Rising Southern California punks The Side Eyes and longtime power-poppers Redd Kross have announced a split 7-inch out this Friday, 7/29, via In The Red Records.
Aptly titled ‘Songs that Chargo Taught Us’, both Redd Kross and The Side Eyes cover early punk songs written by Charlotte “Chargo” Caffey of The Go-Go’s. Listen to The Side Eyes’ cover of Caffey’s pre-Go-Go’s band The Eyes via Soundcloud below.
On one side, you’ve got the rising young contenders The Side Eyes belting out their amped-up version of Don’t Talk to Me, a sordid classic by The Eyes, the prescient late-70s Hollywood punk trio that featured singer-bassist Charlotte Caffey (who went on to join the Go-Gos), drummer D.J. Bonebrake (X, the Knitters) and singer-guitarist Joe Ramirez (Black Randy & the Metro Squad).
On the flip side, you’ve got the longtime champions of power-pop supremacy and glam-punk anarchy, Redd Kross, also paying homage to Chargo, a.k.a. Charlotte Caffey, with their unexpected transmogrification of Screaming, an early obscurity by the Go-Gos.
Order ‘Songs That Chargo Taught Us’ via In The Red.
Taking on the proto-riot-grrrl anthem Don’t Talk To Me, the 21-year-old Side Eyes singer Astrid McDonald daughter of Charlotte Caffey and Redd Kross’ Jeff McDonald has a preternatural presence and belts out her vocals with charismatic assurance and melodic ferocity. Astrid’s headbanging bandmates rampaging guitarist Kevin Devine and ominously rumbling bassist Chris Devine give Don’t Talk to Me a thundering hard-rock makeover, thrashing out the riffs in convulsive waves of volume and power as drummer Nick Arnold maintains the original’s throttling punk pace.
People sometimes forget that the Go-Gos were a legitimate fast-&-furious punk band before they evolved into a more pop-minded outfit on their major-label albums. Redd Kross emphasizes just how fierce the early Go-Gos were with a savage new update of Screaming, which was co-written by Caffey with fellow Go-Gos guitarist Jane Wiedlin.
Redd Kross guitarists Jeff McDonald and Jason Shapiro (Celebrity Skin) juice up the songs wicked sidewinding riff with metallic crunch, and Jeff and his brother-bassist Steve McDonald bring out the hook that was buried in the Go-Gos 1979 live version (as documented on the 1994 compilation ‘Return to the Valley of the Go-Gos’) by emphasizing the melody with close sibling harmonies.
The Side Eyes upcoming shows
8/06 Palm Springs, CA – Ace Hotel (Burger Oasis)
8/18-21 Los Angeles, CA Echo Park Rising
8/25 Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
9/03 Los Angeles, CA The Echo
(Redd Kross / The Side Eyes split 7″ artwork)
Track list
The Side Eyes – “Don’t Talk To Me” (The Eyes cover)
Redd Kross – “Screaming” (The Go-Go’s cover)
