Green on Red
Green on Red was an American rock band that from the punk scene of Tucson emerged, but most of their existence in Los Angeles was home to where it loose with the Paisley Underground was connected. Their early recordings have the overflowing psychedelic sound of early desert rock with occasional pop tones, which were softened by the unsophisticated voice of singer Dan Stuart. On later recordings, they sometimes sounded like a somewhat "broken" American version of the Rolling Stones . From today's perspective, Green on Red are considered a classic of the alternative country of the 1980s and one of the most underrated US bands.
Band history
The band was founded in 1979 as The Serfers , consisting of Dan Stuart (vocals, guitar), Jack Waterson (bass), Van Christian (drums, later with Naked Prey) and Sean Nagore (keyboards), who was soon replaced by Chris Cacavas . In the summer of 1980, The Serfers moved to Los Angeles and changed their name (after one of their songs) to Green on Red, as Stuart explained in an interview in 2006 on the occasion of an appearance at WDR - Rockpalast , “not as a band of the local surfing Punk scene to be viewed ”. Van Christian returned to Tucson, formed the group Naked Prey and was replaced by Alex MacNicol, who had previously worked with Lydia Lunch .
The band released a red vinyl EP on their own , which is also called "Two Bibles". The first record, which found wider distribution, was an EP released in 1982, which the band leader of Dream Syndicate , Steve Wynn , brought out on his own label Down There Records . Green on Red followed Dream Syndicate to Slash Records, where their album "Gravity Talks" was released in the fall of 1983. The San Francisco- born guitarist Chuck Prophet worked with Green on Red from the album "Gas Food Lodging" (1985, Enigma), while drummer Alex MacNicol was replaced by Keith Mitchell (later with Opal and Mazzy Star ). In the same year Dan Stuart and Steve Wynn released the album "The Lost Weekend" (A&M) as "Danny and Dusty".
Green On Red then signed a contract with the major label Phonogram / Mercury Records , where the EP "No Free Lunch" and the album "The Killer Inside Me" were released, produced by Jim Dickinson and recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis . The band then broke up and Chris Cacavas began a solo career.
When the record "Here Comes the Snake" was released in 1989, Green on Red consisted only of Dan Stuart and Chuck Prophet , reinforced by guest musicians. They toured Europe before the album was released on the independent label Rough Trade. Three more albums followed before Stuart and Prophet ended their collaboration after the album "Too Much Fun". Stuart turned his back on the music business while Chuck Prophet embarked on a career as a solo artist and semi-prominent accompanist.
In September 2005, the band reformed their "golden years" line-up - Stuart, Cacavas, Prophet and Waterson, with Jim Bogios replacing the late MacNicol - and performed during the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the Hotel Congress in Tucson where a live CD was also recorded. This was followed by an appearance on January 10, 2006 in London , ostensibly to complete their interrupted 1987 European tour. Further appearances followed, including a concert on September 7, 2006 in Bonn's “Harmonie”, which was recorded for television as part of the WDR Rockpalast .
The "Danny & Dusty" project was also continued. Dan Stuart and Steve Wynn, this time accompanied by Johnny Hott (dr), Bob Rupe (bg / g / voc), again with Stephen Mc Carthy (g / Pedal Steel, Banjo, Wurlitzer), who was already there for the first edition, and JD Foster (g / bg / p / perc / voc), released “Cast Iron Soul” on Blue Rose Records. This was followed by a live double CD and DVD entitled “Here's to you, Max Morlock. Live in Nuremberg ”.
Discography
- Two Bibles (EP, Green on Red)
- Green on Red (EP, Down There, 1982)
- Gravity Talks (Slash, 1983)
- Gas Food Lodging (Enigma, 1985)
- No Free Lunch (EP, Mercury, 1985)
- The Killer Inside Me (Mercury, 1987)
- Here Come the Snakes (Rough Trade / China Records UK, Mercury US, 1989)
- This Time Around (Mercury, 1989)
- Scapegoats (China, 1991)
- Too Much Fun (Off Beat, 1992)
- Best of (China, 1994)
- Valley Fever-Live at the Rialto Tucson , AZ (Live CD and DVD), Blue Rose , 2006