Inside The Red Devils 1992 Def American press kit

Not knowing much about The Red Devils in 1992, the Def American press kit was pretty much the only source of info I had for the band. I got this press kit while working at the Indiana Daily Student, before the band came to play a gig at Jake’s Nightclub in Bloomington, Indiana. That was a show I would attend and review that October.

Let’s crack open the envelope:

The main piece in the kit was The Red Devils’ one-sheet, a pretty detailed bio of the band, with nods to Hollywood Fats, Junior Watson and more. This is still some required reading for Devils’ fans — it sort of fills in the mythological blanks, and pegs the trio of Lester Butler, Bill Bateman and Jonny Ray Bartel as the three founding members.

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Also inside: A little two-sided press release with tour dates for the Devils’ first-ever national tour. This was before Pinkpop, and before Moulin Blues, both in 1993. However, my local Bloomington date was changed.

Finally, there is a little article from Variety Magazine, dated July 27, 1992. Not much new here, though it does give a U.S. release date for “King King” — Tuesday, July 28, 1992 — and reinforces the Rick Rubin-Devils storyline.

There was also an 8-by-10 photo of the band that came in the release, but that one went to my editor, who used it with the review I wrote of the show. And I really didn’t think I was going to need it for a blog I was going to write 17 years later!

Some years later, I was able to find the photo on eBay, where it crops up every so often:

The whole thing came conveniently wrapped in a Def American paper bag. Someone (not sure who) took the time to scribble “Red Devils,” so that it wouldn’t get lost.

And 32 years later, I still know where it is!

Note: A version of this post was originally published on Feb. 11, 2009. It has been updated.