In the Red zone

In the Red zone

Kelly Kerr/Tulsa World The Red Alert is Christy Hanewinkel and Hank Hanewinkel III.

By MATT ELLIOTT World Scene Writer
3/16/2007

There are certain things people expect when they see a kid band

Maybe they expect songs about Saturday morning cartoons, Lucky Charms cereal and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

The fresh-faced Red Alert draws in the curious with this "cute" factor, especially from its introspective and sweet-voiced drummer, 12-year-old Christy Hanewinkel.

But then the band hits its listeners with a haymaker rock 'n' roll blow to the chops with help from her brother, guitarist Hank Hanewinkel III.

On Saturday, Red Alert will mark the release of its six-song EP, "Extended Play," with a show featuring performances by last weekend's Satellite Battle of the Bands winners Theodress Avery, the 20's and the Fine Points' front man Bill Kelson.

"Most of the time people think of us as a rock band," said Hank, 18, sitting with his sister for an interview at Borders in Tulsa. "But sometimes you get the kind of people that are kind of like, 'I don't know. They look like kids on the flyer.' "

The EP shows the Red Alert maturing into more of an original rock band with sludgy guitars, big drums and a pop style with an energy rooted in blues, country and punk. It even features some singing from Christy, who, fighting her innate shyness, does the vocals on "Only Want Loving" and "Feather

on the Wind."

While the Red Alert began life as a White Stripes cover band, it has been playing original material since 2005's "Put on Your Game Face." It won the Satellite Battle of the Bands competition last year, winning a free pressing of 1,000 CDs used to put out "Extended Play." The CD features two songs written by the siblings' dad, Hank Hanewinkel Jr., who also records their material in his studio, Valcour Sound.

The duo started playing together after seeing the White Stripes live in 2003. After some recording and gigs, the band quickly became a local sensation, but became the Red Alert to focus on original material. They won Spot Music Awards in 2004 and 2006, and played a date on the Warped Tour in Dallas last year.

During that time, Christy has become a human metronome on the drums, her brother said, a statement that his sister shyly disputed. Not only can Christy stick like glue to a rhythm, but she hits the drums so hard she even impressed the Cain's Ballroom's sound guys, her father said.

And, Hank's grown from a 14-year-old guitarist playing cover tunes to a lanky, mop-headed teenager just out of high school with a budding adolescent mustache and a stack of amplifiers spewing a thick, bright guitar sound that belongs on some major-label emo band.

"We've definitely gotten, like, better as musicians from playing all these shows, and we get more and more people listening and more and more fans," Hank said. "We've got some pretty cool merchandise, too," he added, laughing.

Christy, who was content to let her brother do most of the talking during the interview, acknowledged it's hard to balance the band with school work at Haskell Middle School in Broken Arrow.

But her brother chimed in and said "she's straight A's though. She always has been. And she's been good about getting her homework done so that we can rehearse or whatever and do a show."

Meanwhile, Hank, who also does the group's vocals, said he's putting off college to work at the band.

"This has always been my dream, to be in a band and play. Music is my favorite thing in the world," he said. "I'm constantly thinking about music in my head and new CDs coming out and all these different bands. Yeah, it's definitely my life. I wanna make it my job."

Christy said she's more in the middle -- what you'd expect from a 12-year-old.

"If we don't make it in music, I'd kinda like to be an interior decorator," she said.

The band has been passing its CDs out to bands they like, including the Watson Twins, who performed at the Cain's Ballroom last year with Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis.

Hank is chomping at the bit to tour, but they can't do that now unless they find a tutor for Christy.

They've submitted their stuff for Austin's South by Southwest music festival and will enter Tulsa's Diversafest. The duo also has a show April 7 at the Opolis in Norman.



www.myspace.com/theredalert

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RED ALERT EP RELEASE PARTY

When:
6 p.m., with openers Theodress Avery, the 20's and the Fine Points' Bill Kelson

Where:
Cain's Ballroom, 423 N. Main St.

Admission:
$5

By MATT ELLIOTT World Scene Writer