Red Invasion is a 70's style punk rock band with other noticeable influences like garage, straight up rocknroll, powerpop, and glitter. They're most oftenly compared to The Dead Boys, The New York Dolls, D Generation, The Stooges, and The Heartbreakers in their look and sound. The music is an honest celebration of the individual and getting through the days, both good and bad. A band fueled by a mostly dark, cynical, and alienated view of the world, but somehow trying to have fun with it.
In October 2005,
Pelado Records based out of California released their debut full length, "I'm Not Too Young To Die." Their debut sold all over the U.S. and even parts of Europe, along with many positive reviews. After which, they've gotten radio play on Boston radio 88.9 WERS(performing a live set on this station as well on 3/9/07), 88.1 WMBR, as well as almost regular airplay on 101.7 WFNX on New England Product(summer '05). The band has graced the cover of Boston's stalwart rock magazine, The Noise in December '05/January '06. They've also been featured and interviewed in the second issue of one of the best punk magazines today, Loud Fast Rules Magazine, as well as appearing on the free sampler CD(20,000 pressed total) along with bands like The 101'ers, Madball, The Street Dogs, and many more.
Over the years the band has shared the stage with a diverse list of bands including The New York Dolls, The Explosion, The Casualties, The Jabbers, Buckcherry, Angry Samoans, Blanks 77, The Misfits(w/ Marky Ramone), The Adicts, Total Chaos, The Freeze, The Duck Boys, Stalkers, The Lyres, TV Smith(The Adverts), Tyla(Dogs D'Amour), The Nice Boys, Classic Ruins, Roger Miret and The Disasters, Richard Bacchus and The Luckiest Girls, The Chesterfield Kings, and many more.
The band's second album "Ugly To Know So" will be out in the coming months on Pelado Records.
The CD can be purchased at amazon.com, bn.com, cdnow.com, bestbuy.com, interpunk.com, towerecords.com, punkrockmailorder.com, and can be found in many Newbury Comics, Tower Records, and indie store locations.
ALBUM REVIEWS
Jack Rabid of The Big Take-Over:
"...reminiscent of The Dead Boys-with maybe Johnny Thunders on loan as the patron saint of guitar leads. ...Singer Joey Boy sounds like he may well have escaped from the mental ward (dig that!) or just stepped on hot coals. ...And doesn't "I Got No Time" (not the 1976 Saints song, though that's another band Red Invasion sounds a little like) borrow Thunders' Heartbreakers' "Born To Lose" mixed with The Ramones' cover of "California Sun?" Chuck Berry, call your great-grandchildren!"
Al Quint of Suburban Voice:
"Red Invasion are a Boston band that I definitely need to pay more attention to after hearing this album. Snotty punk with a Dolls/Heartbreakers jones and given a dose of megawattage. Catchy tunes and played with energetic verve. The hooks on "You Hate Me" and "I Got No Time" will ensnare you with little resistance. "Disconnected" reeks of attitude. Slashing guitars accompanied perfectly by a percolating bass/drums tandem and insolent vocals. The real deal." (Al Quint)
Maximum Rocknroll:
"Speedy melodic punk from Boston with a lot of old New York snottiness. These guys definately own a couple of DEAD BOYS records between them." (AD)
"Ramones versus the Stooges to see who gets the last beer… a well schooled mix from the other side of the tracks. Look for them as they destroy America!-New York Waste
Amp Magazine:
"These guys do the 70's glam-punk thing better than just about anyone, and the buzz on these guys has been growing. This is a must-have CD, seriously, everyone needs to go out and get this right now. Give them money so they can get their asses on the road and tour and rock your asses off in person!"(MWB)
Sleazegrinder:
"...They will light up a few Saturday nights around here in a riot of sleazy, hook-heavy snot rock...you know, lyrics about dying young spat out by an amped-up Stiv-abee, swaggering Thunders guitar solos, a pogo-ready rhythm section, howl-along choruses, that kinda scene. "Disconnected" is the standout here, a real teenage temper tantrum with an awesomely primitive stab at a harmonica solo halfway through, and the Dolls-y closer "Worst Nightmare" has the potential to grow into an epic, burn-the-shithouse-to-the-ground monster live...but I'm guessing Red Invasion are gonna develop into a dangerous, druggy, virgin-killing juggernaut of beastly punk-sleaze sometime soon, so check 'em out while their young and desperate, and prepare yourself for the shitstorm to come."
Jimmy Reject from Fat City, Now Wave Zines:
"The title track is the perfect anthem for pogoing yourself dizzy in your eyeliner, leather and spikes, while the slower paced "A Year Ago Tonight" is a song that dwells on more power pop and glam tendencies. This is an enticing sampler of what may be ahead for them. Within the band's methodical design is a catchy comprisal attractive to anyone who deserves to buy any punk record. While Red Invasion may be focused on a finite time in our history, their appeal is one of the most far reaching I have heard on record. I'm hoping these guys can help usher in a new era in Boston punk history, one unique in its capacity for freedom and expression. A new door is peering open, abandoning the rigid dictates of hardcore. As a rock n roller, I find it my duty to pry the door a bit wider, and invite you all to the other side."
Josh Rutledge of Now Wave:
"...It's hard and mean and raw and wild. It harkens back to the nasty three-chord debauchery of the Heartbreakers, Ramones, and (especially) Dead Boys. But even though there are plenty of times on this album when you'll swear that Stiv Bators has crawled out of the grave and lent his vocal talents to this up-and-coming Boston band, it just ain't fair to peg these fellas as flagrant sound-alikes.
What separates Red Invasion from a lot of other '77 punk rock n' roll revivalists is their strong combination of balls-out aggression and swaggering catchiness... From the memorable driving riff in the title track to the irresistibly bouncy backbeat of "No More" to the stick-in-your-head catchy guitar lines in "I Got No Time" and "A Year Ago Tonight", this album is chock full of those great little touches that distinguish good punk rock from run-of-the-mill thrash. The guitar work (both lead and rhythm) is exceptional, delivering lots of tasty leads and cool-ass riffs that serve as melodic counterpoints to singer Joe's fierce, snarling vocals...To me, the beauty of punk rock is that you take this really simple music but play it like it's the last thing you'll ever do on this Earth. Sadly, I don't often hear that kind of urgency or intensity from today's punk groups. Red Invasion is an exception. They go all out, and that's why I'm Not Too Young To Die is such a joy to listen to. The playing, the singing - it's all done with fire and conviction. The band rips out every song with illimitable energy and a fuckload of attitude...it's refreshing to hear a young band playing real punk rock - and doing it so well! (Josh Rutledge)
Under the Volcano:
"The debut release from Boston's Red Invasion is a searing testament to all that is Punk Rock n' Roll. There's no doubt the band prays at the altar of great Punk bands of the past, namely the Dead Boys and Pagans, but they also inject enough youthful enthusiasm into the mix to keep it moving along at breakneck speed, not just coming off as a tribute band. From the Stiv Bators-esque vocals to the razor sharp guitar work, Red Invasion bust out of the gate with a lot of potential." (Dan McClernon)
BEST OF '05 PRESS:
From Now Wave:
Song of the year (1-40):
..19 Red Invasion- "People Like Us"
Top Ten Album of the year
..8 Red Invasion- "I'm Not Too Young To Die" (Pelado)
Best New Artist:
tied with cool bands including Mach 5
AMP Magazines's writer Matt Cote:
Top 8 Albums of the Year:
Red Invasion- "I'm Not Too Young To Die" (Pelado)
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