L to R: Mikal Cronin, Charles Moonhart, Ty Segall – Performing 2009’s Reverse Shark Attack LP
Photos by Sergio Estrada
In The Red Records’ 25th Anniversary was celebrated over three days – July 14th to 16th, 2016 – at The Echo and Echoplex.
In our preview for the big event, we covered a bit of the label history and some of our own personal favorites – including King Khan & The BBQ Show, Jay Retard, The Strange Boys, and CCR Headcleaner. And since then ITR has not shown any signs of slowing down; over the past year releasing goodies from Meatbodies, Chain & The Gang, CFM, Ex Cult, Mark Sultan, Boss Hog, and more.
Cool-Tite Sergio was mad hustlin’ the whole three nights trying to capture every dope moment, and the end result was a mountain of snaps needing to be sorted out. Life happens, and before we knew it, it has been a whole year since the Anniversary! So here we go, throwin’ it back #TBT
DAY 1
Spirits were super high for Day 1. There was a vibe in the air that felt like the beginning of some kind of Alumni Weekend for the College of Garage Punks.
The headbanging was very serious as we kicked off the evening with the scuzzy sounds of Charles Moonhart’s CFM. The legendary Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds turned The Echo into a psychedelic jungle, while Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin looked back to recreate their 2009 collab record, Reverse Shark Attack (which In The Red re-pressed in 2013). OG garage rockers The Gories, whose 1991 single – Here Be The Gories – was the 3rd ever release by In The Red, closed out the night with their Motor City brand of stripped-down blues rock.
DAY 2
We kicked Day 2 off with The Red Aunts. The Long Beach punk band – active from about ’91 to ’98 – were mostly an Epitaph band during their time, but in 2014 released a killer double LP compilation on In The Red. (Noticeably, the four of them also happened to make up about half of the women who played over the three days). Although they hadn’t played together in quite some time, and they admitted as much on stage, their punk spirit shined on through! Meatbodies ripped and shred per usual. The mighty Boss Hog returned to form (not calling it a comeback!) after some years of laying low. Super loved finally seeing Jon Spencer and Christina Martinez, husband and wife, rockin’ together on stage! I was least familiar with The Hunches, but their spastic, creepy cacophony sucked me in.
Day 2 also served as the debut live performance by GØGGS – the ultimate explosion of Chris Shaw (Ex-Cult), Ty Segall, and Charles Moonhart – which seriously blew the top off the place! And just like Day 1, Day 2 ended with some OG garage rockers – The Oblivians – rounding things out with their brand of Memphis-style blues punk.
DAY 3
Day 3 was all bonus points, as its lighter, exclusive (only for 3-day ticket holders) lineup featured a second performance by GØGGS, as well as Wand.