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Redd Kross Takes Us Back to the Eighties

A Look at New Biopic Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story

by Tom Haugen

My knowledge of who Redd Kross are goes back to fanzines from the late ’80s and early ’90s, where their name was usually alongside punk rock legends like Black Flag or Agent Orange. Naturally, I assumed they were straight forward So-Cal punk.

Turns out that’s only partially right.

This fascinating documentary focuses on Jeff and Steve McDonald, the brothers who since 1978 have been the spirit of Redd Kross, a band who went from teenagers playing house shows to becoming globally adored, professional musicians.

The band played their first show with Black Flag while Steve was in middle school, and they spent the late ’70s and early ‘80s making a name for themselves in the punk scene. Jeff and Steve had very diverse tastes in music, though (they discuss their adoration for the Beach Boys and the Partridge Family), and by the mid ’80s their records shifted towards pop-rock, art influences and even proto-grunge.

Longtime fans of their punk ways were certainly surprised, and pretty soon instead of playing with Circle Jerks, Redd Kross were playing with Poison and Soundgarden.

The ’90s had them further expanding their sound with more mainstream attention, which landed Redd Kross on the talk show circuit, MTV and major label support before their hiatus in 1997.

Though Jeff and Steve handle the bulk of the interview time, many of their previous members are interviewed, plus longtime fans like Thurston Moore, Dale Crover (Melvins) and Vicki Peterson (The Bangles), plus plenty of industry folk, spouses, family, etc.

There’s a lot of very old footage to enjoy across their entire journey from basements to large venues, but the best part of the flick is Steve and Jeff. They’re really likable guys who seem very humble about their success, and tell the story of living out their rock’n’roll dream with humor, forthrightness and respect for the whole experience.

The Blu-Ray 2 Disc Special Edition of Born Innocent also includes footage from shows in 1979 and 2015, the brothers unplugged, Q&A, an interview with Kim Shattuck (The Muffs) and plenty of other bits and pieces from the Redd Kross history.

I guess I should have ordered some Redd Kross records from MAXIMUMROCKNROLL back in the day, cause watching this made me a fan. They’re actually still playing and releasing new music, so I’ve got some catching up to do.