Red Rockers

Originally formed as a hard-charging punk rock band, they changed their style to a smoother, more melodic sound and released two albums in the new wave vein of their record label, 415.

The 45rpm EP, with the title track on the A-side and its B-sides of "Teenage Underground" and "Nothing to Lose", was a cult hit, and the band was heralded in some punk fanzines as "America's Clash"[6] Guns of Revolution was only the third release by a fledgling New Orleans record label called Vinyl Solution.

The record included a newly redone version of "Guns of Revolution" as well as the live track "Dead Heroes", which had appeared on a local New Orleans punk compilation and quickly became a signature song for the band.

Condition Red also included a guest appearance by Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra who lent background vocals to the cover version of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues".

What surprised critics more, however, was the change in music: from the rough, punk sound of the past, Red Rockers had become a polished, almost gentle-sounding band, fitting in easily with the softer new wave styles of the time.

A second single, the title track "Good as Gold", followed as Red Rockers crossed North America opening for major tours including The Cars, The Kinks, The Go-Go's, Joan Jett, The B-52's and Men at Work.

The band's next album showed an even greater fragmentation in their musical approach: Schizophrenic Circus (1984) featured a new guitarist, Shawn Paddock, and new producers Rick Chertoff and William Wittman, but lacked a group cohesion.

[16] Three different singles were released from the album, but the only significant success was on college radio, where a cover of Barry McGuire's 1966 folk rock protest song "Eve of Destruction" was a minor hit.

[17] The second single was another cover song, "Blood from a Stone", which had been performed by The Hooters on their album Amoré (1983), and Trouser Press acclaimed the Red Rockers version as a big improvement over the original.

Lead singer John Thomas Griffith continues to play guitar and sing for the band Cowboy Mouth which he co-founded in 1990 with Paul Sanchez and Fred LeBlanc.