Now You're One of Us (briefly discussed before I fall asleep)

 Last night, I finally finished reading Now You're One of Us: The Incredible Story of Redd Kross. A few days ago, in my Minutemen post, I talked about how that band had its own world. I'd say it's a similar situation with Redd Kross (coincidentally, another Los Angeles-based band). Just as the Minutemen were primarily the vision of two extremely close friends (who could be classified as "brothers from another mother") in D. Boon and Mike Watt, Redd Kross are the vision of two actual brothers (Jeff and Steven McDonald).

Jeff and Steven were obsessed with music from an early age. In 1970, When Jeff was seven years old and Steven only three years old, they pooled their money to buy a copy of the Beatles' "White Album." Their musical precociousness was off the charts throughout their youth. While other kids in the '70s were obsessed with say, Star Wars, baseball cards, or comic books, Jeff and Steven were obsessed with the Beatles, David Bowie, T. Rex, KISS, and then were on the ground floor for punk rock. They begged their parents to drive them to punk shows throughout L.A. and their patient, sweet parents obliged. By the time Jeff was fifteen and Steven was eleven, the brothers had started their own band and soon found themselves opening for Black Flag. Since 1979, the McDonald brothers never looked back. They have made a life in music and, in fact, even married rock royalty. (Jeff is married to Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Gos and Steven is married to Anna Waronker). 

One thing that is clear from the book is that the McDonald brothers have always been searchers. They've always been intellectually curious, and they've always been true to their passions, regardless of how "uncool" they might have seemed to others. For example, Jeff and Steven have always championed the Partridge Family, at a time when the Partridge Family were viewed by many as just a ridiculous bubblegum band in a silly TV show. Jeff and Steven's instincts were correct, and the Partridge Family is seen in a much more positive light now than they were in, say, the late '70s/early '80s. So, a lesson to be learned is to just like what you like and don't give a damn what other people think.

Well, folks, it's getting late, so I am off to bed. Sorry to cut this post a bit short. I would like to revisit this subject later when I don't feel like drifting off to sleep. I haven't really done the book justice (or the work of writer Dan Epstein, who put this all together).