Redd Kross officially formed in 1979 (after a name change from the Tourists, a band started by a 13 year-old Jeff McDonald and brother Steven, who was 9). With the McDonald brothers in the original line-up were Greg Hetson (later in the Circle Jerks and Bad Religion) and Ron Reyes (later in Black Flag. They've gone through many line-up changes with the McDonalds as sole constants. They were a bratty punk pop band still in their teens when they played their first gig, opening for Black Flag. Early fans included Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.

They released their first record, a 6 song EP in 1979, and followed it up in 1981 with the "Born Innocent" LP. Then, in 1984, came "Teen Babes From Monsanto," a rocking glam pop record of all covers. The cuts included an early David Bowie song, "Saviour Machine," the Stooges' "Ann," and "Citadel" by the Rolling Stones. For good measure, they recorded a much-improved cover of one of their own songs, "Linda Blair." Although it was a strange mix, consider their roots. As pre-pubescent teens hanging out with LA's punk rock elite, they grew up musically bipolar. As Jeff McDonald later said, "As children, we were simultaneously influenced by the Ramones and the Osmond Brothers." Playing live to support the "Teen Babes" album, the band wore tight printed silk shirts, bell-bottoms and, you guessed it, platforms. Unbelievably, this was while playing to an alternative/indie audience in the mid-eighties.

The 70's outfits merely served to help people see what they were getting at all along. As if further convincing were necessary, they continued sprinkling influences on their later work. On another album, "Third Eye," Susan Cowsill makes an appearance on vocals. (Cowsill was a member of the Cowsill Family, a real-life Partidge Family, who had a hit with "Hair" in 1969.) The album also included the song "1976," recorded for the soundtrack of "Spirit of '76," a hilarious, medium budget movie starring David Cassidy, from the Partridge Family, and both of the McDonald brothers. Cassidy plays a time-traveler who, thinking he was headed into the future, ends up in 1976 America, with all its trappings. The McDonald brothers were a logical choice to play the visitor's default guides. They looked good on Stingray bikes and added little to the film's wardrobe budget. The brothers have also been in other films, most notably David Markey's "Desperate Teenage Lovedolls," and "Lovedolls Superstar." The two films, both low budget video-only (and highly reccomended) releases, featured casts comprised almost exclusively of Los Angeles post-punk band members and scenesters. (In a case of art imitating art imitating life, the fictional Lovedolls, a "Valley of the Dolls" meets the Partridges girl rock band, actually became a band and toured briefly in the mid-80's.)

So where are Redd Kross now? Although the information may be only rumors, it has the McDonald brothers working on a Redd Kross film and the band itself planning a reunion, this time to include Pat Smear (ex-Germs guitarist and Foo Fighters member).