Red Cross (band)

Redd Kross
Redd Kross 2007
Background information
Also known as	The Tourists, Red Cross
Origin	Hawthorne, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock, power pop, pop punk, hardcore punk
Years active	1980–1997, 2004–present
Associated acts	Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Bad Religion, OFF!, Melvins
Members	Jeff McDonald Steve McDonald Jason Shapiro Roy McDonald
Past members	Dez Cadena Gere Fennelly Robert Hecker Greg Hetson Glenn Holland Janet Housden Victor Indrizzo Jack Irons Eddie Kurdziel Tracy Lea Johnny Nobody Dave Peterson Vicki Peterson Brian Reitzell Ron Reyes John Stielow

Redd Kross is an American alternative 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 they were still in middle school. With the addition of friends Greg Hetson and John Stielow on drums, the band's first gig was opening for Black Flag.

At the time of their first self-titled EP, in 1980, the band had changed their name to Red Cross, which was allegedly inspired by the masturbation scene in the film, The Exorcist. Ron Reyes became the drummer. 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 from the Bottom" by the Carrie Nations from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and Charles Manson (whose song "Cease to Exist" they covered). The album also contains nods to Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Tatum O'Neal, and Lita Ford. Not long after the release of the album, the group was threatened with a lawsuit from the International Red Cross and changed their name to Redd Kross, allegedly being inspired by Redd Foxx.