Redd Kross – Red Cross (1980) – LITTLE LOST CLASSICS

In October of this year of our Phaseshifterthe fourth album of Redd Kross’ career and the one that officially introduced them to the world turns 30 years old and maybe I’ll write a small and emotional report about it, after all it was through Lady in the front row and – obviously – Jimmy’s fantasy I fell in love with McDonald’s. Perhaps.

Because what I really want to do and I still haven’t figured out how, due to lack of time to dedicate myself, is to write a FUCKING TEXT about the story of Steve and Jeff, those McDonalds, because they’re awesome, because Redd Kross has been active since the late 70’s and never released a single bad album, anyway, because they deserve it.

But today neither one nor the other. What I’m going to do is introduce those who don’t know the beginning of this long journey, when the brothers, then aged 11 and 15, put an end to Tourists, their first band (!!!) and changed their name to Red Cross, with Johh Stielow (soon replaced by Ron Reyes) and Greg Hetson, in the blessed land of California in 1979.

They saved money for a demo and in August of the same year they entered the studio for the first time, accompanied by Last guitarist (look out, young padawan) Joe Nolte and there, at the Media Arts Studio, completely lost and not knowing what to do, recorded what was supposed to be their first official record. It should, because when Posh Boy Records boss Robbie Fields – with whom they had, mind you, signed a contract – got his ears on the tape, he ordered it re-recorded.

Then, in October, they ended up at Shelter Studios with producer Roger Harris and that was how the first and then eponymous Red Cross EP, which would see the light of day in January 1980. then in italics just above is justified because as fast as the band’s rise in the Californian punk scene, as fast as the 6 minutes that contains the 6 tracks of the EP or as fast as Hatson left to form the Circle Jerks or Reyes to join in Black Flag, the red cross fell on the kids and thus was born, practically next to the disc, the Redd Kross that we love so much around here.

Of course, as must have been implied in the last paragraph, the thorny McDonalds were totally involved with Californian hardcore in 1980, sharing stages with the aforementioned bands and many others in the area, and not even remotely do you hear the power pop-hard rock broth -proto grunge (laughs) that would start to be mixed in Neuroticawould assume consistency with Third eye and overflow in the dear Phaseshifter. But that, sisters and brothers, is of no importance when you press play, “Cover band” starts playing and you realize that Jeff and Steve’s Beavis & Butthead humor was already present, lulled by speed and punk rawness.

Find it out. Or rediscover. I recommend listening on the stalk!

Or

Or in the fucking spotifalho