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Red Krayola
Red Krayola (originally Red Crayola) is an American experimental rock band from Houston, Texas formed in 1966 by the trio of singer/guitarist Mayo Thompson, drummer Frederick Barthelme, and bassist Steve Cunningham.
The group were part of the 1960s Texas psychedelic music scene and were signed to independent record label International Artists, subsequently becoming labelmates with the 13th Floor Elevators. Their confrontational, experimental approach employed noise and free improvisation. They released two albums in their early incarnation—The Parable of Arable Land (1967) and God Bless the Red Krayola and All Who Sail With It (1968)—to limited sales.
The band was resurrected in the late 1970s when Thompson discovered the Red Krayola had a cult following among members of England's emerging post-punk scene. Living in England, he developed a close association with Rough Trade Records, releasing new albums as Red Krayola on that label as well as other European labels. In the mid-1990s, Thompson returned to the United States, signing with Drag City and releasing further albums. Thompson has continued using the name, in its legally altered spelling for performances or releases in the US, for his musical projects since.
The Red Crayola was formed in Houston, Texas, by Mayo Thompson and Frederick Barthelme at the University of St. Thomas in mid-July 1966. Barthelme said Red Crayola was "a name we took as a sort of parody of the clever California band names of that moment, a name that had come to us while trailing down Main Street in my roofless (courtesy of the sculptor Jim Love) blue Fiat" the name was also a homage to Thompson's mother Hazel's career as an art teacher. After going through an array of players, the band settled on Steve Cunningham (who previously collaborated with Malachi on the 'Holy Music' album) as their bassist who in September 1966 joined the band alongside his friend Bonnie Emerson and then later Danny Schact. For a while this was the original lineup of the band: at that point Red Crayola was a cover band playing songs such as "Louie Louie", "The House of the Rising Sun", "Eight Miles High" and a fast version of "Hey Joe". Later, the band got a gig (with the help of Luana Anderson) at Mark Froman's club called Love, their main place to perform. They later garnered notoriety from clubs and venues as they were never booked twice.
Later, the band went from a five-piece to a trio. They also formed a secondary group of shifting membership of about 50 people called "the Familiar Ugly", which consisted of active fans who performed with the band on or near the stage, using unconventional techniques and instruments.
The band recorded The Parable of Arable Land which sold around 50,000 copies when it was first released. Pitchfork noted "listeners weren't sure whether the racket was the result of sharp intellectualism, sheer incompetence, or buzzed-out substance abuse." A retrospective review branded the Crayola's "stripped down simplicity and caustic lyrics" as a rarely acknowledged precursor to punk.
After the original pressing for The Parable of Arable Land sold out, promoters were attracted to the band and they were invited to perform in the Berkeley Folk Music Festival where instead of playing songs that they had written before, they generated feedback and drones via a guitar amp. The noise was so severe that band was accused of killing a dog due to sheer volume.
In a 1978 interview, producer Lelan Rogers mentions that the reason the band never released a single was due in part to the controversy surrounding the sentimental lyrics in "War Sucks". Because of this, the album received little to no airplay as most radio stations refused to play the record. In the 2007 book "Eye Mind: Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators" author Paul Drummond mentions that the Red Crayola had recorded a session in February 1967 for "Dairymaid's Lament" backed with "Free Piece" to be released as a single, they were both songs that would later appear on their sophomore album, the session was produced by Bob Steffek who had a hit on Shazam Records with "Wild Woody"; however, the single was never released.
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Red Krayola
Red Krayola (originally Red Crayola) is an American experimental rock band from Houston, Texas formed in 1966 by the trio of singer/guitarist Mayo Thompson, drummer Frederick Barthelme, and bassist Steve Cunningham.
The group were part of the 1960s Texas psychedelic music scene and were signed to independent record label International Artists, subsequently becoming labelmates with the 13th Floor Elevators. Their confrontational, experimental approach employed noise and free improvisation. They released two albums in their early incarnation—The Parable of Arable Land (1967) and God Bless the Red Krayola and All Who Sail With It (1968)—to limited sales.
The band was resurrected in the late 1970s when Thompson discovered the Red Krayola had a cult following among members of England's emerging post-punk scene. Living in England, he developed a close association with Rough Trade Records, releasing new albums as Red Krayola on that label as well as other European labels. In the mid-1990s, Thompson returned to the United States, signing with Drag City and releasing further albums. Thompson has continued using the name, in its legally altered spelling for performances or releases in the US, for his musical projects since.
The Red Crayola was formed in Houston, Texas, by Mayo Thompson and Frederick Barthelme at the University of St. Thomas in mid-July 1966. Barthelme said Red Crayola was "a name we took as a sort of parody of the clever California band names of that moment, a name that had come to us while trailing down Main Street in my roofless (courtesy of the sculptor Jim Love) blue Fiat" the name was also a homage to Thompson's mother Hazel's career as an art teacher. After going through an array of players, the band settled on Steve Cunningham (who previously collaborated with Malachi on the 'Holy Music' album) as their bassist who in September 1966 joined the band alongside his friend Bonnie Emerson and then later Danny Schact. For a while this was the original lineup of the band: at that point Red Crayola was a cover band playing songs such as "Louie Louie", "The House of the Rising Sun", "Eight Miles High" and a fast version of "Hey Joe". Later, the band got a gig (with the help of Luana Anderson) at Mark Froman's club called Love, their main place to perform. They later garnered notoriety from clubs and venues as they were never booked twice.
Later, the band went from a five-piece to a trio. They also formed a secondary group of shifting membership of about 50 people called "the Familiar Ugly", which consisted of active fans who performed with the band on or near the stage, using unconventional techniques and instruments.
The band recorded The Parable of Arable Land which sold around 50,000 copies when it was first released. Pitchfork noted "listeners weren't sure whether the racket was the result of sharp intellectualism, sheer incompetence, or buzzed-out substance abuse." A retrospective review branded the Crayola's "stripped down simplicity and caustic lyrics" as a rarely acknowledged precursor to punk.
After the original pressing for The Parable of Arable Land sold out, promoters were attracted to the band and they were invited to perform in the Berkeley Folk Music Festival where instead of playing songs that they had written before, they generated feedback and drones via a guitar amp. The noise was so severe that band was accused of killing a dog due to sheer volume.
In a 1978 interview, producer Lelan Rogers mentions that the reason the band never released a single was due in part to the controversy surrounding the sentimental lyrics in "War Sucks". Because of this, the album received little to no airplay as most radio stations refused to play the record. In the 2007 book "Eye Mind: Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators" author Paul Drummond mentions that the Red Crayola had recorded a session in February 1967 for "Dairymaid's Lament" backed with "Free Piece" to be released as a single, they were both songs that would later appear on their sophomore album, the session was produced by Bob Steffek who had a hit on Shazam Records with "Wild Woody"; however, the single was never released.