LA’s Redd Kross and their Renaissance Moment

LA’s Redd Kross made their first trip to Australia in the early 90s, bringing retro-leaning chords, punk affection and powered rock riffs to pubs, bars and university campuses around the country, supporting the Hoodoo Gurus at the time.

Described by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore as one of the most important bands in the last 30 to 40 years, Redd Kross has inspired everyone from The Bangles to Nirvana, Soundgarden to You Am I.

Formed by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald – who opened for Black Flag when Jeff was 14 and bassist Steve was 11, Redd Kross continued to make music over the five decades.

The songwriting duo have still got the knack; combining humour with acid-tinged riffs and purposeful pop chords with plenty of charm.

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of their debut album Born Innocent, the band was inspired to go back in the studio to write a new self-titled double LP.

There’s also a new rock documentary titled Born Innocent doing the rounds at international film festival right now, which means the LA outfit is enjoying their moment in the sun again.

Directed by super fan Andrew Reich who spent the last eight years interviewing Redd Kross members and ex-members, wives and fans about the band and its underrated generational pull, Born Innocent the doco, is something Jeff McDonald is proud of.

“Andrew is a funny guy and we trusted him with the documentary,” explains Jeff McDonald.

“He spent eight years interviewing the band, and went about finding weird stuff in our archive that we had never even seen before. He managed to put it in a cool 90-minute standalone film – and for those who know nothing about us, I have heard they’re digging it,” he says.

“I’m the kind of person that feels obliged to get all the facts in, but that’s not how you make movies. It’s an interesting take and I am proud with the finished product,” he says.

The McDonald brothers recorded a new version of the single Born Innocent to accompany the documentary, and called on their friend Josh Klinghoffer to play drums. He would go on to produce the new album.

“We met Josh 20 years ago; when Steve and Josh were both in Beck’s touring band.  Then they went to play in Sparks together for a while,” explains Jeff.

“We have been friends forever, he’s like our little brother. He later played in Red Hot Chili Peppers for 10 years and is now in Pearl Jam. He had some free time and he played drums on the song Born Innocent.  It was spontaneous fun, and that’s when we decided let’s try and do an album too,” he says.

The 18-track album was written by both brothers. When Jeff McDonald takes this Zoom call, there’s a row of guitars stacked behind him within frame.

At 60, he’s older, wiser, but admits he is always still learning how to write the perfect song.

“Steve and I hung out in his studio and watched YouTube videos and listened to rare records and noodled with our guitars,” he says of the songwriting process. “We hung out and had lots of fun and that’s how this album got underway.”

The new single Candy Coloured Catastrophe is a slice of pop nirvana, with Redd Kross’ signature humour and playful pop posturing in full force here.

There’s also a book on its way in October too. Now You’re One of Us: The Incredible Story of Redd Kross is written by award-winning music journalist Dan Epstein.

“Dan interviewed both of us separately over the course of a couple of months on the phone,” explains Jeff.

“He compiled our aural history and added his observations to make this book. It wasn’t until I read the first draft that I realised my memories of events differ from my brother’s, but it’s kinda funny when you read it, to get both perspectives,” he says. “And who knows what is reality at this point.”

MY CITY

Home is Los Angeles. I have never lived anywhere else. Both Steve and I were born here and have been here all our lives. A lot of actors and musicians who live here aren’t from LA. We have a weird perspective on it, we’re very Los Angelino. It’s in our DNA for better or worse.

MUST VISIT IN LA

 A fun place to go and have an afternoon drinks and stay is The Madonna Inn. It’s an hour out of LA, a freakish hotel lounge and every room has a theme. The restaurant lounge where people have cocktail has dolls on swings and other bizarre things around. It’s the weirdest must visit in Southern California.

DRINK

I made a conscious effort not to drink anymore once I turned 50. I am 60 now, I had my fun and allotted time with it. But of course, I still go to bars and hang with friends who still drink – and I play in a lot of them.

A BOOZY MEMORY

Back when the Redd Kross line-up featured female players Janet Housden on drums and Tracy Lea on guitar, we took Tracy to an abandoned part of Chinatown in LA to a Tiki lounge bar that felt like the 1950s. We got drunk on blue Tiki cocktails for her 18th birthday. We then walked around Chinatown and came across actor Eddie Murphy’s set for 48 Hrs [1981].  It was his first ever film. We got drunk with him and the people on set, it was a very LA moment. It can still happen today if you love cocktails.

For more info on Now You’re One Of Us: The Incredible Story of Redd Kross By Jeff & Steven McDonald with Dan Epstein Out October 8 2024 via Omnibus Press:
Omnibus Press

For more info on Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story Directed by Andrew Reich:
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