The Red Scare was formed by college friends Matt Hall (drums), Kip Uhlhorn (guitar/vocals), Abby Wintker (bass), and Adam Ewing (guitar) in August of 1997 in Knoxville, TN.
They began playing locally; building a name for themselves, with short, hyper-energetic sets similar to those of Sleepytime Trio from Virginia and Gravity Records heroes, Heroin, from San Diego, CA. By 1998, Jon Asher had replaced Adam Ewing on guitar and the band embarked on their first tour with Milemarker, Orchid, and Hail Mary.
Capillary Lockdown, an album of apocalyptic vision and propulsive, almost overwhelming rhythms, was released in November of 1999 by Hand Held Heart (vinyl) and Troubleman Unlimited (CD).
In June of 2000, they toured again—this time with Orchid and Lightning Bolt. They also recorded their 2nd album, Strangers Die Everyday, at Inner Ear Studios with Don Zientara. This album blends together explosive songs like "Risking Your Life With A Capital R" and "Smoky Mountain High" with strange metallic collages. The guitars, while still edging on brutal, also demonstrate dreamy segments like that of the title track. Strangers Die Everyday would be the band’s final album together. Shortly thereafter, Uhlhorn moved to New York City and formed Panthers (Troubleman Unlimited) with former Orchid members, and eventually, Cloudland Canyon (Tee Pee, Kranky, Holy Mountain). Matt Hall went on to form New Brutalism.
In 2023 the band teamed up with Solid Brass to begin work on a discography project and in June of 2024 they released Smoky Mountain High; a limited edition 2xLP collection containing both LPs, all their 7”s, and live recordings from WNYU.
In June of 2024 the band announced a small run of shows leading up to their appearance at the Dark Days Bright Nights music festival in Richmond, VA on 9/15.
