The Red Paintings - Wasps

A couple of weeks ago I made a rather odd gig with two remarkable artists. Both bands were odd but in their own way, today we're going to listen to one of them, leaving the other one for saturday.

The Red Paintings are an orchestral art rock band originally formed in Geelong, Victoria but relocated to Los Angeles, United States. The band consists of lead vocalist and songwriter Trash McSweeney on guitar, sequencing and samples, with a revolving line-up across the globe. McSweeney drives all the band's musical and staging concepts.

The current touring line up as of 2013 is Alix Kol (violin, vocals); Mitch McLennan (bass), Andy Davis (drums) and Emma Baker (cello).

The band is known for their unique, confronting and intense themed performances incorporating elements of theatre and art, often dubbed "orchestral sci-fi art rock". Band members often dress in elaborate themed costumes, ranging from geisha outfits, alien costumes and more recently, sea creature/Neptune themes. They employ elaborate and eccentric stage props to support their shows, varying from statues, giant robots, children's toys, literary and Tim Burton-themed props and self-made video projections. The act are renown for inviting members of the audience and local artists to paint on blank canvasses and human canvases during their shows to reflect their own feelings in the live music set.

The band has a strong underground fanbase in Europe, Australia and the United States, and their debut studio album was produced almost entirely on fan donations. Their many costumes, props and street performances are often organised and produced with help from their large volunteer street teams. They are also known for their vocal support of animal rights issues, and in particular, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Their show was pretty unique so to say, during the gig they had invited in to painters, one who painted a human being and another that painted a canvas, pretty cool and a bit odd to see. The music reminds of Smashing Pumpkins, so check this tune up!

Here is a picture of the canvas made at Klubben.

The paintings showcased here were created on stage by artists, fans and audience members during The Red Paintings shows. We always aim to inspire and have had several people painting a canvas at once, producing amazing collaborative pieces that convey all the different emotions and ideas behind the music. When an artist really connects with TRP they may be selected to paint at ten or more shows to build up a series of works. Some artists have stayed on the road as a resident painter for as long as 6 months, painting during tours and festivals across the world. A resident painter's progression throughout a tour is exciting to witness so please take a look below to share their journey and see what story they tell.

Todays tune ”Wasps” is taken from the latest album, "The Revolution Is Never Coming”


Trash Mcsweeney has been dropping hints over the past year or more about being the first act to launch their album into space across 13 different countries across the world. You can follow the acts intergalactic activities on their space balloon official Facebook page.

"I'm going to send 'The revolution is never coming' to space. I mean why not? I don't want to be tied down to one planet".

More info @

Official The Red Paintings Web

Listen to ”The Red Paintings - Wasps" on Spotify here!

Follow tuneoftheday.blogspot.com on Spotify here!