What fabulous venues are we playing when?
About
How Did We Get Here?
Here is the song list from one of our recent shows
Here is the song list from one of our recent shows
Karl and Chris met when they both joined the same band in 1994 (Gigi Spacheem, a rock band masterminded by drummer Mike Santa.) When Spacheem failed to make the history they thought it was destined for, the band went their separate ways. A few years later, Karl and Chris both found themselves “between bands” and decided to try to start s
Karl and Chris met when they both joined the same band in 1994 (Gigi Spacheem, a rock band masterminded by drummer Mike Santa.) When Spacheem failed to make the history they thought it was destined for, the band went their separate ways. A few years later, Karl and Chris both found themselves “between bands” and decided to try to start something again. After going through about 10 drummers with no success, it was decided that perhaps RED was meant to be a duo. (For and explanation of the name, see the article titled, “Hey, why are you guys called RED?)
So they picked some songs, (Fleetwood Mac’s Gold Dust Woman and Blind Faith’s Can’t Find My Way Home were the first two) and began to create a sound. The first gig was a New Year’s Eve party in a basement. They showed up with bubbling deluded enthusiasm, a HUGE PA system, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, a guitar synthesizer, electric mandolins, electric violins, a six-string bass and an ENORMOUS bass amp. Yes, it was the debut of an acoustic duo that took up more floor space and required more electricity than most full-size rock bands. The sound was impressive and unique, and the technology allowed them to pull off songs that most full bands couldn’t do without backing tracks.
All of the electronics and sound reinforcement were nice but proved to be a) gimmicky and b) backbreaking. It wasn’t long before Karl and Chris figured out that what sounded best and what audiences responded to the most were the stripped down, simple acoustic tunes. Before long, RED was playing all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Their first “big break” came in the summer of 1999, when they landed a regular gig at the Rieglesville Hotel in Rieglesville, PA. Playing the same place a minimum of once per month meant that they had to keep learning new songs and making the old ones more interesting to keep from boring the regulars.
In 2001, they recorded an album of original material called Oracle, which yielded the show-stopping favorite, Magic Ship.
Since then, they have played a variety of venues including Bodle’s Opera House in Chester, NY, and the Charter in Beaver Creek, CO. The duo was also the “house band” on Friday nights in the Grille at the Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie, PA for five years.
The song list has continued to expand all this time. At last count there were well over 100 songs that the group can choose from. The music is best described as "classic rock and 80's pop with a twist," but you have to see them to really understand what that means.
Here is the song list from one of our recent shows
Here is the song list from one of our recent shows
Here is the song list from one of our recent shows
1.
End of the Innocence
Summer Breeze
Aimee
Calling All Angels
Rocket Man
Stomp
Ants Marching
Can't You See/Bird in the House
Solsbury Hill
Boys of Summer
Owner of Lonely Heart
Hold Me Now
Thick as a Brick
Locomotive Breath
Silent Lucidity
White Room
2.
The Devil went Down to Georgia
Walk On the Ocean
Bourrée
Come Together
Lament
If I H
1.
End of the Innocence
Summer Breeze
Aimee
Calling All Angels
Rocket Man
Stomp
Ants Marching
Can't You See/Bird in the House
Solsbury Hill
Boys of Summer
Owner of Lonely Heart
Hold Me Now
Thick as a Brick
Locomotive Breath
Silent Lucidity
White Room
2.
The Devil went Down to Georgia
Walk On the Ocean
Bourrée
Come Together
Lament
If I Had a Rocket Launcher
In Your Eyes
Hymn 43
Message in a Bottle
Dancing in the Dark
In the Air Tonight
Comfortably Numb
Why RED?
Here is the song list from one of our recent shows
Why RED?
“Hey, why are you guys called RED?”
We get asked that all the time, and I wish there was a better answer. I have come up with a variety of possible reasons, and here they are:
Top 10 reasons for naming our acoustic group RED:
1. I’ve got a rash and Chris is embarrassed to be seen with me.
2. We’re Commies
3. All of the good names were taken
4
“Hey, why are you guys called RED?”
We get asked that all the time, and I wish there was a better answer. I have come up with a variety of possible reasons, and here they are:
Top 10 reasons for naming our acoustic group RED:
1. I’ve got a rash and Chris is embarrassed to be seen with me.
2. We’re Commies
3. All of the good names were taken
4. It’s a short word, so you can print it REALLY big on the posters. We try to be considerate of both the color-blind and the visually impaired.
5. We’re NOT a blues band. (This may be the actual real reason.)
6. We just love King Crimson.
7. Santa Claus is red.
8. Blood is red (which is good as long as it remains on the inside)
9. We are not Right-Hand Red, but Matt is a nice guy and gets lots of gigs, so maybe we can “accidentally” capitalize on that. I think we have a couple times.
10. It’s an acronym. (you can submit your guesses as to what it might be via email.)
FOR THE RECORD: We were called RED in 1997 and put out an album under that name in 2001, WAY before the band Redemption decided to lop off the "emption."