self-released album in a limited edition of 500 copies. It comes in magazine-styled artwork and includes a download code.

Taking tracks that have been both previously released elsewhere and unreleased from various time periods and compiling them. The results could have been pretty scatter-shot, however the results make for a surprisingly cohesive listen.

“Switchblade Sister” was a single released in the UK, Spain and Canada in the Summer of 1993. By all rights, it probably should have been included on the band's Phaseshifter album, released that September. Roger Joseph Manning of Jellyfish co-produces and appears on “Born To Love You” (which was a free MP3 download in the early 2000's) and “It's A Scream” which appeared in the horror-spoof Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The Thirteenth. “Starlust” appeared on the Jabberjaw compilation album. “Puss N Boots”, the New York Dolls cover, is from the 1981 Hell Comes To Your House comp, when the band was still known as Red Cross. “That Girl” originally appeared as the B-Side to the “Mess Around” single. “Motorboat” is a Kim Fowley cover that was on the SMG This Is Not A Revolution...This Is A Mass Awakening! EP. “Don't Take Your Baby Downtown” is the original version of “Stay Away From Downtown”.

If you're a fan of the Kross and can find it, by all means pick it up.  

Here's The Video Review:

Thanks to: Roger Joseph Manning Jr. Atomic Pop Monkey and Redd Kross,

Off! : Live At Generation Records (Vice Records/2011)

Off! Is something of Los Angeles hardcore punk rock supergroup. Formed by Keith Morris of Black Flag and Circle Jerks and Steve McDonald of Redd Kross, Mario Rubalcaba of Rocket From The Crypt and Dimitri Coats from Burning Brides in 2009. The band quickly recorded and released The First Four Eps 7” box set in 2010 on Vice (Magazine) Records. The band is amazingly effective and and direct and have a refreshingly raw sound. Considering the bands' ages, they could come across really ineffective. Thankfully, that's not the case.

On October 22 in 2010 the band played a free show at Generation Records in New York. I attended the show and it was pretty awesome. Vice Records recorded the show and released the four-song Live At Generation Records 7”the following year on Record Store Day 2011. It's a well-performed, well-recorded affair. And it only hints at the loud greatness that was the show. The band sonically resemble early Black Flag, which shouldn't suprise anyone considering Morris was Black Flag's first ever vocalist.

Highly recommended for the punk rock set.

Here's the video review:

Redd Kross: Three Ten-Inch EP's (1993, 1993, 1994).

2,500 Redd Kross Fans Can't Be Wrong (Sympathy For The Record Industry/1993)

Lady In The Front Row (This Way Up/1993)

Visionary (This Way Up/1994)

After the commercial failure of Third Eye to turn Redd Kross into a houshold name, the band left Atlantic Records and released a few UK-only indie singles. Super Sunny Christmas was released in late 1991 in Australia on Inspid Vinyl, Trance was released in the Spring of 1992 on Seminal Twang in the UK and Switchblade Sister was released in Summer of 1993 on This Way Up Records in the UK and in Canada. 

Sympathy For The Record Industry collected various tracks from those releases for the six-song ten-inch” vinyl release of 2,500 Redd Kross Fans Can’t Be Wrong (a spoof on Elvis Presley's 50 Million Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong). Highlights include the early 70's glammy “Switchblade Sister” (which should have appeared on their then-new album Phaseshifter), the glam/grunge rave-up“Trance” and its' B-Side “Byrds & Fleas” co-written bv Jeff McDonald and future-wife and Go-Go Charlotte Caffey.

Next we have the Lady In The Front Row ten-inch single from 1993 on This Way Up Records. The title track appeared on their Phaseshifter album and is a slice power pop perfection. A re-recording of “Standing In Front Of Poseur” from their self-titled 1980 debut EP. Also are a cover of The Kinks' “Fancy” and PJ Harvey's “Oh My Lover”.

Lastly we have the Visionary single from 1994 (also on This Way Up). The title track, again from Phaseshifter has a metaly riff and has big harmony vocals from the McDonald brothers. The B-sides are cover of The Beatles “It Won't Be Long” as performed by Queen and a live acoustic version of “Visionary”.

These are nice little unique starting places for the uninitiated, granted there are better places to investigate as to who Redd Kross are. However for the vinyl fanatic these three ten-inches (the only three released by the band) are fine additions to any power-pop, proto-grunge, glam pop fans collection. Or just check out Neurotica, Researching The Blues or Third Eye.

Here's The Video Review:

Redd Kross: Super Sunny Christmas (Insipid Vinyl/1991)

Which brings me to Hawthorne California's other favorite sons of Summer Redd Kross.

"Super Sunny Christmas" is perhaps my favorite holiday single. It was recorded shortly after lead guitarist Robert Hecker left the band after the Third Eye tour in 1991. It was only released in Australia on Insipid Vinyl and came out on black, red and green vinyl. It features then-Redd Kross keyboardist Gere Fennelly on the picture sleeve. The song hasn't too many appearances anywhere. It's on Vital Juices - a compilation on Insipid Records and Rodney Bingenheimer's Santa's Got A GTO: Rodney on The ROQ's Fav X-Mas Songs. The B-Side is the non-holiday song "Huge Wonder" which was re-recorded for the bands' Phaseshifter album. This is the superior version of the two.

"Super Sunny Christmas" is a straight-forward power pop song with nice harmony vocals from the McDonald brothers. It's basically a Christmas-in-July song with lyrics such as "I'm so glad there ain't no snow/It's gonna be a Super-Sunny Christmas I know". The song features synthesized harpsichord (which is fairly unique for a Redd Kross song) and sleighbells in the bridge and coda. This isn't the only Christmas song that Redd Kross has written & recorded. The other being, "Mary Christmas" which appeared on the A Home For The Holidays: Phoenix House compilation in the late 90's. Also worth checking out if so inclined.


Here's the video review:

A very special thanks to: Cassandra Fowler.

Jellyfish: The Scary-Go-Round EP (Charisma 1991)

San Francisco California's Jellyfish had some minor initial commercial success. Their brand of Badfinger meets The Partridge Family and XTC pop was popular enough critically circa 1990/1991 but never really received the widespread attention it really deserved. Their debut album Bellybutton spawned five singles, one of which ("Baby's Coming Back") even reached number 62 on Billboard's Hot 200 chart. One single was released as part an EP.

That song was "Now She Knows She's Wrong". It's a power pop meets bubblegum confection with Steve McDonald of Redd Kross guesting on bass. It starts with a minor-key Partridge Family synthesized harpsichord part. It isn't long before sleigh bells ala Brian Wilson and glockenspiel join-in. And after two-minutes and thirty-five seconds the song is over. "Bedspring Kiss" is a five-minute long groovy piece of nuevo cocktail-lounge and exotica noir that references cocaine and heroin use with a bridge that sounds like a missing link from Pet Sounds. It is one of several highlights from the Bellybutton album.

The B-Sides of the Scary-Go-Round EP are nice live obscurities. There are variations between the 12" EP, CD EP & 7" EP. Each come with two live tracks per-B-Side. The CD contains "Let Em In/That Is Why" & "The King Is Half-Undressed". The former is a medley of the intro and chorus of the Wings hit single for the Summer of 1976 and segues into the Supertrampesque "That Is Why". This medley was recorded live at Bogart's and was finally issued (along with the rest of that complete 2/21/91 performance) on Omnivore Records' Live At Bogart's. The latter is a great performance of their debut single (also on Bellybutton) and was recorded at LA's The Roxy and subsequently was released (along with several other tracks from that show) on the now-ultra-rare box-set Fan Club. 

The Vinyl 12" & 7"'s tracks all come from their 2012 release of Live At Bogart's. Those tracks are the stately monster of a track "The Man I Used To Be" and "Calling Sarah" which musically sounds like the lovechild of Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney. It is perhaps Jellyfish's greatest single sleeper/dark horse of a song. "She Still Loves Him" tells of an abusive relationship whilst sounding like the Badfinger backing The Beach Boys. "Baby's Coming Back" (the band's lone minor-hit) which is a tale of promises of giving up the fast life for one particular girlfriend and actively references The Partridge Family's "C'mon Get Happy" in the song's coda.

If you're a fan of the band, who've since acquired something of a substantial cult-following since their break-up in 1994, I'd recommend picking up the EP. It's a nice little slice of what made Bellybutton so great. It also shows the band in a live-context, which for a band renowned for their studio wizardry (especially on Spilt Milk) they probably doesn't get too much notice for. This is a small slice of Jellyfish's Power Pop Heaven.

Here's the video review:

Special Thanks to: Charisma Records.