Redd Kross has come a long way since 1979, when 15 year old Jeff McDonald and his 11 year old brother Steve formed the band in Hawthorne, California (the home of another set of singing brothers). They've certainly outlasted several genres that came and went like extinct birds, such as "skinny tie," punk, "the Paisley Underground, "college radio," and techno. It's just desserts that their style of brazen pop music is being reflected greatly in the Los Angeles pop scene, where many young bands are emulating the McDonald boys.

One of the gifts of youth is a unique type of inhibition, a coupling of chutzpah and aggression that's manifested by musicians in writing and playing whatever they want, not giving a damn how they're perceived. The McDonald's were a couple of goofy suburban California kids, with the same kind of icon worship, teenage crushes, and waste of time hobbies as anyone else, but because they were musicians they were able to express their lives on vinyl. Their first records (under the name "Red Cross," until they were forced to change it a few years later) were on the Southern California label Posh Boy Records, and it was sloppy, ebullient tracks like "Annette's Got The Hits" (a paean to former Disney girl Annette Funicello) that got the attention of Los Angeles DJ Rodney Bingenheimer of KROQ radio. Bingenheimer's penchant for young girls, L.A. hip culture, and pop/punk music quickly attracted him to the sounds of Red Cross, and the McDonald's records became staples of his Saturday and Sunday night radio shows (probably the one show where people in L.A. have, throughout the years, heard obscurities and otherwise cool songs '60s through the '90s).

In 1982 Red Cross released their first album, Born Innocent, which continued along the same lines of sloppy and uninhibited songs, including a coverversion of Charles Manson's "Cease To Exist" (not listed onthe label). A couple of years later (as Redd Kross) they released an EP of mostly covers, Teen Babes From Monsanto, which displayed a garage-y side to the band. During this period of their career, the McDonalds decided to try their hand at acting and writing songs for movie soundtracks, and they accomplished both with the 1985 film Desperate Teenage Love Dolls. The following year, they showed great prescience (or maybe just reverence) when they contributed a cover of the Brady Bunch classic "It's A Sunshine Day" to the soundtrack of the sequel film, Love Doll Superstars.

By the late '80s, the guys were no longer teenagers, and their first phase of growth was displayed on their 1987 LP Neurotica, (Big Time Records), on which their punky style took on a pleasant refinement, creating a sound not unlike that of early Shoes. When Big Time Records folded soon after, the band found themselves without a legitimate record deal, so the McDonalds decided to get involved in a side project called Tater Totz, which included basically whoever wanted to be a part of it (former Partridge Danny Bonaduce appeared for awhile). Tater Totz was goofiness personified, as their covers of songs like "Don't Worry Kyoko" would attest. Soon after, the boys got the acting bug again and appeared in the now cult classic film The Spirit of '76. The plot was basically this: a committee from a futuristic society (including, as one of its members, David Cassidy) discovers that if they don't go back in time to 1776 and amend the Constitution, the world as they know it would cease to exist. They build this raggedy time machine and set out on their journey. As luck would have it, an error in calculation brings them instead to 1976 suburban Southern California, where they meet up with Jeff and Steve McDonald, who basically are playing themselves (albeit a little younger). Virtually every laughable '70s curio is displayed, from the AMC pacer to lava lamps to rock posters, etc. More need not be said, and if you haven't seen this film already, go to your video store and rent it, as it's hilarious!

In 1990, the first signs that the band was taking a serious approach to music appeared on their first major label release, Third Eye (on Atlantic Records). Third Eye is an LP that showed that Redd Kross was ready to branch out and tackle various styles of pop. Standout tracks include the bubblegummy "The Faith Healer" (which gleefully lifts its chorus from the 1910 Fruitgum Company's "Goody Goody Gumdrops") and the aptly titled "Bubblegum Factory," the folky "I Don't Know How To Be Your Friend," the Plimsouls-like"Where I Am Today," and the horn-based, funky "Elephant Flares." The LP also features their ode to the like-minded Shonen Knife, called - "Shonen Knife" (that band returned the favor a few years later with a track called "Redd Kross," and the centerpiece of the aforementioned film, " 1976.'

Redd Kross spent the next three years doing extensive touring, spending a fair amount of time in Australia (there is a musical chronicle of that tour, called Trance), and releasing 7" singles various labels. In 1993, the band signed to Mercury Records and later that year, released the gem of their discography, the album Phaseshifter. This album deftly combines Redd Kross's energy with some intelligently arranged harmonies and vocals, and tracks like "Lady In The Front Row, "Dumb Angel" (named for the original title of the Beach Boy's Smile LP), and the amazingly Cheap Trick-ish "Only A Girl" are absolutely unforgettable. The band (now a five piece) had successfully transcended their sloppy, punky image and musical limitations and were now a pop band to be reckoned with. After the release of Phaseshifter the band went on another extensive tour, becoming a gate attraction all over the world. They finally returned last year to work on the latest Mercury Release, Show World, which displayed a slightly more subdued, though similar style, to Phaseshifter. The present lineup is comprised of Jeff McDonald on lead vocals and guitar, Steve McDonald on bass and vocals, Eddie Kurdziel on guitar, and Brian Reitzell on drums and percussion. Their set at Poptopia earlier this year shows that they're a very capable live band, as well as on that is mature enough to know that if the amps are turned down a little it allows the melodies to shine through.

I interviewed Jeff McDonald by phone recently, catching him on the Seattle stop of the band's world tour. The interview showed him to be a sincere guy who's really grown up, as being a family man (with a daughter and his marriage to former Go Go Charlotte Caffey have brought about a much needed responsibility). The interview follows:

It's pretty interesting that you started the record with a cover (of the Quick's "Pretty Please Me"). Not too many people do that.

It wasn't a question of like "this is a cover, we're starting it," it was like we had a group of songs and we put it in the order that we thought it sounded best. There was no real calculated effort on our part - when we do a cover song it becomes ours.

A lot of great songs on the album, "You Lied Again," "One Chord Progression" has a great hook ...

Thanks!

One interesting thing, "Follow The Leader" kinda sounds like early Creedence to me.

Oh yeah, that's interesting. It has kinda that chunky Creedence sound, but I think it was more inspired by a song called "Foggy Notion" by the Velvet Underground, a bonus track I guess, on the box set, but that (the Creedence reference) makes sense.

"Secret Life" shows a lot of maturity in songwriting.

Oh great, thanks.

But I think my favorite song is "Ugly Town."

That song was very, very inspired by the Flamin Groovies.

You mean the Shake Some Action period?

Yeah.

By the way, what's the bonus track on the CD?

I'm not sure, because in all the different fonnats in all the different parts of the world it's different (laughs).

I have the basic Mercury CD.

I think it's a song called "Sick Love." My brother Steven sings that song.

You were basically brought up in Hawthorne, which obviously is where the Beach Boys are from ...

And Emitt Rhodes. He still lives in Hawthorne.

Do you see the Beach Boys as being a big influence?

Yeah definitely. Well, when we first started playing as a band the first group that inspired us, that made us feel that we could actually play were the Ramones. The first three Ramones records were essentially like early Beach Boys records. And also in Hawthorne, the secretary of out library was Mark Volman's (of the Turtles) mother, so that's another weird indirect pop influence.

You can hear it occasionally. Do you still have any of your Poah Boy records?

I'm sure they're burried in there somewhere (laughs).

Is Charles Manson after you for royalties (for "Cease To Exist").

No, I don't think so. Well, when we receive some we'll let him know, I guess.

I wanted to know a little bit about the movie, The Spitit Of '76. It's really a lot of fun. What was the story behind that?

Well, we were just basically cast in this film that someone had already written. It was our idea to use David Cassidy; they hadn't cast that role yet. Yeah, it was really a lot of fun, and it was me in San Francisco.

Is that available on laser disc anywhere?

Yeah, I know it is, I just autographed one last night, in Vancouver.

I think that Neurotica ... that album I know is a favorite of a lot of people. Are you a big fan of the band Shoes?

You know what, I didn't get into Shoes until later, but I've never heard that comparison being drawn.

Yeah, I hear it a lot, like a lot of early Shoes stuff. It's got a certain rawness. I'm a really big fan of theirs, and I really love Neurotica.

Thanks. Something else I discovered later that really reminds me of that record is the Soft Boys. A couple of songs by them totally sounded like they could have been on that record. You know, at that time we weren't really listening to anything - I don't know what we were listening to. We were really into our "garage sale" records when we made that record.

You mean ...

Old records. Any record that we found at garage sales. A lot of '60s albums.

Unfortunately that doesn't happen very much anymore because of all the catalogues.

Yeah, but fortunately a lot of records have been reissued, and that's cool. I just bought a Dino, Desi, and Billy anthology.

Didn't you guys do "The Rebel Kind" at Poptopia?

Yeah, yeah maybe we did that at Poptopia. We did it a couple of times.

You guys played with Shonen Knife at Poptopia, and I see a lot of parallels between you. Not just the fact that you've been on the same label, but the idea that their songwriting has matured a lot in the last few years, as has yours. It seems like both of you have grown up together, in a way.

Yeah, it looks that way.

On Third Eye there was a little bit of that growth, and then on Phaseshifter, which is an incredible, incredible album. How do you see the changes that have occurred between Neurotica and the later stuff?

I don't know, cause I don't really ever listen to those records. It's really hard to see it for us. We just write whatever comes out - if there's growth it's just a natural process that we're not aware of.

Yeah, it's always perspective, and as a fan you have a different perspective than the musician does.

Yeah, definitely. I mean if a fan is going to buy a bunch of (a band's) records and listens to them one right after another, then they can definitely see growth, but I don't listen to the old records. Occasionally, I'll put one of them on and it will really surprise me.

Anything come to mind?

Well, Neurotica is supposed to come out (as a reissue), and we put a couple of bonus tracks - there were other tracks that didn't originally make it onto the album, and we were listening to some of the tapes, and it was really strange. I don't really know how to put it into words - it's such a different thing now. There's a definite consistency.

So the reissue is gonna come out on Mercury?

I'm not really sure. It was supposed to come out on Sub Pop, but we had to postpone it because we didn't have all of the legal rights taken care of.

Tell me a little bit about the new record, you're feelings behind it and the inspirations for some of the songs.

We did the record after touring three years non-stop internationally, and we started it right after we got home. This was different, because usually we'd do our records after we'd been home a long time, so we were usually inspired by our basic environment, but since we'd been travel- ing so much the new record is more introspective, I'd say. We'd never stayed in one place long enough to be influenced by our environment, so it's a very introspective album.

Out of all the stops on that tour, which was your favorite?

Definitely Japan and Australia, because the audiences were really passionate and definitely a blast to play for.

Do you still look for old records that are cool?

I do, but I have so many records right now that I almost don't even buy them. I'm kind of on hiatus from purchasing records, I have to catch up and actually listen to what I've bought the past five years.

How did it happen that you got hooked up with Rodney (Bingenheimer)?

Well, we're from Los Angeles, and as you know Rodney's show is a very important part of the musical movement. I got a huge musical education by listening to that show from 1976 on, every Sunday. With Rodney you learned about the punk rock connection, how Phil Spector records are directly related to Ramones albums, and how the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson are directly related to who we are today. I mean, that show was an incredible rock education. It still is.

You became a real staple, not only musically but as a guest on his show. Did he rind out about you, or did you approach him?

Well, we put out an EP in 1979 and everyone gave it to Rodney, and he really liked it. There was a song about Annette Funicello on the record and he kind of latched onto it.

Any chance that maybe you and Charlotte might do a project?

Yeah, we're actually working on one right now. We're working on an album, with my brother Steven, and Anna Woronker from That Dog.

Is this gonna have another band name?

Yeah, it'll be called Ze Malibu Kids.

That sounds great.

Yeah, we're working on the album, and it's half done.

Do you have a release date in mind?

No, we have to put it on hold because Anna's on tour right now and so are we, so we don't know when we'll get a chance to resume working on it.

What about Tater Totz, do you consider that a Redd Kross thing or was that strictly a side project?

I was only involved in a couple of songs, it wasn't like my brain-child or anything. So that's all that was, I wasn't that involved in that.

So how's life treating you?

Oh, it's nice. You know, we've been on the road for a couple of months. We've already toured Europe, and at the end of our American tour we play with The Presidents (of the United States of America), and then we're gonna go back to Europe by ourselves, and then we'll come back, and then Japan and Australia, so we have a lot of stuff ahead of us right now.

You must really love touring, you've been doing it for so long.

Well, we take big breaks from it. We have to because it gets to be a bit much after awhile.

What do you see for the future? How long do you think you'll continue to record albums?

I figure we're hitting our creative stride, so it's impossible for me to say. I'm more confident, I'm a better songwriter, we're better performers, and we're more comfortable in a studio than we've ever been, so it feels like we're just starting.

How would you like people to see you. When they think of Redd Kross, what do you want people to think?

Well they think about us in all different ways, so it's pretty much up to their own interpretation. I don't really know how I would like to be seen.

Was the song "Dumb Angel" (from Phaseshifter) an ode to the Beach Boys?

It was kind of Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, and Arthur Lee. There were little references to all those people that kind of lost their marbles along the way.

Yesterday there was a tribute show to Arthur Lee, over at the Ash Grove in Santa Monica.

Oh, really?

Yeah, to raise money to help rind him a lawyer that can get him out of jail.

Well, that would be nice.

It was, yeah. Out of all the people who were your childhood heroes, who was the biggest thrill to meet?

I met Roger McGuinn once, and that was really thrilling. Usually, I don't even like to meet my heroes, because I feel I have nothing to say to them. I was in a room with Ringo once; that was thrilling. But usually, if it's someone I really admire, I don't really care to meet them.

Yeah, when I met Brian Wilson I didn't know what to say to him either. I mean, what can you say to a guy like that that hasn't been said already?

Exactly. Actually, I met Brian Wilson as well. I don't know, there's nothing to say. It's probably best to admire them from afar.

Do you follow the L.A. pop scene at all? I guess you're not home a lot.

No, I'm not home a lot, but anytime something interesting pops up I usually hear about it.

Who out of all the present L.A. bands do you like the most?

That Dog. That Dog made the record that is the Pet Sounds of the '90s. I think the Muffs are a really great pop band.

That Dog and the Muffs played Poptopia as well. How did you like Poptopia?

Oh, I enjoyed it, it was really fun! It was nice that everyone had a good time.

It had been like three years since you played L.A.?

Yeah.

How long since you'd played the Troubador?

Ten years.

Wow! Did it seem familiar to you?

Well, we'd done a lot of shows there, so it did feel very familiar.

Well Jeff, it's been nice talking to you.

Yeah, it's been nice talking to you too.

Where's your next stop?

Tonight we're playing Seattle, and then we're going to Europe.

The author would like to thank Wendy Buonomo of Mercury Records for setting up the interview, as well as the venerable Los Angeles writer Dan Epstein for supplying some valuable information.

By: David Bash