Member Since: 9/9/2007
Band Website: TheRedsMusic.com
Band Members: RICK SHAFFER guitar, vocals, percussion, and BRUCE COHEN keyboards, bass, percussion.
"WILD" from the album "Fugitives From The Laughing House"
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"CRY TOMORROW" from the album "Cry Tomorrow"
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Influences: The Doors, Iggy & The Stooges, The Rolling Stones, Sid Barret / Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, Velvet Underground, Nico, John Cale, Brian Eno,Roxy Music, Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, Jon Lord, Traffic, Free, Lou Reed, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Jimmy Miller, Otis Spann, Slim Harpo, Mtume, Airto Moreira, R.L. Burnside, Dave Holland, Paul Kossoff, Jah Wobble, Parliament, King Tubby, The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck, Bryan Ferry , Bob Dylan, Massive Attack, John Lennon, Sun Ra, Larry Young, Elmore James, Joe Zawinul, Eddie Boyd, Bob Marley, Johnny Thunders, Big George Brock, Sly & Robbie, The Band, Procol Harum, J.J. Cale, Bo Diddley, Ry Cooder, Dexter Gordon, Marvin Gaye,Sir Douglas Quintet, Peter Green, J.B. Lenoir, James Brown, Bill Laswel, Howlin' Wolf, The Byrds, Isley Brothers, The Move, Klaus Wiese, Van Morrison, James Williamson, Otis Taylor, Family,Moby Grape, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Grant Green, Spooky Tooth, Jimmy Page, Chet Baker, Roosevelt Sykes, Teo Macero, Jon Hassell, Linton Kwesi Johnson, David Bowie.
Sounds Like: Here’s what The Reds sound like to a few of the most respected writers in the music industry DAVID FRICKE says. . . . .The Reds inhabit an inviting, ice blue quadrant of the postpunk cosmos on "Cry Tomorrow" (Tarock), somewhere near the terse rhythmic tug of Wire, New Order’s frosty electro-glaze, and the art-garage menace of the early Psychedelic Furs. Especially beguiling is "Waiting For You," a brooding beauty cut from the same hair-shirt cloth as The Idiot by Iggy Pop. What probably flusters A&R departments is that the Reds stand proud and un-compromising at a noisy disorienting intersection of big arena heavy metal and faster-louder hard-core punk. Like a tightly wired Raw Power Stooges, with Rick Shaffer substituting pointed anger and shattered-mirror screams for overblown Iggy excess, they combine fat power chords and dentist drill riffs - real AC/DC stuff - with brute breathless beat attacks, while Bruce Cohen deftly triggers sound-effects punctuation and paints dark keyboard brushstrokes with the wily atmospheric approach of Roxy-era Eno. And in Shaffer, The Reds have a writer who knows how to color his white noise with melody and rhythmic tone. The Reds are not America’s only underground warriors in distress. But for my money, they are among the best. The Reds deserve your green; you need the experience. A fair trade, I’d say. JON YOUNG says. . . . .Some groups play at being moody romantics, others pretend to be psychedelic; the Reds play for keeps. "Stronger Silence" (Tarock) is tough, modern rock, relentlessly fierce and amazingly free of the self-consciousness that cripples for many of the smart newcomers. "Play The Game" and "No More" capture extreme emotional agitation perfectly, yet retain an articulate edge. Get ready to be
overwhelmed. KURT LODER says. . . . .On their debut album ("The Reds," A&M), the Reds proved themselves capable of kicking up as much of an urban art-rock ruckus as any band this side of Pere Ubu. What makes their jittery, raw-edged electronic sound so engaging is the clarity of their instrumental constructions and the solid simplicity of their songwriting. Rick Shaffer’s lead vocals contain echoes of Mick Jagger, as well as Patti Smith and Tom Verlaine. Whiffs of vintage psychedelia drift by too, and there’s an almost Deep Purple-ish sense of raving riffery in the scorching "Watcha’ Doin’ To Me." Shaffer’s guitar and Bruce Cohen’s inventively nasty keyboards meld into a single brutal drone in most cuts. Though spending an hour with The Reds may be the aural equivalent of assault and battery, you’re likely to totter away from the scene of the crime humming their tunes. ROBERT PALMER says. . . . .The Reds ("The Reds," A&M) are to these ears the best of the batch. They’ve also had a lot of trouble getting radio play. It’s true that their rhythm tracks sound like exquisitely recorded white noise and that lead vocalist Rick Shaffer is a screamer, but those are strong melody lines he’s screaming, and the group’s playing has an urgency and power that none of these other bands approaches. Unconditionally recommended. J.D. CONSIDINE says. . . . .The Reds ("Fatal Slide," Stony Plain) use electronics the way great pop singers use strings - to define a mood, not to make up for lack of interest elsewhere. Which is probably why the Reds’ music sounds so much more human than that of other circuit-bored bands, not to mention infinitely more rock ’n roll. Of course, good songs help too, and the Reds are inventive tune-smiths, although not quite as consistent as I’d like. But since the playing is generally exciting enough to take up the slack, I rarely mind. And, CHUCK EDDY listed The Reds at number 279 in his book "Stairway To Hell - The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums In The Universe."__________________________________________________
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Record Label: Tarock Music
Type of Label: Indie