IN THE MIX Susan Cowsill Edition Vol. 1 - Psycho Sisters, Redd Kross, Cowsills, Continental Drifters & Solo!

IN THE MIX Susan Cowsill Edition Vol. 1

SUSAN COWSILL has had a long and incredible career, and despite the tough childhood outlined in the documentary about her family's band THE COWSILLS, she seems to have turned out to be a wonderful person—and is definitely an amazing singer.

She makes no secret of her love of Linda Ronstadt and possibly the best compliment I can pay her is that she’s every bit as good a singer/harmonizer.  Aside from covering Warren Zevon’s Mohammed's Radio, there aren’t many similarities between them, other than singing ability—and an unerring ability to choose material that’s perfect for them.  

Mohammed's Radio was on a digital single that also contains the lead off track It Might As Well Rain Until September—a GOFFIN/KING song that was written for Bobby Vee, & instead released as a Carole King single because Don Kirshner loved her demo of it.  King is an intensely personal & emotional singer, & COWSILL easily matches the original on both counts.

SUSAN’s versions are as dear to me as the originals of songs a vocalist has to be fearless (or foolish) to cover like Sandy Denny’s Who Knows Where The Time Goes, Brian Wilson’s Don’t Worry Baby, & John Lennon’s Julia.  Julia is a live recording with another artist I’ve given the IN THE MIX treatment; The Bangles’ VICKI PETERSON.  

PETERSON is Susan’s partner in PSYCHO SISTERS—and they both seem to love to collaborate.  They were both also in CONTINENTAL DRIFTERS, who are represented here by two live-in-studio tracks from an appearance on NYC’s WFUV, and two album cuts.  VICKI PETERSON is married to Susan’s brother, JOHN COWSILL and the couple recorded an album of songs by his brothers Bill & Barry.  SUSAN gets to the heart of Barry’s River Of Love—a song that they left alone--& one Susan started performing with her own band during the four months after Katrina that Barry was missing.

Naturally there are plenty of tracks with THE COWSILLS.  Readers who haven’t dug into their catalogue (which is packed with power pop) would be forgiven for mistaking Is It Any Wonder for The Plimsouls.  The hit versions of Indian Lake, & Hair, are included, as well as an incredible live version of The Rain, The Park & Other Things (on Huckabee's Jukebox). Recorded 52 years after she was added to the line-up, it proves that Susan and her brothers are the vocal counterparts of Dick Clark.

Jonder will be happy to see her duet on REDD KROSS’ Love Is Not Love—which could be a lost track by THE COWSILLS—and has become one of my favorite songs on this edition—but it has a LOT of competition.

Because of the high quality of her work, the songs on this collection could be randomly shuffled & it would still flow, but I spent much more time than usual on the track order.

 

Two Drummers Drumming

 

This week I saw Redd Kross on their current tour with Melvins.  Dale Crover and Steve McDonald are doing double duty as the rhythm section for both bands.  Melvins are touring as a quartet, with two drummers (Dale and Coady Willis).  Thus the inspiration for today's post: bands with two (or more) drummers.  

There's something visceral about seeing and hearing two drummers playing.  Dale and Coady were sometimes locked in sync; at other times, they alternated as "lead" drummer or played off each other with separate but complementary drum parts.  

Two drummers playing together is a feat of athleticism as well as musicianship.  It's been done in jazz and prog rock, but also by the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, the Glitter Band, Wizzard, Adam & The Ants, and The Fall.  There are live videos from 1983 of The Fall playing Smile, Garden, and Tempo House with Karl Burns and Paul Hanley that -- even to this day -- can cause the Dutch to weep, in four languages at least.  

Here are 20 songs from groups which included two or more drummers.  Some were temporary lineups, as when Fugazi added a second drummer to several songs on their final album, or when Pere Ubu had both Scott Krauss and Chris Cutler on drums.  Sadly, nothing today from the Four Goddamn Girl Drummers, but we've got everything from God to Gnod.  It's fitting that the compilation ends with House Of All, which now includes three goddamn Fall drummers (Karl Burns, Paul Hanley, and Simon Wolstencroft).  

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: more MX-80, Ubu, and The Mighty Fall.  

Redd Kross Songbook

 

Redd Kross and Melvins are currently krossing the US on tour through September and October.  The two bands (which share drummer Dale Crover and bassist Steven McDonald) just completed a two month UK/EU summer tour. 

These two tours follow last year's release of The Redd Album (the band's self-titled double LP on In The Redd Records), the Redd Kross memoir Now You're One Of Us (which is now available as an ebook), and the documentary film Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story (which is now available to stream at home). EDIT: DVD and Blu-Ray announced for January 2026 (just in time for your Christmas return credits!)

This blog has featured a Redd Kross jukebox, plus Tween Baes From Tostardo (a companion to Teen Babes from Monsanto) and a two disc set of Redd Kross b-sides and rarities.  

Today we have a Redd Kross Songbook --  over 30 cover versions of songs originally written and performed by Redd Kross.  But wait, there's also an additional 40+ versions of the six songs from their 1981 debut EP.  

ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB:  

A free Bandcamp download of a Redd Kross concert recorded during their 2024 US tour (which includes all of the songs from the 1981 EP, plus their klassic versions of "Deuce" and "Crazy Horses").

The Gotobeds (who have covered the entire Red Cross EP) recently released a great new album called Masterclass.  

It's OK (the band led by former RK lead guitarist Robert Hecker) has a new album called Product Of California, with Roy McDonald (Muffs, Redd Kross) on drums.  

RK's current lead guitarist Jason Shapiro used to be in the band Celebrity Skin, and you can hear their music at the Black Lodge Relics blog! If you ask nicely, Black Lodge Relics might repost the Lovedolls movies and their soundtracks.  And speaking of soundtracks, another former Redd Kross member (Brian Reitzell) is now a famous film and TV soundtrack composer!

Blammed Blammed Blammed

Translator (early days in SF)

Before getting into today's compilations, here is some music news that I'm excited about.  

Next month, Liberation Hall will release a live Translator album called Beyond Today (recorded in 1986 at The Farm in SF), with two bonus studio tracks recorded in 2023-24 by the original Translator members!  Steve Barton (one of Translator's two singer/songwriters) is a prolific solo artist, with an album in 2024 and two new digital singles so far in 2025 (all of which you can stream and purchase at Bandcamp).  Steve often works with Translator drummer Dave Scheff (who gets a solo feature on the live album). 

Beyond Today is an electrifying live set of Translator favorites with some impressive psychedelic guitar workouts, and it's capped off by a storming version of "Roll Over Beethoven".  It will be available next month in LP, CD and digital formats.  Get it here!  

Liberation Hall will also reissue the self-titled album by Pearl Harbor & The Explosions (LP, CD and digital) with bonus tracks!  And the Redd Kross documentary is now available for home viewing from Vimeo!  

Andreyud and Richard helped me to compile Blammed Blammed Blammed. Nathan recently posted Blue Blue Blue's album, and he recommended "Bad Habits" by FuckFuckFuck. Today's set of triple band names includes the triple triples "No No No" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Bright Bright Bright" by Dark Dark Dark, and "Light Light Light" by Black Black Black!

Today's other shares are Sell Sell Sell (mostly 1990's alt-rock), and another set of song titles with four or more words (Again & Again & Again & Again).

The Wonderment of The Embarrassment

 

The Redd Kross documentary (Born Innocent) finally came to A City Near Me.  I give it two thumbs up, five gold stars, and 100% on the Tomatometer.  Those of you in the UK and continental Europe will have the opportunity to see Redd Kross live on their summer tour with Melvins in July and August 2025.  

Last year, I attended a screening of We Were Famous: You Don’t Remember (a documentary about The Embarrassment, a band from Wichita, Kansas that existed between 1979 and 1983.)  I watched it again this week after seeing Born Innocent.  

Three of the four Embos were friends since childhood.  They didn’t grow up in the same house (unlike Jeff & Steven McDonald), but they spent a lot of time at each other’s homes, listening to records, learning to play instruments and (once they were old enough) traveling to OKC to attend concerts by David Bowie and the Sex Pistols. “Punk rock changed their lives” and they formed a series of bands.  Eventually (like Redd Kross), they created a sound of their own which both incorporated and transcended their influences (Velvets, Bowie, Iggy, Alice Cooper, Modern Lovers, garage rock, etc.)

The music they made was noisy, melodic, nerdy, and witty.  Most of all (like Redd Kross), it was FUN.  They called it “blister pop”.  They got REALLY good.  Bill Goffrier is a unique and inventive guitarist.  Brent “Woody” Geissmann is an explosive and expressive drummer. Ron Klaus shaped their sound with driving and melodic basslines.  John Nichols developed a visual and lyrical personification of the band’s sound and aesthetic: the skinny guy with glasses who is unapologetically uncool but confident, sarcastic, and smarter than the average bear (without being obnoxious about it).  The members inspired each other lyrically to write songs about American history, space travel, dinosaurs, Mexican monster movies, Elizabeth Montgomery, mathematics and furniture (as well as cars, girls and death).  

They had influential fans and supporters.  Jonathan Demme tried to get them signed to A&M.  Sub Pop, NY Rocker and The Offense championed them. They opened shows for some of their heroes:  Iggy, John Cale, The Fall, and PiL. Mike Mills of REM has acknowledged their influence.  The talking heads in the documentary include Evan Dando, Grant Hart, and Freedy Johnston (who puts it bluntly: “They were so much better than REM.  They were better than Husker Du.”)  

Cultural historian Thomas Frank, journalist Bud Norman, milliner Jack Kellogg (Hatman Jack), and Jeff Jensen (Andrew Earles’ prank calling partner) are also interviewed.  Will McRobb (creator of TV series The Adventures of Pete & Pete) isn’t interviewed, but he's one of the backers listed in the film credits, and he paid tribute to the Embos by choosing “Wellsville” as the name of the town where Pete & Pete lived.

There’s a central conceit to We Were Famous: You Don’t Remember which is implied by the title but doesn't tell the whole story. Thomas Frank opines that it's the nature of culture to create something great which will be forgotten. Viewers are told that the band members (frustrated by their lack of success) went their separate ways in 1983.  Brent became Del Fuegos’ drummer.  Bill got a MFA in Boston and formed Big Dipper.  John and Ron left music behind completely.  

What the film doesn’t tell you is that The Embarrassment reunited several times (in 1985, 1989, 2006, and 2022).  They made another record (God Help Us) in 1990.  Their music has been compiled for several releases: on cassette, album, a double CD, an authorized bootleg, and (most recently) vinyl and digital reissues of their single and their two EP’s.  Bill Goffrier continues to perform their music (in The Embarrassed Men and The Embarrassmen).  A fan website has existed for years, and there’s a massive trove of audio and video at Archive.org.

John Nichols attended last year’s screening of the film and answered questions afterward.  I asked whether there will be a home video release, and if it will include any bonus features.  The 2006 and 2022 reunion shows were professionally filmed.  During the Embos' original run, they made their own music videos, and several live shows were captured on video.  Clips appear throughout the documentary, but none of the band’s songs are performed in full.  Audiences learn why the band is beloved, but don’t get to hear the object of that devotion. (John said a DVD or BluRay release has been discussed.)

Almost Ready Records has done a tremendous job on the reissues, and I don’t want to cost them any revenue.  I encourage you to buy The Embarrassment EP, Death Travels West, and the single (Sex Drive b/w Patio Set) on vinyl or from Bandcamp.  You can also buy or stream We Were Famous... on Amazon, Night Flight, and Hoopla.

Today’s DL comes from the live archive (digitally restored and generously shared by Demolition Kitchen Video).  The songs are from the outdoor show, a 1983 gig in Lawrence, and a 1989 reunion concert in Wichita.  The only changes I made to the mp3's were separating and tagging the songs, removing dead space, and fading out the applause.  Here are two dozen prime examples of Blister Pop.

Redd Kross - This Way Up (b-sides, demos, live tracks)

2024 was The Year of Redd Kross:  a self-titled double album of new songs, a documentary film (Born Innocent) and a memoir (Now You’re One Of Us). 

In some ways, 2024 was the year that 1990 should have been for Redd Kross.  Third Eye was their first major label album, and Jeff & Steven costarred in a film called Spirit of '76.  Unfortunately, neither the movie nor the record was a success, and the perception in the music industry was that Redd Kross had failed to grab the brass ring.  

Lead guitarist Robert Hecker left after Third Eye. Robert's band It’s OK will release a new album in 2025 (with Roy McDonald on drums). Jeff and Steven focused on the UK, Europe and Australia for most of the 90’s, touring and recording with a new lineup.  

I had always assumed that Redd Kross left Atlantic and signed with Mercury Records after Third Eye.  I learned from the book that they actually signed with Andrew Lauder’s UK label This Way Up (which was distributed by Mercury in the US).  This Way Up released a number of RK singles and EP’s with non-LP b-sides.

Near the end of the book, Steven McDonald laments that the band has not been more prolific.  There are enough b-sides, demos and other stray tracks to make Deluxxe Editions of Third Eye, Phaseshifter and Show World (similar to the Merge Records reissue of Neurotica).  Say, there’s an idea!

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: Songs That Redd Kross Taught Us and Tween Baes From Tostardo.

Keep My Name Out'cha Mouth #4

 

CLEAR THE DECKS WEEK rolls on relentlessly, with daily posts for your downloading pleasure.  There were two year gaps between the first, second and third posts in the Keep My Name Out'cha Mouth series, but here we are with Volume 4 already, not 24 hours since the last one!  BAM!

This one is a personal favorite, because Stinky included some favorite bands of my punkish youth: Redd Kross, the Leaving Trains, and a deep cut from the first Vandals record! A tribute to Koen's fearsome rockabilly idol (Crazy Cavan) is also included.  What a thoughtful friend we have in Stinky!

There's a similar series of mixes at the Unherd Music blog called Hello My Name Is..., but songs in that series are strictly limited to famous names, and Roy hasn't posted one of those mixes in quite a while.

Speaking of Redd Kross, tomorrow is the official release date of their brand new self-titled double album on In The Redd Records!  The US tour begins on July 2, the Born Innocent documentary is making the rounds of film festivals, and the McDonald brothers' memoir (Now You're One Of Us: The Incredible Story of Redd Kross) will hit the shelves in October!!  It's a full on multimedia assault!!!  Neurotica is coming down fast!!!!

Forgive my excitement... back to our regularly scheduled programming (already in progress)... please enjoy Volume Four of Keep My Name Out'cha Mouth!

Material Issue: Best of the Rarities!

Stinky's Homemade Records is proud to present Material Issue: The Very Best of the Rarities for your power pop pleasure!  Each carefully chosen sliver of music is strategically arranged into captivating movements that leap across genres.

 Didja know that a documentary about Material Issue was issued in 2021?  It's called Out of Time: The Material Issue Story.  

Speaking of documentaries, Born Innocent (the Redd Kross documentary) is finally complete and will be shown in London and Barcelona next month!  And the McDonald brothers (Jeff and Steven) are working on a memoir (tentatively titled Now You’re One Of Us - The Incredible Story of Redd Kross, the Coolest Band in the World).  It will be coauthored by Dan Epstein, who wrote (among other things) Big Hair & Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging '70s.  Sounds like Dan is well-suited to the task of guiding us through the history of America's grooviest musical brothers!  Are you excited?  MrDave and I are stoked.

Anyway, here's Tom with the weather here's Stinky with Material Issue: The Very Best of The Rarities!

Redd Kross: Tween Baes From Tostardo

Neurotica, the 1987 album by Redd Kross, was reissued this year by Merge Records in an expanded edition of 26 songs, including a dozen demos and a few tunes that weren't on the original LP.  

For Neurotica, Jeff and Steven McDonald were joined by Robert Hecker on lead guitar (ex-Chemical People) and Roy McDonald from The Muffs on drums. It's the same lineup that reunited to make 2012's Researching The Blues. Tommy Erdelyi produced Neurotica.

In 2018, Merge reissued Teen Babes From Monsanto, 1984's Redd Kross mini-album of cover songs (plus a remake of RK's "Linda Blair"). It was Jeff and Steven's version of Pinups. At that time, their drummer was Dave Peterson (Vicki's brother).  Geza X produced.

Today we have a homemade tribute to Teen Babes, which I call Tween Baes From Tostardo. Some of the artists predate Redd Kross, some are contemporaries, and others are more recent.  

It's got the eight songs from the original Teen Babes, plus the cover songs from the Merge reissue, plus I added "Cease To Exist" and "Look On Up At The Bottom", which RK covered on Born Innocent back in '82. It's a tribute to a tribute album, and a companion piece to Songs That Redd Kross Taught Us. 

RK cancelled their 2022 European tour, but Steven is kriss krossing America with The Melvins (who are known to perform Neurotica's "Janus, Jeanie and George Harrison" now and then). 

If you're driving down the highway in your Trans Am custom T-top car, and you see some long-haired friends of Jesus in a chartreuse microbus, it could be Buzz, Dale, and Steven.

Songs That Redd Kross Taught Us

For my money, there's no better band than Redd Kross -- on stage or on record. They are tastemakers, pranksters, and fabulous performers and songwriters. Most of the Redd Kross catalog has been reissued on vinyl by Merge and Third Man, and their comeback albums Researching The Blues (2012) and Beyond The Door (2019) are every bit as satisfying as their records from the 80's and 90's.  

Their 1982 debut album Born Innocent is loaded with counter-cultural references, from Charles Manson to Linda Blair and Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls. Their next record, 1984's Teen Babes From Monsanto, was all covers: songs by Kiss, the Stones, the Stooges, Bowie, the Shangri-La's, and a tune from TV's "Bewitched". They were never ashamed to admit that they grew up on The Partridge Family, The Osmonds, "Good Times", "Land Of The Lost", and "Planet Of The Apes".

RK founders Jeff and Steven McDonald starred in three movies: Desperate Teenage Lovedolls (1984), Love Dolls Superstar (1986), and The Spirit of '76 (1990). It's odd that they didn't participate in The Decline Of Western Civilization or The Year Punk Broke, since they were pals with bands featured in both films (as well as filmmaker Dave Markey). A Redd Kross documentary started production in 2019.

Redd Kross has also performed and recorded under several aliases: Revolution 409, The Lovedolls, Ledd Kross, Purple Electricity, and as part of Bill Bartell's all-star collective, the Tater Totz. Steven is currently a Melvin, and a former member of Sparks and OFF! He and Dave Grohl were the rhythm section on the first Tenacious D album. 

"Songs That Redd Kross Taught Us" doesn't include every cover that the band has performed, but it is packed with two hours of girl groups, psychedelia, punk, glam, bubblegum, power pop, metal, and whatever else struck Jeff and Steve as a groovy tune or a good laugh. Hope you dig it!

I'm Excited (Again): Autumn's New Releases and Concerts

I've bought several new releases recently. The Figgs' triple album Shady Grove is an outstanding achievement for a band that has been together over 30 years. They are one of the tightest bands I've ever had the pleasure to see.

Tropical Fuck Storm are barnstorming the US in support of their second album, Braindrops. You can buy it from Joyful Noise or at Bandcamp. The new songs are amazing, and the live show literally left me slackjawed. So fucking great.

I will be seeing Redd Kross again soon (touring in support of their excellent new album Beyond The Door) as they open for the Melvins. Melvins' drummer Dale Crover plays with Redd Kross on the new album and on tour, and Redd Kross bassist Jeff McDonald does the same for the Melvins. Is there a better rock rhythm section performing these days?

Hollie Cook has a lovely new single, "Dance In The Sunshine". Iggy Pop has a new album called Free.  Both singers have been featured in this blog's Guest Spots series. Jazz and blues chanteuse Cassandra Wilson has announced a new album, Jupiter Rising, and you can hear two tracks from it on her website. Ms. Wilson will be the subject of a forthcoming Guest Spots set. (I got no kick against modern jazz.)

The Pernice Brothers unexpectedly released a new album called Spread The Feeling, which will be followed by a few live shows in October. In other news for fans of witty and meticulously crafted power pop, The New Pornographers have a new album with the unwieldy title In the Morse Code of Brake Lights out later this month, with East Coast tour dates to follow.

The accomplished Atlanta trio Omni has signed to Sub Pop and will release their third album, Networker, in November. I saw Omni open for Tav Falco a couple years ago, and as they stepped off stage, Mike Watt shook hands enthusiastically with Omni bassist Philip Frobos. Speaking of Watt, he has a new group with Wire bassist Graham Lewis called Fitted, and their album comes out in November.

Atlanta's beloved Magnapop will release their new album The Circle Is Round this month. They just completed a Benelux tour, and I can't wait for their hometown show with Five Eight this month. (Magnapop remains very popular in The Netherlands and Belgium, an example of the "big in Japan" phenomenon).

While we're on the subject of The Netherlands, one of my favorite recent discoveries was the 2018 self-titled album by Rotterdam quartet Lone Wolf. They have completed their second album, Together Alone, to be released in October. Peerless punk pop!

I'm Excited: Upcoming Releases and Recent Favorites

The Figgs' triple album Shady Grove comes out soon on their own Stomper Records label (watch the "Grab Your Pack" video here)... 

Redd Kross' Beyond The Door opens August 23 on Merge Records (stream the title track here).  A two month US tour with Melvins starts on September 3rd...  

Braindrops by Tropical Fuck Storm also out August 23 on Joyful Noise (with US tour dates August 28 through September 14!) ...

On September 6, Iggy Pop will release a new album called Free ...

Magnapop's "The Circle Is Round" will be released September 27 on HHBTM (preview the song "Need To Change" here) ... 

The Mark Lanegan Band will release Somebody's Knocking October 18 on Heavenly Recordings.  The "Stitch It Up" video features Donal Logue reprising his character “Jimmy The Cab Driver” ...

I'm also excited that early recordings of The Embarrassment have surfaced online, including a rehearsal tape and demos from 1979, studio tapes (1981-83), and much more audio and video of the legendary blister pop pioneers from Lawrence, KS!

I can't stop listening to the 2018 self-titled debut by Rotterdam punk-pop band Lone Wolf.  You may think "the band name is generic", or "the genre has been done to death", but rarely is it done this well.  The songs stick in my brain like bubblegum, and they are performed with passion: anthemic vocals and guitar by Ms. Merel Schaap (ex-Bat Bites), and an airtight rhythm section that kicks like an MMA champ.

Another newish band I'm stuck on is Upper Wilds, a power trio led by the enormously talented Dan Friel from the late great Parts & Labor.  You can stream or buy their 2018 album Mars on Thrill Jockey's website or on Bandcamp.