Redd Kross

Redd Kross

2024 is the year of Redd Kross. This year see’s the release of the bands eighth studio LP, a double record no less, plus the release of a full-length doco and book, celebrating 45 years of being together.

Brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald got there start playing LA clubs before they could get their learners permit, or in Steve’s case before he was even a teenager. Despite taking almost a decade off, Redd Korss today are regarded by many of producing some of the finest powerpop/ punk pop put to tape. The new double LP is for this writer possibly their best work to date.

Bass player Steve McDonald caught up with me from his LA home to celebrate a milestone anniversary of one of LAs best bands.

Munster: congratulations on the release of the self-titled double LP. Why a double LP?

Steve: Why double? I guess because we wrote these songs, and we went into the studio, and it just flowed and when we got to 14 songs- for our 12 song record- we said you know, we got six songs we’re wasting, let’s just keep going. And the people we were working with were down with it. My brother and I are still competing with our pears from the 80s, we’re like yes, its time for our Zen Arcade.

Munster: I often hear bands say we wrote x number of tracks for an EP/LP, but only a few get used and they say oh we’ll use them next time, and I think why not use them now if they’re ready.

Steve: yeh, I’m sure we could have stock piled them and dolled them out in different new media sort of ways. One of the first LPs I ever got as a kid was the White Album, my brother and I returned coke bottles to get 5 cent return in the early 70s and we saved enough money to buy the White Album for $4. So, I’m still coming for that place.

Munster: And on top of the new LP, 2024 sees the 25^th anniversary of Redd Kross forming.

Steve: yes, we played our first show in 79, but I was 11 years old, that’s worth mentioning.

Munster: was that with Black Flag?

Steve: our first gig was our 8^th grade graduation party, and we got Black Flag to play with us, but that was under the name the Tourists, then a few weeks later we played In a nightclub, for our first club gig, and we changed the name to Redd Kross, and we opened Black Flag.

Munster: how did the Black Flag audience treat a bunch of kids?

Steve: well, they weren’t really known then. They weren’t headlining, they were starting out too. It was a cool time, I got to catch the tail end of the birth of SoCal punk rock in 78/79, before it became the hardcore scene Black Flag created. It was a fun, weird early art scene, small group of misfits, people were very receptive to us even thought we were little kids.

Munster: you’ve got a new LP out, you’re also touring the states soon, plus a doco and book coming out, do you feel busier then you’ve ever been?

Steve: yes, because I’m also managing everything (laughs). So, I’m busier than I’ve ever been. With the book I thought it was 2025, and they said no its in the fall. So many deadlines to meet but I’m not complaining.

Munster: Did you and Jeff write the book together?

Steve: we worked with a great writer called Dan Epstein . basically, the book is done as an oral history. Me and Jeff were interviewed separately over the course of a year. Dan sews it all together, he starts each chapter off with him texturizing things, he’s a bit of a cultural anthropologist. So, he puts historical context to everything we’re talking about, then its us gabbing and we’re telling the same story from different perspectives, sometimes they contradict each other, and there’s lot of photos, so this is for the completists. The doco might before the uninitiated, while the book is for the completists, the people that want to know every detail.

Munster: the presser that was sent to me for the LP brings up the 45th anniversary and all the happenings, but also mentioned in the 80s, major labels came knocking, but you held them at arm’s length. What was that about, couldn’t be bothered with them?

Steve: I mean I grew up in LA, but in the suburbs, so I was born in the Frankston area of LA. I wasn’t in downtown LA. Sometime round the mid-80s a lot of bands got picked up by the major labels early on. We never would have expected it, being in the punk scene. I think it was our music that keep them at arm’s length, or our interest in doing entire side of Beatles records live, it turned off a lot of people. We’d play Sgt Peppers side two in full, and everyone was singing along, well that’s not going to fly in 1989 at the height of hair metal. We never had much interest in business, we just wanted to record and play. Making records was like an evil you had to deal with to get up on stage. Working with a major, in our mind, I thought, if this crazy thing works, we might get to play major stadiums, and that was our motivation.

Munster: I got a quote from you from an interview you did, and you said “industry gate keeps told us early on your only allowed to do what you do until a certain age” so I take it you shunned what the suits said and said lets do what’s fun for us? And did you think if we don’t make it at a certain age we’re going to call it a day?

Steve:  yeh and also somewhat conditioned, and maybe that’s because I’m from LA, sounds very superficial but also because I started playing so young. I was 11/12, so it was a cool gimmick. I think your average musician of my generation was someone conditioned to reach a certain level of success before a certain cut off point, and if you didn’t get it at that point, you’d have to get a real job. And I think for me, I felt that a lot extra, as a lot of the interest in me was that I was this novelty as a 12 years old. So, I was in my early 30s when I’d been playing for 20 years. But I thought well it didn’t happen, so I don’t get to do it anymore. Little did I know there was this little thing called the internet around the corner that would change everything in terms of gatekeeping. So, in 1997 we went on hiatus for nine years, but what I later learned was all that audience we were able to get from a few major label records, and a few indie records, was we didn’t need to have a big press machine anymore to reach those people that were interested in us, we just needed a website, or a Myspace. I didn’t know that was around the corner in 97. So that was an interesting lesson. I also play in the Melvins, those are guys that have never taken a ten-year hiatus. When they lost their major label deal Myspace was in full effect, so they immediately jumped in that next level, plus their different animals, there never going to give up. So, me and Jeff we went through this period of giving up and hurt feelings, and I thought this is ridiculous, are you a lifer or not, are you going to be someone’s employee, or take a shot at being your own boss. That’s what the last 20 years have been like, keeping spirits high and trying to get more interest in the band.

Munster: there’s that great book by Eric Davidson, We Never Learn, and all my favourite bands are in that book, and it was heartbreaking reading all these bands that I love, that would spent weeks, sometimes months playing clubs, and they would get back home with little money, and issues like the gas shut off, and so many of those bands broke up as it wasn’t sustainable finically, so good on you for pushing on.

Steve: thanks. I’ve had day jobs, but most of those jobs have been with great bands, I don’t want Redd Kross to be a vanity project, I’d like it to be a legitimate business concern, but it must happen on our own terms. And there’s a lot of good will from us as a response to the documentary.

Munster:  Josh (Klinghoffer from the Chilli Peppers) was on production duties for the new LP, what was it like working with him?

Steve: A joy. I’ve known Josh for 20 years. Specking of day jobs, him and I played in Becks band in 2004. We toured the gorgeous Seachange record. And then we played in Sparks together for five years, 2004-2009, Josh did a few tours with them, and Josh and I have always stayed in touch. He’s a lot more accomplished then me, being ¼ of  stadium band and in a lot of ways brought a lot of life into that band. He’s 13 years my junior, so in some ways, and I mean this in a loving way, the younger sibling I never had, and I’ve always been the little brother in Redd Kross helping Jeff bring his creative vision to fruition, this is the first time I’ve had it happen to me. Jeff helps, but there’s nothing quite like that when someone is supporting you that way, it was unique. Not sure if it will happen again but it was unique enough to take full advantage of it.

Munster: being a producer what was it like watching someone else produce your own work?

Steve: great! Because Josh doesn’t want to be called a producer even though he’s remarkably talented and I think originally, he just wanted to play drums and be like a band mate and I said no you’re the producer. So, it was fun, seeing the mutual cheerleading, we were all encouraging each other in different roles, and Josh is in another room screaming “it sounds great”, and Jeff would sit on the couch, playing bass, saying is there another variation you got? Watching him, he has no hang up going to another place, he’s really feeling it. He would get int a huddle with the engineer and I like what’s going on, then I said they’ll let me know when they need to tell me. He loved us on Candy Coloured Catastrophe. Jeff wrote that song 15 years ago and it missed two records. When I gave Josh the demos I put it second song, and Josh said that song kills. We all picked something we were flag shipping, Josh was supportive to whatever we was trying to get across. With Candy, he said I don’t know what you have in mind, but we used the 8 track demo at the start lo fi then it goes to black and white to a Candy Coloured Catastrophe and that was Josh’s vison. But I’ve never done this as a song writer, I have a guitar chord book, every song from the record I wrote out the lyrics and put the chords on top so my brother can play along. When we went into record we hadn’t rehearsal, and I did it this way, and I thought this is an amazing way to analyse the songs structure as a producer or a songwriter. I’m never going to walk into the studio without having that onboard. It helps with my limited, more develop punk rocker command of the music language. If we put the vocal with the D chord, oh we sound like the Beatles. To have it written out there was helpful as I’m very OCD, so was great to have this practice down pat.

Munster: Before I let you go (editor note: I thought 25 minutes was enough, why didn’t I ask for more time!) one band you worked with production wise was Grindhouse, tell me about working with those guys?

 Steve: I love those guys from Frankston There so sexy. Worked with them a few times, great guys, there imagine is very scary and dangerous but in reality, there sweethearts. I don’t want to blow the mystery, but there dangerous, dangerously sexy. They told me about a golden gay time which I never had before, I stayed in Frankston for a week or so, nice times.