Redd Kross: The Brothers McDonald Give Rave-Up The Scoop On "The Spirit Of '76"!

Originally published in Rave-Up #17 (1989)

Interview by Devorah Ostrov & Michelle Castro

Steve and Jeff McDonald star in The Spirit of '76
Watch the video for the song "1976" here: https://www.youtube.com/1976

Jeff and Steve McDonald of Redd Kross recently called the San Francisco Bay Area home while they were filming The Spirit of '76. This soon-to-be cult classic also stars '70s teen faves David Cassidy and Leif Garrett, with appearances by Moon Zappa and Olivia d'Abo.

Between takes, the brothers found time to pursue their other interests, including production for Frightwig's new album and performing with their sideband, the Tater Totz.

Cover photo for Rave-Up #17 - Vicki Berndt took

this pic of Jeff McDonald hanging out a window 
during a trip to Cairo, Egypt, in 1990.

We caught up with Jeff and Steve while they enjoyed a rare moment of relaxation in their stylin' bachelor pad overlooking the Alameda Marina.

Rave-Up: So, give us the scoop on The Spirit of '76!

Steve: Well, it starts off sometime in the future. The world has become apocalyptic; nothing really exists anymore. David Cassidy plays the leader of a team of scientific explorers. They travel back in time, to America in 1776, to retrieve the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence so that the land can have guidelines to rebuild itself. But somehow, David botches things up, and they end up in 1976.

Jeff: But they don't realize it. So, it's all about how the future will be corrupted by 1970s fashion and music.

Rave-Up: What roles do you guys play?

Jeff: We play two teenagers.

Steve: Goofy, stoner-type teenagers who discover the time-travelers when they land in a local park.

Jeff: It has a Planet of the Apes-type flair to it. The people of the '70s are like the apes, and David Cassidy is like Charlton Heston.

Steve: Yeah, me and Jeff are like Cornelius and Zera.

The McDonald brothers enjoy reading their fave fanzine!
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Jeff: We are very Cornelius and Zera, 'cause we're basically their guides.

Rave-Up: What about our other fave-rave teen idol, Leif Garrett?

Jeff: Leif plays a sort of Erik Estrada-type [character] — the hip surfer, teen disco star. Very white-bread.

The Spirit of '76 - "A close-up look at 

the most embarrassing decade in history."

Steve: Leif's a cool guy, but he was really comfortable doing those disco sequences.

Jeff: Maybe a bit too comfortable.

Steve: So, it was good casting. You're not seeing acting; you're seeing the real thing.

Rave-Up: What was it like meeting David and Leif?

Steve: It was pretty overwhelming!

Jeff: We've always loved The Partridge Family, so it was weird working with David at first.

Steve: I was thinking, "God, I'm gonna be acting with this man! He's gonna be total Keith Partridge and just blow my mind!"

Jeff: As for Leif, he pretty much epitomized everything that we hated about the '70s! We like him now, but when we didn't know him it was like, "Yuck!"

Steve: When I was a kid, any girl I liked had a couple of Leif Garrett pin-ups in her room. So, he was pretty much resented.

Rave-Up: Whose idea was this film?

Jeff and Steve relax in their stylin' bachelor pad.
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Steve: It was Roman Coppola's idea. Not to sound pompous, but Roman actually thought of it while he was at a Redd Kross gig.
   We were dressed up in the '70s mode and were real energetic. While we were playing, he had this brainstorm. I guess we were "naturals" to be cast.

Rave-Up: Do you guys wear your own stuff in the movie?

Steve: No, teenagers in 1976 wouldn't have worn clothes like this. The whole movie is an overblown version of extravagant '70s fashions.

Jeff: Since '76 is in the middle of the decade, they took liberties with the fashions. We're dealing with a teenage audience who aren't really gonna remember this stuff, so there's no need for complete accuracy.

Robert Hecker, Steve McDonald & Jeff McDonald - interpreted

as Big Eye children for Third Eye (Atlantic Records 1990).

Original paintings by Vicki Berndt

Rave-Up: Yeah, a lot of those '70s clothes were pretty boring. Of course, the cast would be dressed in good, "freaky" clothes.

Steve: Yeah, most of the real-life '70s clothes would be too ugly to photograph for a movie. They wanted wild stuff, so the movie would be lots of fun to look at!

Jeff and Steve model the
latest styles in matching pajamas!
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

Rave-Up: Is it all disco music in the movie?

Steve: It's not quite full-on disco. The movie takes place two years prior to the Saturday Night Fever disco craze, so there's "The Hustle," "Boogie Fever," "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers...

Jeff: You know, I always hated that music when it was actually going down. But now we're so far removed from it...

Steve: ...that we can appreciate it.

Jeff: It's no longer being forced on us.

Rave-Up: While you were here filming, we heard you were also producing a record for [San Francisco band] Frightwig.

Steve: Yeah! We've been producing Frightwig's album Phone Sexy, and it's really good!

Jeff: It's so great! We're very excited about it! Working with Frightwig was lots of fun because they don't get stressed out about trying to make everything sound perfect. They just go for it.

Steve: While we were filming this movie, we had become very removed from any musical involvement, which was a real drag.

Jeff McDonald and Patricia Arquette

feature in this magazine fashion-spread. 

Rave-Up: You guys have so many different projects. What about Redd Kross?

Steve: Oh, we're breaking up.

Jeff: Don't say that! What if people believe you?

Steve: No, we're really happy! We're gonna be working on some new songs before going on an East Coast tour.

Jeff: When we get back, we'll be doing a record.

Steve: We don't know what label it'll be on, but we're definitely gonna do a record. It's not like nobody wants us.

Rave-Up: How long has it been since Neurotica?

Jeff: Two years!

Steve: Too long!

Jeff: It's a drag. We've had some personnel changes...

Steve: But we're back, stronger than ever!

Steve and Jeff McDonald

Rave-Up: What about the Tater Totz? Are they going to do another album, or was that just a one-off thing?

Jeff: The Tater Totz isn't really so much our thing. It's mainly Bill Bartel's [a.k.a. Pat Fear] brainchild.

Redd Kross, Christmas, and Frightwig

at the Fillmore, SF — May 6, 1989

Steve: We're just accessory Totz! There will be another album. It's "in the can" as they say. And we'll be happy to participate with it.

Rave-Up: So, getting back to The Spirit of '76... Are you guys worried that when this movie is released, the '70s will become the "big thing" and it'll be trendy?

Steve: Like it already is? No... I think, if anything, the '70s revival is a breath of fresh air compared to Paula Abdul or Jody Watley.

Jeff: Paula Ab-dull or Jody Twatley! I'm not worried. We're not locked into one thing. It's not like we made a conscious decision to dress '70s. We like that stuff because we grew up in that decade.

Rave-Up: People who don't know you might think you're just jumping on the '70s bandwagon.

Jeff: Well, that's their big smelly problem!

* I also interviewed Steven and Jeff about the Show World LP. Here's a link to that article: devorahostrov.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-heavy-metal-thunder-of-redd-kross.html