■ The following BIOGRAPHY and DISCOGRAPHY is about THE REDS® from Philade… Read Full Bio ↴■ The following BIOGRAPHY and DISCOGRAPHY is about THE REDS® from Philadelphia, PA, USA a/k/a RICK SHAFFER and BRUCE COHEN.

∎ The Philadelphia band's first album on A&M, self entitled THE REDS, produced by David Kershenbaum, showed the band's impressive sound — a blend of Rick Shaffer's guitar and Bruce Cohen's keyboards into an interestingly textured drone, short guitar and keyboard figures, rising then disappearing back into the drone, while Shaffer's voice provides the punch and definition for their overall sound. The album was supported with live appearances with The Police, Joe Jackson, Blondie, The Ramones, The Psychedelic Furs, and Public Image. An EP, GREEN WITH ENVY, followed featuring The Doors song, "Break On Through," which suggests some of the band's roots. (Universal Music digitally re-released The Reds, and Green With Envy, August 2012.) In 1980 A&M released a compilation album, Propaganda, that included tracks from The Reds, The Police, Joe Jackson, The Granati Bros, Bobby Henry, Shrink, David Kubinec, and Squeeze.

∎ After leaving A&M, The Reds® went forward with two indie albums, STRONGER SILENCE and FATAL SLIDE (Stony Plain/RCA), that continued The Reds® sound, receiving critical acclaim internationally. They next recorded a tense and powerful album for Sire/WB entitled, SHAKE APPEAL, produced by Mike Thorne (Blur, Soft Cell, Wire). This forcible record led the band to work with director/producer, Michael Mann. Mann incorporated numerous songs by The Reds® into episodes of Miami Vice, then hired Shaffer and Cohen to write songs and score for two motion pictures, Band Of The Hand (Tri-Star) and Manhunter (De Laurentiis), based on the novel "Red Dragon." Soundtrack albums from both films were released on MCA, a Manhunter CD, with an added Reds® track, “Jogger’s Stakeout”, was released by Intrada Records (2010), and Universal Music digitally released both albums (2012).

∎ During this time, solo projects for Cohen were writing score for the productions, "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" and "Down The Road" at Philadelphia's Walnut Theatre; "The Speckled Band," starring Quentin Crisp, and Charles Busch' play, "Vampire Lesbians Of Sodom" for NYC's Pulse Theatre Company; and a forty minute electronic film noir piece, "Goodbye Johnny Staccato." While solo projects for Shaffer included recording guitar tracks on a Marianne Faithfull album (Island); Hilly Kristal's, "Mad Mordechai" (Stereo Society); Peter Murphy's, "Holy Smoke" (Beggars Banquet/BMG); and Marc Almond's, "Fantastic Star" (Some Bizarre/Mercury). While Shaffer wrote and recorded, "Looking For Right," for director Michael Mann"s film, "Collateral."

∎ The Reds® next album, CRY TOMORROW reunited them with British producer Mike Thorne. It captures the driving intensity of earlier albums and the ambient, atmospheric feel from their film scores, resulting in a stark, surreal album, with a sense of mood and mystery. The pulsing opening track, "Terror In My Heart," was featured in the film, "Nightmare On Elm Street 2" (New Line), directed by Jack Sholder, along with a searing non-stop groove of the Stones' "Gimme Shelter."

∎ In 2007, FUGITIVES FROM THE LAUGHING HOUSE was written and produced by The Reds®. The album is a straight forward raw nerve reflection of life in America. The Reds® February 2009 release, EARLY NOTHING, was also written and produced by Shaffer and Cohen. The album has a hypnotic quality, that leaves the listener free to let their subconscious play itself out, no matter where it goes. With the release of Early Nothing, The Reds®, shamans of dark, brooding, loud rock continued to explore and define their sound.

∎ At this point in time, both Shaffer and Cohen began releasing solo albums. Bruce released ONE BC in 2009, and Rick released NECESSARY ILLUSION in 2010. Although they have been recording separately, a new album by The Reds is still a possibility as soon as Shaffer and Cohen can be in the same location at the same time. See their entire discography below.

■ PLEASE NOTE: The Reds® is a Registered Trademark, with the first use date of March 17, 1977.

THE REDS® OFFICIAL WEBSITE is TarockMusic.com

DISCOGRAPHY
∎ RICK SHAFFER
2017 • STOLEN MOMENTS (Tarock Music #TM-CD15)
2016 • OUTSIDE OF TIME (Tarock Music #TM-CD13)
2015 • JITTERBUG SHAKE (Tarock Music #TM-CD11)
2014 • HARD TIMES SIXTY — Single (Tarock Music)
2014 • LINK — Single (Tarock Music)
2014 • MISADVENTURE (Tarock Music #TM-CD10)
2013 • STACKED DECK (Tarock Music #TM-CD9)
2012 • IDIOT FLATS (Tarock Music #TM-CD8)
2011 • HIDDEN CHARMS (Tarock Music #TM-CD6)
2010 • NECESSARY ILLUSION (Tarock Music #TM-CD5)
1971 • JUST THE BEGINNING — RICK SHAFFER & FREIGHT TRAIN (Fly By Night #LPFBN1001

∎ BRUCE COHEN
2017 • FOUR BC (Tarock Music #TM-CD14)
2015 • THREE BC — IN A TRANCE (Tarock Music #TM-CD12)
2014 • BIG FUN 3 — FADEOUT Bruce Cohen, Peter ”Babe” Lucas, Tony Foster (RopeADope #N/A)
2013 • BIG FUN 3.2 — Bruce Cohen, Peter ”Babe” Lucas, Tony Foster (RopeADope #N/A)
2011 • TWO BC (Tarock Music #TM-CD7)
2010 • BIG FUN 3 — Bruce Cohen, Rik Myers, Brandon Cruz (RopeADope #N/A)
2009 • ONE BC (Tarock Music #TM-CD4)

∎ THE REDS®
2009 • EARLY NOTHING (Tarock Music #TM-CD3)
2007 • FUGITIVES FROM THE LAUGHING HOUSE (Tarock Music #TM-CD2)
2001 • CRY TOMORROW (Stereo Society #SS004)
1992 • CRY TOMORROW (Tarock Music #TM-CD1)
1986 • MANHUNTER — FILM SOUNDTRACK (MCA #6182)
1986 • BAND OF THE HAND — FILM SOUNDTRACK (MCA #6167)
1986 • WAITING FOR YOU — SINGLE (Music Action - France #N/A)
1985 • SHAKE APPEAL (Music Action - France #MAP9009)
1984 • SHAKE APPEAL (Sire/Warner Bros #21-04261)
1983 • FATAL SLIDE (Helter Skelter - Italy #HS93CD26)
1982 • FATAL SLIDE (Stony Plain - Canada #SPL10481981)
1981 • STRONGER SILENCE (Helter Skelter - Italy #HS93CD26)
1981 • STRONGER SILENCE (Stony Plain - Canada #SPL1037)
1981 • STRONGER SILENCE (Kingdom - UK #KVL90051981)
1981 • THE DANGER / DO YOU PLAY THE GAME — SINGLE (Kingdom - UK #KV8019)
1981 • STRONGER SILENCE — EP (Ambition #AM1981)
1980 • PROPAGANDA (A&M #SP4786)
1979 • GREEN WITH ENVY — EP (A&M #SP3301)
1979 • WHATCHA′ DOIN' TO ME — SINGLE (A&M #N/A)
1979 • WHATCHA′ DOIN' TO ME — GREEN VINYL (A&M - UK #N/A)
1979 • JOEY / VICTIMS — SINGLE (A&M #SP3178)
1979 • THE REDS — GREEN VINYL (A&M #SP4772)
1979 • SELF REDUCTION / VICTIMS — SINGLE (EKE #N/A)
1977 • JOEY / AUTOMATIC BOY — SINGLE (Go Go #00011971)

Laughing
The Reds Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Give me the resource
Give me the feeling
Of the first time that I was caught stealing
Don't drown me out with your stereo

I watched the reruns
I was daydreaming
Of days lost to nothing intriguing

Don't drown me out with your stereo

And I was the only one laughing
My words were slow

You begged my pardon
"How does your garden grow?"

Overall Meaning

The Reds' song Laughing is a melancholic tune that speaks about the feeling of being lost and disconnected in a world that is constantly overwhelming. The song starts with a plea for something that will ignite the singer's senses - "Give me the resource, Give me the feeling." In the next line, the singer expresses a nostalgic memory of the first time they felt alive - "Of the first time that I was caught stealing." However, the singer is cautious not to be drowned out by the noise of everyday life, asking the world to "Don't drown me out with your stereo."

In the second verse, the singer is lost in thought while watching reruns, reminiscing about the times they had when everything was exciting - "I was daydreaming, Of days lost to nothing intriguing." The plea to not be drowned out by the world's noise continues, "Don't drown me out with your stereo." The chorus then repeats, and the only difference is that it ends with a question instead of a statement - "How does your garden grow?"

The final verse speaks about the feeling of disconnection – "And I was the only one laughing, My words were slow, You begged my pardon." The singer's laughter is out of place, and nobody else seems to understand their humor. However, someone asks the singer a question, which brings them back to reality - "How does your garden grow?" The lyrics are vague and leave room for interpretation, but they capture the feeling of detachment and longing for something that isn't there.

Line by Line Meaning

Give me the resource
Provide me with what I need

Give me the feeling
Grant me an emotion or experience

Of the first time that I was caught stealing
Remind me of the thrill of unlawfully taking what was not mine

Don't drown me out with your stereo
Please do not overpower or overshadow my thoughts or words with loud music

I watched the reruns
I rewatched old events or memories

I was daydreaming
I was deep in thought or fantasy

Of days lost to nothing intriguing
Of uneventful or unexceptional days that lacked inspiration

Don't drown me out with your stereo
Please do not interrupt my reverie with overpowering sounds

And I was the only one laughing
I was the sole person filled with amusement

My words were slow
I spoke or expressed myself in a leisurely or sluggish manner

You begged my pardon
You apologetically asked for forgiveness for something you did or said