Biography
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Years Active
1966 – present (58 years)
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Founded In
Houston, Harris County, Texas, United States
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Members
- David Grubbs
- Frederick Barthelme
- Gina Birch
- John McEntire
- Mayo Thompson
The Red Krayola (or Crayola) are an experimental rock band who formed in Houston, Harris County, Texas in late 1966. The group was made up of musician and visual artist Mayo Thompson who has remained the group's leader and sole constant for over 50 years, novelist Rick Barthelme who was the son of Donald Barthelme, and bassist Steve Cunningham who joined them at the age of 17. One night's show at a club called "Love" attracted people to the stage, audience members began to walk on up and improvise with whatever they saw fit, this would be the event that would spawn their secondary auxiliary "The Familiar Ugly" who'd follow and improvise amongst them wherever they so pleased.
After playing at local radio station KNUZ's battle of the bands event hosted in the Gulfgate mall, the Red Crayola were subsequently signed to "International Artists" by house producer Lelan Rogers. He suggested they bring their group of 50 friends into the studio to record a "freak-out" album. Roky Erickson of the 13th Floor Elevators would make two instrumental cameos on electric organ and harmonica. The album's title would be coined by Steve Cunningham: The Parable of Arable Land, an album which went on to sell 50,000 copies on its first run and garnered the attention of Jimi Hendrix, John Peel and the Beatles. Thompson described it as "the beginnings of alternative rock" as no advertising nor promotion was done for the record. Their sophomore album "God Bless the Red Krayola and all Who Sail With It" saw drummer Rick Barthelme depart from the band. International Artists provided the release with a quantity of promotion and advertising. The album flopped, selling around 6,000 copies - perhaps due to it's minimalistic sound contrasting with their debuts maximalist noise; Pitchfork wrote "It would take a few decades of post-punk experimentalism before Mayo Thompson's vision would have a truly suitable context". The album would go on to be assessed as a precursor to the Minutemen, Unrest, Bastro and Gastr Del Sol. The Red Krayola's follow-ups never lived up to the success of their debut but always broke new ground and foreshadowed different alternative rock genres.
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