At the time of their first self-titled EP, in 1980, the band 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. Keller left to join Trixie and the Doorknobs as its guitarist and singer. To complete the lineup on their first full-length album, Born Innocent, they assembled a revolving door of musicians including original drummer John Stielow and drummer Janet Housden. 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 At 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.
In 1984, Redd Kross returned with drummer Dave Peterson to record Teen Babes from Monsanto, an album featuring songs originally by such artists as KISS, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and The Shangri-Las.
In 1984, lead guitarist Robert Hecker joined the band, as Redd Kross embarked on tour in support of Teen Babes from Monsanto.
In that same year, they were featured on the soundtrack of Desperate Teenage Lovedolls with their cover of the Brady Bunch Kids' "It's a Sunshine Day". Jeff and Steve appear in the movie, along with Robert in the sequel Lovedolls Superstar which the brothers co-wrote with Dave Markey and Jennifer Schwartz. Both movies are available now on DVD.
In 1985, drummer Roy McDonald (formerly of The Things, and no relation to the brothers) joined the band.
In 1987, Redd Kross released Neurotica, an album reportedly influenced by Saturday morning cartoons and breakfast cereal (one of the songs was called "Frosted Flake"). Although the album itself was successful, the band's label, Big Time Records folded. The band continued to tour during these years however, and in 1988, drummer Victor Indrizzo joined the band.
On February 20, 1990, Redd Kross appeared on Episode 2 of the cult Public-access television show "Decoupage" with Summer Caprice.
In 1990, Redd Kross signed with Atlantic Records, releasing Third Eye, and appeared with David Cassidy in the film Spirit of '76, and issued several singles, including "Annie's Gone", which had some mild success on college radio. Former Red Hot Chili Peppers / future Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons joined for the Third Eye tours, and appears in the promotional video for "Annie's Gone", which saw some light rotation on MTV. Brian Reitzell succeeded Irons as drummer in the band, and appears in the promotional video for "1976".
In 1991, Robert Hecker took leave from the band.
The album Phaseshifter was released in 1993, with new band members Eddie Kurdziel, Gere Fennelly, and Brian Reitzell. The videos for "Jimmy's Fantasy" and "Lady In The Front Row" were both shown on MTV's 120 Minutes. They toured on Phaseshifter for over a year, headling their own shows as well as tours supporting The Lemonheads and The Spin Doctors in late 1993 and Stone Temple Pilots in 1994. In 1995, Jeff and his wife, Charlotte Caffey (from The Go-Go's), had a daughter, named Astrid.
In 1997, Redd Kross released Show World, produced by Chris Shaw (who also produced albums for Weezer and Soul Asylum) and toured supporting The Presidents of the United States of America. The band took an indefinite hiatus after the Show World tour, and their future was uncertain after the untimely death of guitarist Eddie Kurdziel on June 6, 1999.
On July 1, 2006, Redd Kross returned to the live stage after almost a decade's absence. The Neurotica-era line up of Jeff McDonald, Steven McDonald, Robert Hecker and Roy McDonald performed a career-spanning set at the REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/Cal Arts Theater) at Disney Hall in Los Angeles. The band has subsequently gone on to play at the Azkena Festival in Spain, the Detour Festival in Los Angeles, give a performance of their entire first EP in honor of Rodney Bingenheimer's being awarded a star on Hollywood Boulevard, and a set consisting of the entire Born Innocent album opening for Sonic Youth (who performed Daydream Nation) at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. They toured Spain and England in January, 2007. They have played a number of one-off shows including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. In 2008 they played the Coachella Festival in Coachella, California; ATP vs Pitchfork festival in Sussex, England; and NXNE Festival in Toronto, Ontario. In 2010, Redd Kross headlined the Turbo Rock Festival in Spain. In 2011 they headlined the POP Montreal Festival.
Redd Kross will tour Australia again as part of the Hoodoo Gurus' 30th Anniversary on the "Dig It Up" Festival concert series.
The band released "Researching the Blues" in 2012.
Notes and Chords Mean Nothing to Me
Redd Kross Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It won't get me nowhere
It's gonna scream at my fingers
I wanna rip out my hair
I wanna throw it on the ground
And turn it up real loud
Kick it with my foot
And throw it in the crowd
If my hands
are in the right place
Notes and chords
mean nothing to me
Just listen and you will see
It don't matter anyway
If my hands
are in the right place
Notes and chords
mean nothing to me
Just listen and you will see
Stand on the stage
and you feel like an ass
You're just too cool,
and this won't pass
I won't be sad
if you I play it real bad
This is aint most fun I ever had
It don't matter anyway
If my hands
are in the right place
Notes and chords
mean nothing to me
Just listen and you will see
It don't matter, it don't,
it don't matter anyway
If my hands
are in the right place
because notes and chords
they don't mean shit to me
Just listen and you will see
The song "Notes and Chords Mean Nothing to Me" by Redd Kross is about the disillusionment and frustration of a musician who wants to break his guitar, rip out his hair, kick it with his foot, and throw it in the crowd. He is resigned to the fact that the notes and chords he plays mean nothing to him. The lyrics suggest that he doesn't care if he plays his music perfectly or not, as long as he is having fun while doing it. The musician tries to express how he feels about his music and the pain he feels when he performs on stage.
The lyrics also suggest that the musician is tired of being cool and wants to break free from the expectations of his audience. He doesn't want to feel like an ass when he is on stage and is okay with playing badly. What is important to him is having fun and being in the moment.
Overall, the song is about the love-hate relationship a musician has with his craft. He loves music and playing his guitar, but he is frustrated with the limitations of his instrument and of the expectations placed on him by himself and his audience.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanna break my guitar
I am frustrated with music and want to vent my anger by breaking my guitar, because it is not leading me anywhere.
It won't get me nowhere
Breaking my guitar won't solve my problems or lead me to success.
It's gonna scream at my fingers
Playing music is painful and frustrating, causing my fingers to ache and scream in pain.
I wanna rip out my hair
I am so frustrated with playing music that I want to physically harm myself by pulling out my own hair.
I wanna throw it on the ground
I am so fed up with music that I want to throw my guitar on the ground in anger.
And turn it up real loud
I want to amplify my frustration by turning up the volume on my guitar and making a lot of noise.
Kick it with my foot
I want to physically abuse my guitar by kicking it with my feet.
And throw it in the crowd
I am so angry and frustrated that I want to throw my guitar into the audience to be rid of it.
It don't matter anyway
If my hands
are in the right place
Notes and chords
mean nothing to me
Even if I play the right notes and chords in the proper position, it doesn't matter to me because music isn't making me happy or changing anything in my life.
Just listen and you will see
If you listen to my music, you'll understand that I'm not finding meaning or satisfaction in playing it.
Stand on the stage
and you feel like an ass
Being on stage performing music makes me feel stupid and embarrassed.
You're just too cool,
and this won't pass
I am trying too hard to be cool and talented in my music, but it's not working and won't change.
I won't be sad
if you I play it real bad
I won't be upset or surprised if my performance is terrible and sounds bad.
This is aint most fun I ever had
Playing music isn't enjoyable or amusing to me, despite popular belief that it should be fun.
It don't matter, it don't,
it don't matter anyway
If my hands
are in the right place
because notes and chords
they don't mean shit to me
It doesn't matter at all if I'm playing the right notes and chords because music is meaningless to me and not providing any value to my life.
Just listen and you will see
If you really listen to my music, you'll know and understand that it is not fulfilling me in any way.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JEFFREY MCDONALD, STEVEN MCDONALD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind