Red Alert

Still red hot
By TRACY PFEIFFER Satellite Correspondent

The brother-sister duo the Red Alert started out as a White Stripes cover band when Christy Hanewinkel was only 8 years old and her brother, Hank III, taught her the drum parts from "Elephant." The two now play as the Red Alert, and as last year's Satellite Battle of the Bands winners, they'll close out the 2007 show. RACHEL COWARD / Satellite Correspondent

Still red hot
3/2/2007

Sound the alarm -- the Red Alert is back.

For those of you who didn't tune in to last year's battle, the Red Alert is made up of siblings Christy Hanewinkel on drums and Hank Hanewinkel III on guitar. They started out as the Red Stripes when Hank was 14 and Christy was just 8, having been inspired by a White Stripes show in Oklahoma City.

The Red Stripes was a cover band that covered -- you guessed it -- White Stripes songs. The young performers had a lot of success as the Red Stripes, opening for the likes of Norman-based band the Starlight Mints, winning the Rising Star award at the Tulsa World's 2004 Spot Music Awards and playing at Freaker's Ball.

But it was as the Red Alert, a band with all original songs, that the duo broke into a dead run for success, recording an album with Valcour Sound called "Put on Your Game Face" in 2005 and winning Satellite's Battle of the Bands in 2006.

The Red Alert is a rock band with some serious guitar action and, despite the fact that Christy is only in the sixth grade, the drums to back it up. Although they began with White Stripes covers, the duo's music isn't a carbon copy of their original namesake.

They tout a brilliant blend of the likes of Modest Mouse, Brand New,

Oasis and Wilco. If you haven't heard the band's music, you should head on over to the Red Alert Web site at myspace.com/theredalert.

With its musical prowess and energetic stage show, the Red Alert won Satellite's battle and moved on to compete in -- and win -- the John Lennon Songwriting Contests' National High School Battle of the Bands. The band's reward was a slot on last year's Warped Tour in Dallas.

In August, the band played three shows in St. Louis, including a TV appearance on "Show Me St. Louis" and an in-store show at a record shop.

Back in Tulsa they played Freaker's Ball for the third year in a row, won Artist of the Year and Album of the Year at the Spot Music Awards, had a couple of shows in November and -- to no surprise -- decided to relax come December.

"We basically played every other week from April to November in 2006," explained Hank in a recent interview. "But we haven't had a show in a while, and this year's battle will be the first time in a few months that we play. We're really excited about it."

It's a little bit like returning to their roots for Hank and Christy. They've been across America and now they're coming back to where it all started -- the Cain's stage. The pressure's off since they aren't competing in this year's battle, but that doesn't mean they'll be slacking.

"I definitely think that Satellite's battle helped us get to where we are today," said Hank. "We have a new six-song EP coming out called 'Extended Play,' which we recorded on the John Lennon (Educational) Tour Bus along with a new music video. We'll be selling it at the show, and we just hope everyone likes our new songs. We can't wait to see this year's bands."

---

Tracy Pfeiffer 581-8336
Cacia senior
satellite@tulsaworld.com