Biography
Redd Kross occupies the intersection of punk, metal, and bubblegum, a formula that brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald have upheld since forming the group in the late 1970s. While still in high school they recorded their debut, the punk-oriented 1981 album Born Innocent. Their fascination with 1970s pop culture and sugary melodies soon steered them toward broader appeal. Across changing lineups the band explored pop-metal on 1987’s Neurotica, glossy power pop on 1990’s Third Eye, tuneful post-grunge on 1997’s Show World, and, following side projects and sporadic reunions, a later phase that included 2012’s Researching the Blues, 2019’s Beyond the Door, and the self-titled 2024 release, each one reviving the early energy while adding more seasoned lyrics.
Shaped equally by Saturday-morning cereal and rock records, the McDonalds began performing together before adolescence. Trips to Los Angeles clubs such as the Roxy and Whisky a Go Go prompted them to launch the Tourists in 1978, with fifteen-year-old Jeff on guitar and vocals and eleven-year-old Steven on bass. After adding school friends Greg Hetson on guitar and Ron Reyes on drums, the group made its live debut opening for Black Flag. A name change to Red Cross preceded the 1980 self-titled EP. Once Hetson and Reyes departed for the Circle Jerks and Black Flag, the McDonalds brought in guitarist Tracy Lea and drummer John Stielow to complete 1981’s Born Innocent, whose tracks “Linda Blair” and “Charlie” (plus a cover of Charles Manson’s “Cease to Exist”) displayed their pop-culture fixations.
After the album’s release, the International Red Cross issued a legal warning, forcing a spelling change to Redd Kross. Now a trio with drummer Dave Peterson, the band issued the 1984 covers EP Teen Babes from Monsanto, interpreting songs by David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, and the Shangri-Las. That same year they contributed music and appeared in the low-budget film Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, which featured their version of the Brady Bunch’s “(It’s A) Sunshine Day.” With guitarist Robert Hecker and drummer Roy McDonald (unrelated) aboard, 1987’s Neurotica delivered radio-friendly pop-metal that seemed poised for wider success, yet label Big Time collapsed soon afterward. Extended legal disputes kept the band from issuing new Redd Kross material for three years.
Recording instead as the Tater Totz, the McDonald brothers enlisted Three O’Clock’s Michael Quercio and former Partridge Family star Danny Bonaduce for 1989’s Alien Sleestacks from Brazil, its title referencing the Sid and Marty Krofft series Land of the Lost. The LP presented satirical covers of “Give Peace a Chance,” “We Will Rock You,” and Yoko Ono’s “Don’t Worry Kyoko.” Before another Tater Totz project, 1989’s Sgt. Shonen’s Exploding Plastic Eastman Band Mono! Stereo (cut with ex-Runaway Cherie Currie and future Foo Fighter Pat Smear), the brothers pursued the 1988 mock-punk tribute Hardcore Lives! under the name Anarchy 6.
Cleared to use Redd Kross again, the McDonalds signed with Atlantic and, alongside producer Michael Vail Blum, streamlined their sound for the direct, melodic 1990 album Third Eye. Following a cameo alongside David Cassidy in the 1990 film Spirit of ’76, they released several singles before 1993’s heavier, grunge-tinged Phaseshifter, which introduced guitarist Eddie Kurdziel, keyboardist Gere Fennelly, and drummer Brian Reitzell. Extensive touring took the band worldwide as festival headliners and television performers. The same lineup recorded the hook-driven hard-rock set Show World, released in 1997, after which the group paused. Kurdziel’s death in 1999 turned that pause into an extended hiatus.
The brothers produced the Donnas’ 1999 album Get Skintight; Steven played bass on Tenacious D’s debut; and Jeff completed his self-titled solo record. Returning to joint work, they recruited Steven’s wife Anna Waronker for Ze Malibu Kids, a project blending girl-group and indie-pop flavors that yielded the 2001 covers-and-originals album Sound It Out. Steven also issued an EP as the Steven McDonald Group in 2002 and produced for acts including Be Your Own Pet and the Format.
In 2006 the Neurotica-era lineup of Hecker and Roy McDonald reconvened for live dates across the United States, Canada, England, and Spain. A January 2007 Madrid performance appeared the next year as the DVD Got Live if You Must! on Bittersweet Records. New songs were begun but repeatedly sidetracked by Steven’s production schedule and his involvement in the punk supergroup Off!. The resulting album, Researching the Blues, finally emerged on Merge in 2012, its raw sound showcasing four experienced players delivering immediate material. Jason Shapiro of Celebrity Skin later replaced Hecker on guitar. Steven rejoined Off! and became a Melvins member in 2017; in exchange, Dale Crover sat in on drums for Redd Kross, facilitating joint tours. While recording fresh material with this configuration in 2018, Merge reissued Teen Babes from Monsanto and the rarities collection Hot Issue!. Beyond the Door, the band’s seventh studio album, arrived in mid-2019 with guest spots from Melvins guitarist Buzz Osborne, Anna Waronker of That Dog, and former keyboardist Geré Fennelly. The McDonald brothers collaborated on songs and vocals more closely than before. A subsequent two-month North American tour was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Merge sustained catalog visibility with expanded reissues of the 1980 Red Kross EP and 1987’s Neurotica, while the brothers—particularly Steven—wrote new material. Once sessions resumed, Jeff, Steven, and guitarist Jason Shapiro worked at Josh Klinghoffer’s studio, where Klinghoffer substituted for an ailing Crover on drums and also produced, adding keys and guitars. The resulting double-length self-titled set, issued by In the Red in June 2024, mixed reminiscences of the band’s origins, love songs, and political statements, all delivered with the group’s signature aggressive whimsy, and was followed by an extensive tour once again featuring Crover on drums.
Shaped equally by Saturday-morning cereal and rock records, the McDonalds began performing together before adolescence. Trips to Los Angeles clubs such as the Roxy and Whisky a Go Go prompted them to launch the Tourists in 1978, with fifteen-year-old Jeff on guitar and vocals and eleven-year-old Steven on bass. After adding school friends Greg Hetson on guitar and Ron Reyes on drums, the group made its live debut opening for Black Flag. A name change to Red Cross preceded the 1980 self-titled EP. Once Hetson and Reyes departed for the Circle Jerks and Black Flag, the McDonalds brought in guitarist Tracy Lea and drummer John Stielow to complete 1981’s Born Innocent, whose tracks “Linda Blair” and “Charlie” (plus a cover of Charles Manson’s “Cease to Exist”) displayed their pop-culture fixations.
After the album’s release, the International Red Cross issued a legal warning, forcing a spelling change to Redd Kross. Now a trio with drummer Dave Peterson, the band issued the 1984 covers EP Teen Babes from Monsanto, interpreting songs by David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, and the Shangri-Las. That same year they contributed music and appeared in the low-budget film Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, which featured their version of the Brady Bunch’s “(It’s A) Sunshine Day.” With guitarist Robert Hecker and drummer Roy McDonald (unrelated) aboard, 1987’s Neurotica delivered radio-friendly pop-metal that seemed poised for wider success, yet label Big Time collapsed soon afterward. Extended legal disputes kept the band from issuing new Redd Kross material for three years.
Recording instead as the Tater Totz, the McDonald brothers enlisted Three O’Clock’s Michael Quercio and former Partridge Family star Danny Bonaduce for 1989’s Alien Sleestacks from Brazil, its title referencing the Sid and Marty Krofft series Land of the Lost. The LP presented satirical covers of “Give Peace a Chance,” “We Will Rock You,” and Yoko Ono’s “Don’t Worry Kyoko.” Before another Tater Totz project, 1989’s Sgt. Shonen’s Exploding Plastic Eastman Band Mono! Stereo (cut with ex-Runaway Cherie Currie and future Foo Fighter Pat Smear), the brothers pursued the 1988 mock-punk tribute Hardcore Lives! under the name Anarchy 6.
Cleared to use Redd Kross again, the McDonalds signed with Atlantic and, alongside producer Michael Vail Blum, streamlined their sound for the direct, melodic 1990 album Third Eye. Following a cameo alongside David Cassidy in the 1990 film Spirit of ’76, they released several singles before 1993’s heavier, grunge-tinged Phaseshifter, which introduced guitarist Eddie Kurdziel, keyboardist Gere Fennelly, and drummer Brian Reitzell. Extensive touring took the band worldwide as festival headliners and television performers. The same lineup recorded the hook-driven hard-rock set Show World, released in 1997, after which the group paused. Kurdziel’s death in 1999 turned that pause into an extended hiatus.
The brothers produced the Donnas’ 1999 album Get Skintight; Steven played bass on Tenacious D’s debut; and Jeff completed his self-titled solo record. Returning to joint work, they recruited Steven’s wife Anna Waronker for Ze Malibu Kids, a project blending girl-group and indie-pop flavors that yielded the 2001 covers-and-originals album Sound It Out. Steven also issued an EP as the Steven McDonald Group in 2002 and produced for acts including Be Your Own Pet and the Format.
In 2006 the Neurotica-era lineup of Hecker and Roy McDonald reconvened for live dates across the United States, Canada, England, and Spain. A January 2007 Madrid performance appeared the next year as the DVD Got Live if You Must! on Bittersweet Records. New songs were begun but repeatedly sidetracked by Steven’s production schedule and his involvement in the punk supergroup Off!. The resulting album, Researching the Blues, finally emerged on Merge in 2012, its raw sound showcasing four experienced players delivering immediate material. Jason Shapiro of Celebrity Skin later replaced Hecker on guitar. Steven rejoined Off! and became a Melvins member in 2017; in exchange, Dale Crover sat in on drums for Redd Kross, facilitating joint tours. While recording fresh material with this configuration in 2018, Merge reissued Teen Babes from Monsanto and the rarities collection Hot Issue!. Beyond the Door, the band’s seventh studio album, arrived in mid-2019 with guest spots from Melvins guitarist Buzz Osborne, Anna Waronker of That Dog, and former keyboardist Geré Fennelly. The McDonald brothers collaborated on songs and vocals more closely than before. A subsequent two-month North American tour was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Merge sustained catalog visibility with expanded reissues of the 1980 Red Kross EP and 1987’s Neurotica, while the brothers—particularly Steven—wrote new material. Once sessions resumed, Jeff, Steven, and guitarist Jason Shapiro worked at Josh Klinghoffer’s studio, where Klinghoffer substituted for an ailing Crover on drums and also produced, adding keys and guitars. The resulting double-length self-titled set, issued by In the Red in June 2024, mixed reminiscences of the band’s origins, love songs, and political statements, all delivered with the group’s signature aggressive whimsy, and was followed by an extensive tour once again featuring Crover on drums.
Albums
Singles
