The Red Crayola
| The Red Krayola | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Red Crayola |
| Origin | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Genres |
Psychedelic rock Experimental rock Proto-punk Outsider music |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels | Rough Trade Records, International Artists, Celluloid Records, Leiterwagen Records, Radar Records, Sordide Sentimental, Drag City |
| Associated acts | Art & Language |
| Members |
Mayo Thompson Albert Oehlen |
| Past members |
Frederick Barthelme Steve Cunningham Jesse Chamberlain Lora Logic Allen Ravenstine David Thomas Markus Oehlen |
Red Krayola (formerly The Red Crayola) was a psychedelic experimental rock band from Houston, Texas, formed by art students at the University of St. Thomas (Texas) in 1966. The band was led by singer/guitarist and visual artist Mayo Thompson, along with drummer Frederick Barthelme (brother of novelist Donald Barthelme) and Steve Cunningham. Their work prefigured punk, post-punk, indie rock and the no wave scene in 1980s New York City.
They made noise rock, psychedelia and occasionally folk/country songs and instrumentals in a DIY fashion, an approach that presaged the lo-fi aesthetic of many 1990s US indie rock groups. Reviewing the band has produced conflicted results - in an extremely positive review from Pitchfork Media, critic Alex Lindhardt wrote "It's a band that has no idea how to play its instruments. In fact, they don't even know what instruments are, or if the guitarist has the ability to remain conscious long enough to play whatever it is a 'note' might be." He added, "This is a band that was paid ten dollars to stop a performance in Berkeley. If Berkeley's not having it, you know you're in for rough sledding."
Thompson has continued using the name, in its legally required permutation The Red Krayola, for his musical projects since.
In 1966 the band signed to International Artists, home label to fellow psych-rockers The 13th Floor Elevators that was run by Lelan Rogers (brother of country musician Kenny Rogers). In 1967 the label released the psychedelic album, Parable of Arable Land, featuring six songs by the original three members interwoven with a cacophony generated by approximately 50 anonymous followers known as The Familiar Ugly who appear on a number of noise tracks called Free-Form Freak-Outs. 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson also makes guest appearances on "Hurricane Fighter Plane" (playing organ) and "Transparent Radiation" (on harmonica). The album's title track was a tape loop of electronic sounds with musical improvisations layered on top of it, a sound that foreshadowed the Red Krayola's second recording.
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