RED KATE

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Red Kate is a no bullshit, class conscious punk rock and roll band from Kansas City, MO. For more than a decade the band has expressed its DIY ethic through multiple LP and 7” releases and by touring across the Midwest, going so far as to create a not-for-profit record label cooperative, Black Site, to help other bands produce vinyl records. With authoritarian narcissists, white supremacy and plain ol’ hate and prejudice again on the rise worldwide, Red Kate’s hard, fast and angry polemics on our current state of affairs are, as the “only band that ever mattered” once put it, a public service announcement…with guitars!

While Red Kate’s lyrical themes may be serious, the band has always believed a message is best received while having a good time. Singer/bassist L. Ron Drunkard and drummer Andrew Whelan lay down solid, danceable grooves and catchy hooks, while guitarists Shaun Hamontree on rhythm and Mike Campbell on lead maintain that classic, fierce tube-driven tone that tips a cap to the beer-soaked barroom floors of 70s British Pub-Rock, Australian proto-punk and modern post-punk noise that has since taken root in Midwest dive bars and basements. Hard working both on and off the stage, the band’s locale has lent its perspective in sound, lyric, and ethic. Straight off the factory line, Red Kate hearkens back to a time when musicians played hard, stayed up late, and carried a union card.

©Kyle Wyatt, 2023

With the late 2023 release of the band’s third LP, Exit Strategy, Red Kate fires an unapologetic sonic blast of musical truth into the disinformation-soaked wall of incessant noise that deafens and numbs us daily. While it's natural to wonder how we got to this sorrowful state, Exit Strategy asks the more relevant question, "How do we get out?"

While the album takes musical departures into post-punk and proto-industrial territories only hinted at in previous albums, it does so without sacrificing the band's well-established Cleveland-via-Sydney style of Midwestern punk rock and roll. Addressing issues as varied as standing up for your rights (“Shut It Down”), American exceptionalism (“Home of the Slave”), anti-intellectualism (“Don’t Think Too Much”), provincial conservatism (“Escape Room”), and technological dehumanization (“Lost Connection”), Exit Strategy holds a mirror up to our self-absorbed, narcissistic society, a society so easily manipulated and exploited through tribalism and fear that it makes one doubt that progress is actually possible (“No Solution”). Even the album’s seeming power pop love song, “She’s in Love”, proves instead to be a warning about an intractable relationship. When slowly degrading gridlock is all the future has in store, is embracing the madness the only way to maintain sanity (“Mind Control”)?

Complementing the theme of the record is Shaun Hamontree’s dramatic album art, an adaptation of a Vietnam-era photograph of a soldier being lifted into (or falling from?) a helicopter – a grim silhouette that aptly captures the uncertainty and anxiety of our postmodern condition. Pressed on translucent smoke gray vinyl, Exit Strategy is an exemplary work of art for the coming end times. Read more »

Red Kate released its debut LP, When the Troubles Come, in 2013 on Replay Records in Lawrence, KS. A mix of ‘70s political punk and sardonic “love” songs, the red vinyl pressing with hand-printed and letter-pressed cover art designed by Kansas muralist Dave Loewenstein put the band on the map. While recording the album, original lead guitarist, Scot Sperry, left the band and Desmond Poirier stepped into the role. Fan favorites, “Pink Sweater”, “Sooner or Later” and “Union Voice” still frequently make it into the band’s set and are sure to get asses shakin’ on the dance floor.

When the Troubles Come was quickly followed up with a 7” split EP with fellow KC punks The Bad Ideas in 2014. The “wall of fuzz” single “On My Mind”, which would appear on the next album, was sidled up next to a cover of the Naked Raygun classic, “New Dreams”, featuring original guitarist, Scot Sperry, on slide guitar.

In 2016, Red Kate released the critically acclaimed sophomore LP, unamerican activities, the first on its nascent cooperative label, Black Site. The album (and label) name, plus the “redacted” artwork theme by as-yet-to-be guitarist Shaun Hamontree, reflects how daring to question the authority of the social, economic or political hegemony can be considered unpatriotic and disloyal to God and country (and even the corporation). Kicking off with the defiant “You Don’t Speak for Me”, songs from the album ranging from the Pub Rock stylings of “Better” and Nick Lowe’s “Heart of the City” to the old-school hardcore of “I Want You” and “Waited” formed the mainstay of the touring set for years. “You Ought to Know” (about the police killing of Michael Brown) and “Take It Back” (inspired by the story of Mouseland) became the go-to closers to bring the house down.

A 2017 split 7” with Lawrence, KS punks, Stiff Middle Fingers, saw the band push new speed and rhythmic boundaries with the hardcore “Urban Church” and post-punk “Hole”. Later that year, original rhythm guitarist Brad Huhmann departed for greener pastures (seriously, he has goats) and Shaun Hamontree was lured out of musical retirement to take his place.

Shortly thereafter, in 2018, Red Kate issued its last release until now, an old-school 45 rpm ripper, on Kansas City label Too Much Rock. The seventh in the Singles Series paired “Iraqi Girl”, a grinding statement on American foreign policy, with a cover of TSOL’s “American Zone” – a frank indictment of how we treat those sent off to impose that policy. It’s as relevant today as it was in 1984.

After surviving the pandemic and yet another lineup change (Chris Kinsley stepping in for Desmond Poirier on lead guitar), Red Kate returned to the studio in late 2021 to finalize what had now become a years-long project, a new album. Recorded at the band’s mainstay studio, Weights and Measure Soundlab, engineer Duane Trower pulled together tracks recorded over several years, multiple guitar players and two studio locations into the band’s best, most adventurous outing to date - Exit Strategy.

Barring any further collapse of society (or uprising of AI chat bots), the band can be found bringing their message to The People across the Great Plains, and with a little luck (and a hell of a lot of work) maybe even the European continent.


Releases Available from BLACK SITE

BS-21

Exit Strategy

Red Kate

AVAILABLE NOW

The third LP from Kansas City's no-bullshit, class-conscious punk rock and rollers is an unapologetic sonic blast of truth into the disinformation soaked wall of noise that deafens and numbs us constantly. While it's natural to ask "How did we get here?" Exit Strategy asks the more relevant question, "How do we get out?"

READ MORE »BUY NOW »

Home of the Slave

Red Kate

The second single off the upcoming LP Exit Strategy is a guitar-slashing, drum pounding punk rock indictment of American history that asks the question, "If there is no justice, what's the meaning of the truth?"

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Shut It Down

Red Kate

The first single off the upcoming album is a blistering, no holds barred call to action for the oppressed, marginalized and working class everywhere to use the only power we have. When push comes to shove – you gotta SHUT! IT! DOWN!

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BS-1

unamerican activities

Red Kate

Critically acclaimed sophomore LP from KC's hardest working, most unapologetic rock and roll band.
"...an outpouring of pent-up political frustration and good old-fashioned punk rock that combine together for catchy-yet-unrelenting rock that checks all the major boxes for an incredible album." - Mills Record Company
"...the noise we need to hear. The reactionary force to the bullshit of everyday life." - I Heart Local Music

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Reviews:

KCUR 98.3 FM
iheartlocalmusic.com
(more)

BS-2

Split 7"

Red Kate / Stiff Middle Fingers

Eight minutes of tight chaos packed onto 7 inches of virgin black vinyl from two of the Midwest's finest punk rock bands. If this record doesn't make you move, call an ambulance. You may be dead. This release marks Stiff Middle Fingers debut on vinyl.

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Reviews

razorcake
Maximum Rock'n'Roll
punknews.org
ArtCore #37 review
Modern Vinyl
Ox Fanzine #139 (Germany)


Other Available Releases

Iraqi Girl b/w American Zone

Red Kate

TMR-007 - Too Much Rock

Latest release in the Too Much Rock Single Series. This old-school, 45 rpm ripper contains one original track and one cover selected by the label. Side A, Iraqi Girl, is a grinding statement on American foreign policy, while side B follows suit with a cover of the TSOL song, American Zone.

Reviews:
Big Takeover #84
Modern Vinyl
I Heart Local Music

Split 7"

Red Kate / The Bad Ideas

MRC-1 - Mills Record Company

Fast paced, wild as hell rock and roll with snarling vocals and squealing guitars. Straight up, no bullshit punk rock the way it’s supposed to be – fast, loud and gritty. This release marks The Bad Ideas debut on vinyl. SOLD OUT!

Reviews:
Deli Magazine
I Heart Local Music
The Pitch
ArtCore Fanzine #36
Maximum Rock'n'Roll
Razorcake

When The Troubles Come

Red Kate

RR 008 - Replay Records

Limited edition debut album on red vinyl with hand printed covers and artwork by Dave Loewenstein.

"…socially conscious and politically driven...a swingin’ rocker that will have you moving quick. This record is tough as nails in more ways than one…clever and sarcastic… A commentary on the unfair and unjust, but it’s not a whine or a sob. This is a scream.” – I Heart Local Music

Reviews:
Issue 29 of Stencil Mag
I Heart Local Music
Deli Magazine
Maximum Rock'n'Roll
Razorcake