Takin' A Ride

Redd Kross are inherently likable. They’re not pretentious or anything at all. They SHOULD have big egos because of their incredible history (being at the forefront of the beginning of the punk scene in Los Angeles, playing with Black Flag, being in movies, some notorious gigs, and oh yeah, having at least 9 great albums!) but they’re just down to earth “nerds” (can I say that now?) that have no guilty pleasures regarding anything they like, no matter what the trendy general public thinks. They like what they like and so what?! They started as a very young full on punk band in the late ’70s, later evolved into more of a garagey psychedelic band and then into more power pop. But one thing was always consistent throughout their 45+ year history in music: great songwriting and catchy songs. I’ll even argue (and if you watch the bonus features, Kim Shattuck agrees with me) that “Researching The Blues” is their best album and has one of (maybe THE) best songs ever on it, “Stay Away From Downtown”. How many bands can have fans say that their favorite album is one that came out 40 years into their career?!?

You can look at the “Born Innocent” documentary on Redd Kross as a companion piece to the “Now You’re One Of Us” book which Steve & Jeff McDonald wrote and released in 2024. But instead of just Steve & Jeff telling their story, they got almost everyone involved to tell Redd Kross’ story. Former and current members Roy McDonald (also of the Muffs), Robert Hecker, Greg Hetson, Janet Housden, and more. So much more. And there are the other bands and people who were associated with them over their career: Keith Morris and Dez Cadena from Black Flag. King Buzzo and Dale Crover of the Melvins (Dale is also Redd Kross’ current drummer). Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Gos. Kim Shattuck, Melanie Vammen, and Ronnie Barnett from the Muffs. Dave Naz from the Chemical People. And just tons more. All giving their perspectives and viewpoints on their part of Redd Kross’ fascinating history. If I have a complaint about this documentary, at 90 minutes, it’s too short! Redd Kross has an extensive, almost 50 year history which includes being at the beginning of punk rock in Los Angeles and continuing to this present day and it’s all compressed into 90 minutes. A very compressed and informative 90 minutes, but this could maybe have been a mini-series had there been more funding.

Topics covered include having an 11 year old bass player (Steve) as a “selling point” back in 1978 (which I thought was funny because Jeff, who was making these phone calls for gigs, had to have been about 14 or 15 at the time). Hanging out with Black Flag. The Polliwog Park concert with Black Flag in 1979. Steven being kidnapped at the age of 12. David Bowie seeing them at the Hong Kong Cafe. “The Spirit Of ’76” movie they did with David Cassidy. The Lovedoll Superstar and Desperate Teenage Lovedolls movies. And of course the stories of the making of and touring for most of their albums (the last two albums get a little neglected because this documentary was in the works for a long time and Redd Kross have been pretty productive lately).

The bonus features on the blu ray are extensive. At least 3-4 hours worth, and I’m not even counting the commentary with Jeff & Steve on the 90 minute feature. The bonus features go way into depth and are worth twice the price of the movie. Put it this way: there’s a 50 minute early rehearsal, 40 minutes of Jeff & Steve just playing acoustically for the hell of it, a 30 minute interview with Kim Shattuck of the Muffs just talking about Redd Kross and stories about hanging out with them. A 27 minute feature with Steve going through almost all the Redd Kross albums and his opinions on them. He’s very humble. That’s the thing with Redd Kross, they’re so likable! On top of all that, there’s probably at least 60-90 minutes MORE of more in-depth stories that were cut out of the main feature. So when I say my main complaint is the documentary was not long enough, well HERE YOU GO: 60+ MINUTES OF MORE! Probably the best blu ray release of anything to come out in the past 5 years. That is until the Second Sight edition of Day Of The Dead comes out later this year.

Highest ranking. Ted says “check it out”.

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