Redd Kross

Redd Kross is an American rock band from Hawthorne, California, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald while Steve was still in middle school. With the addition of friends Greg Hetson on guitar and John Stielow on drums, the band's first gig was opening for Black Flag. The band changed their name to Red Cross in 1979, and in 1982 changed the spelling due to threatened legal action by the charitable organization International Red Cross. The band has since released eight albums and three EPs. Their style was originally hardcore punk, but they have since branched out to touch on various rock and roll styles.

Career

Red Cross

In April 1979, the band had their first practice in the living room of original drummer, John Stielow's parent's home. They eventually changed the band name to Red Cross, which was allegedly inspired by the masturbation scene in the film The Exorcist. They soon began working on their 1980 debut self-titled EP. Eventually, Hetson left to join the Circle Jerks (and later Bad Religion) and Reyes left for Black Flag. They appeared on the Posh Boy compilation The Siren, and then to complete the lineup on their first full-length album, Born Innocent, they assembled a revolving door of musicians including original drummer John Stielow. Full of the brothers' pop culture obsessions, Born Innocent featured odes to Linda Blair (who starred in a television movie of the same name), a cover of "Look on Up at the Bottom" by the Carrie Nations from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and Charles Manson (whose song "Cease to Exist" they covered).