Red Kate
Red Kate is a no bullshit, class conscious punk rock & roll band from Kansas City. The band’s newest release, a split with Lawrence, KS punks, Stiff Middle Fingers, is eight minutes of tight chaos packed onto 7 inches of virgin black vinyl.
The split 7″ is a follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed sophomore LP, unamerican activities, released in 2016 on their coop label, Black Site. With the election of an authoritarian narcissist to the White House and white supremacy again on the rise, this hard, fast and angry polemic on the current state of affairs has turned out to be unfortunately prescient.
Red Kate formed in 2007 from the remnants of regional and national acts Truck Stop Love, Wayback Machine, Squadcar, and Goodpuss. A couple of lineup changes over the years brought in former River City Revelators guitarist, Desmond Poirier on lead, and most recently, American Catastrophe front man Shaun Hamontree on rhythm.
Red Kate’s sound tips a cap to the beer soaked barroom floors of the 70s British Pub-Rock scene and the modern blues-punk sound 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 work 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.
Red Kate released its first LP, When the Troubles Come, on Replay Records in 2013 and a 7″ split on Mills Record Company with fellow Kansas City punks, The Bad Ideas, in 2014.