Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story
Redd Kross
Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story is a 2024 documentary directed by Andrew Reich — an Emmy Award-winning writer best known for his work on Friends — that makes the case for Redd Kross as the seminal West Coast band of the past half century. Formed in 1978 by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, the band began as a scrappy hardcore punk outfit with an eleven-year-old bassist threading through the Los Angeles punk scene, only to evolve into masters of power pop, bubblegum hooks, and glam spectacle. The film argues that Redd Kross occupies a singular and underappreciated position in American rock history — the missing link between Black Flag and The Partridge Family, between The Runaways and The Go-Go's, between cult punk and mainstream grunge — having helped invent what might be called "Beach Punk" while quietly influencing the entire grunge and hair metal movements.
Running 89 minutes and distributed by Abramorama, the documentary draws on dozens of new interviews and extensive archival footage, featuring an impressive roster of talking heads that includes members of Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, the Melvins, L7, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam, among others. Reich was given unfettered access to home movies and archival material, and the result is a portrait of two brothers whose entire output was driven by an almost reckless love of music and pop culture — the sort of band that wore outrageous stage costumes, covered Charles Manson songs on their debut record, and somehow emerged as a beloved "secret handshake" touchstone for generations of indie and alternative music fans. It received a limited theatrical release on December 5, 2024, with a Blu-ray release following in April 2026.
Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story is a 2024 documentary directed by Andrew Reich — an Emmy Award-winning writer best known for his work on Friends — that makes the case for Redd Kross as the seminal West Coast band of the past half century. Formed in 1978 by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, the band began as a scrappy hardcore punk outfit with an eleven-year-old bassist threading through the Los Angeles punk scene, only to evolve into masters of power pop, bubblegum hooks, and glam spectacle. The film argues that Redd Kross occupies a singular and underappreciated position in American rock history — the missing link between Black Flag and The Partridge Family, between The Runaways and The Go-Go's, between cult punk and mainstream grunge — having helped invent what might be called "Beach Punk" while quietly influencing the entire grunge and hair metal movements.
Running 89 minutes and distributed by Abramorama, the documentary draws on dozens of new interviews and extensive archival footage, featuring an impressive roster of talking heads that includes members of Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, the Melvins, L7, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam, among others. Reich was given unfettered access to home movies and archival material, and the result is a portrait of two brothers whose entire output was driven by an almost reckless love of music and pop culture — the sort of band that wore outrageous stage costumes, covered Charles Manson songs on their debut record, and somehow emerged as a beloved "secret handshake" touchstone for generations of indie and alternative music fans. It received a limited theatrical release on December 5, 2024, with a Blu-ray release following in April 2026.
Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story
Redd Kross
Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story is a 2024 documentary directed by Andrew Reich — an Emmy Award-winning writer best known for his work on Friends — that makes the case for Redd Kross as the seminal West Coast band of the past half century. Formed in 1978 by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, the band began as a scrappy hardcore punk outfit with an eleven-year-old bassist threading through the Los Angeles punk scene, only to evolve into masters of power pop, bubblegum hooks, and glam spectacle. The film argues that Redd Kross occupies a singular and underappreciated position in American rock history — the missing link between Black Flag and The Partridge Family, between The Runaways and The Go-Go's, between cult punk and mainstream grunge — having helped invent what might be called "Beach Punk" while quietly influencing the entire grunge and hair metal movements.
Running 89 minutes and distributed by Abramorama, the documentary draws on dozens of new interviews and extensive archival footage, featuring an impressive roster of talking heads that includes members of Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, the Melvins, L7, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam, among others. Reich was given unfettered access to home movies and archival material, and the result is a portrait of two brothers whose entire output was driven by an almost reckless love of music and pop culture — the sort of band that wore outrageous stage costumes, covered Charles Manson songs on their debut record, and somehow emerged as a beloved "secret handshake" touchstone for generations of indie and alternative music fans. It received a limited theatrical release on December 5, 2024, with a Blu-ray release following in April 2026.
Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story is a 2024 documentary directed by Andrew Reich — an Emmy Award-winning writer best known for his work on Friends — that makes the case for Redd Kross as the seminal West Coast band of the past half century. Formed in 1978 by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, the band began as a scrappy hardcore punk outfit with an eleven-year-old bassist threading through the Los Angeles punk scene, only to evolve into masters of power pop, bubblegum hooks, and glam spectacle. The film argues that Redd Kross occupies a singular and underappreciated position in American rock history — the missing link between Black Flag and The Partridge Family, between The Runaways and The Go-Go's, between cult punk and mainstream grunge — having helped invent what might be called "Beach Punk" while quietly influencing the entire grunge and hair metal movements.
Running 89 minutes and distributed by Abramorama, the documentary draws on dozens of new interviews and extensive archival footage, featuring an impressive roster of talking heads that includes members of Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Black Flag, the Melvins, L7, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam, among others. Reich was given unfettered access to home movies and archival material, and the result is a portrait of two brothers whose entire output was driven by an almost reckless love of music and pop culture — the sort of band that wore outrageous stage costumes, covered Charles Manson songs on their debut record, and somehow emerged as a beloved "secret handshake" touchstone for generations of indie and alternative music fans. It received a limited theatrical release on December 5, 2024, with a Blu-ray release following in April 2026.