Redd Kross

• Genre: Punk
• Hometown: Hawthorne

About

The original tabloid-bred Punk band, Redd Kross started out as a bunch of smart-assed, but incredibly bright teenagers singing '70s-damaged Punk in the early days of the Los Angeles scene. When everybody else was singing about angst and injustice, they wrote songs that revealed an ironic fascination with pop culture that now seems way ahead of its time. Their second record, Born Innocent, is absolutely essential -- ragged bursts of snide humor, super-trashy KISS-style licks, and paeans to Linda Blair all served up by a sloppy group of quintessentially Hollywood 13-year olds. They were an odd hybrid that went over the heads of the local Hardcore community, becoming instead a cult favorite with the burgeoning Indie Rock scene. During the past ten years the band has seen some major label success and has continued to put out records featuring their sharp, campy jokes wrapped in ultrahooked Punk-Pop candy.

- Mike McGuirk