Sources

Temporary page containing links and sources.

Dates

1966
1966 1966-12-21 The Baytown Sun: Christmas Festivities in Full Swing on Lee College Campus Reb Dance The gymnasium was the scene for the Rho Epsilon Beta Christmas Dance which was held Friday. Three bands, The Jolly Itch, The Red Crayolas, and the Inmates provided music for the semi-formal dance.

1967

1967 1967 The Red Crayola live photo The Red Crayola live, 1967 Photo by Dr. James Cunningham Mayo Thompson, Frederick Barthelme, and Steve Cunningham. 1967 Les Blank Red Crayola photoshoot Usage: Sources#1967_Berkeley_Folk_Music_Festival_promotional_pamphlet Cover of Sources#1968_Mother:_Houston's_Rock_Magazine_interview 1995 Back cover of Coconut Hotel Drag City release Note: This 1992 source says the photos were taken backstage at the Berkeley Folk Music festival, which seems impossible as they're used in the promotion for the festival: Sources#1992-11_Stereo_Review:_The_Parable_of_Arable_Land_reissue_review 1967-04 Houston Chronicle article Note: not found There was a Houston Chronicle from April, 1967 article mentioning that the "Red Crayolas" (sic) were playing a fashion show there, but they refer to it as "an old church" and not La Maison. 1967-06-03 Red Crayola plays opening of Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine [Photo of poster] This is the grand opening poster for the Love Street Light Circus and Feel Good Machine in Houston, Texas on June 3rd 1967. The bands included the Red Crayola, the Starvation Army Band and Fever Tree. The reverse side of this handbill is autographed by members of Jefferson Airplane who visited Love Street after a performance in Houston. It is believed that this was the second version of the handbill that was printed and that it was more widely distributed than the first version. During conversations with the original owner, he indicated that no one could read the first version (see below!) [Photo of poster] This is probably the first version of the grand opening poster (or large handbill) for the Love Street Light Circus. It promotes the same bands and the same dates, but includes a lot of information in the psychedelic lettering Some more info on the venue 1967-06: The Parable of Arable Land LP Released by International Artists 1967 Berkeley Folk Music Festival promotional pamphlet 4 images: https://berkeleyfolk.blogspot.com/2011/08/berkeley-folk-festival-1966_12.html 1967-06-29: Angry Arts Festival Red Crayola performance Live 1967: Venice Pavillion Concert, Afternoon Venice Motel, Evening, Piece One Venice Motel, Evening, Piece Two 1967-06-30: The Berkeley Barb: Folk Scene 1967-06-30: Berkeley Folk Music Festival Red Crayola performances 1967-07-02 performance Live 1967: 7/2, Evening: "Dust" 1967-07-03 performance Live 1967: 7/3, Afternoon: Red Crayola with John Fahey 1967-07-04 performance Live 1967: 7/4, Afternoon: Jubilee Concert 1967-07-17 The Rag: Berkeley Folk Festival review pg. 12 & 11 1967-07-21 The Berkeley Barb: Berkeley Folk Festival review pg. 8 1967-10-20 Art International: Jules Olitski and Roy Lichtenstein Discusses relationship between contemporary art and music Excerpt: The rather tired and simple-minded analogue to music as an essentially lineal medium ignores the total involvement of its psychological perception as well as the physical nature of sound--both of which helped Marshall McLuhan, for example, to different conclusions about the medium than those arrived at by Fried or implied in the painting of Olitski. In music itself, there are the impressive statements by a group from Houston that so far has played and recorded under the name "The Red Crayola". At this last summer's Berkeley Folk Music Festival, the three young musicians, Steve Cunningham, Mayo Thompson, and the artist Rick Barthelme performed several one-second pieces. Together with groups such as Country Joe and the Fish, the Velvet Underground, the San Francisco rock bands, or the more radical sounding post-Cage rock music of Joseph Byrd's and Michael Agnello's new group called "United States of America", the enveloping electric sound of that contemporary music which is alive makes Fried's understanding of music conceived as line-of-sight obsolete. It is instant and pervasive music in the twentieth century as a corollary of the aesthetic reasons for dropping the nineteenth-century obsession with the melodic line (from Cage, Coltrane and Coleman way back to Webern). What would help critical writing in both fields make more sense is a really fresh and demanding inquiry into parallel aesthetic phenomena and interrelationships of music and the visual arts.

1968
1968 1968 Mother: Houston's Rock Magazine interview Band interview 1968-07-01 The Chicago Seed Reviews of Parable and God Bless

1969

1969 1969-02-01 Cash Box: article on Lelan Fox's new label Excerpt: From the production end, Rogers has recorded such artists as the 13th Floor Elevators and the Red Crayola, and is currently taking the bows for sessions on the Children for Atco by producing their current "Rebirth" album and "I'll Be Your Sunshine" single. Rogers added that his label's first release is scheduled for next week (31). 1969-08-08 Cash Box: Metanomena Article discussing the summer rock festivals of 1969 Excerpt: At another level are the groups like Arther Brown, Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, Hapshash and the Coloured Coat (featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids!) , the Mothers of Invention, Captain Beefheart and Red Crayola, the Texas group that, as Rolling Stone pointed out, are proud of the fact that they have never been invited to play anywhere twice. In an appearance at the Berkeley Folk Festival several years ago they utilized a galvanized drum with chicken wire stretched across the top supporting a chunk of ice which, as it melted and dripped, provided a kind of bottom to their sound which at the top consisted of electronic distortion at such a high level of intensity that when they per- formed, all of the street peoples' dogs fled howling from the scene.

1970

1970 1970 Frederick Barthelme - Rangoon book Note: not found Front cover: Text and photographs copyright by Frederick Barthelme Illustrations copyright by Mayo Thompson All rights reserved Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 74-118570 Manufactured in the United States of America at Valley Offset Winter House Ltd New York 1970 Mayo Thompson - Corky's Debt to His Father LP Released by Texas Revolution 1970-08-30 Houston Chronicle: The Barthelmes, Houston's Own Hardy Boys Excerpt: His brother, Frederick Barthelme, is 27, an artist and the author of a just-published book of short fiction pieces, "Rangoon." (Winter House $7.95). Another book will be published soon by Doubleday. ... Frederick Barthelme went to St. Thomas High and the University of Houston. For a while, art was his major interest. He had a show in May 1967 at the Louisiana Gallery and he won the Oklahoma State Fair's purchase prize. His sculpture has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art. Frederick Barthelme had shoulder-length hair as long ago as 1967, which indicates an independent spirit. He played with a musical group, "The Red Crayola," and recorded "The Parable of Arable Land." His first book, "Rangoon," is the first book to be published by Winter House, a publishing company formed by Laurence Dent and his wife. Dent says that "Rangoon" is a modernization of Joyce, Camus and Stein. According to Frederick Barthelme, its central thesis is "the thunderous acceptability of the human lack of condition."

1971
1971 Frederick Barthelme - War and War book Note: not found Published by Doubleday Sources: Sources#1970-08-30_Houston_Chronicle:_The_Barthelmes,_Houston's_Own_Hardy_Boys Sources#1972-02-13_Houston_Chronicle:_Books:_Fiction_Explored_From_Frederick_Barthelme... 2007-10-15 Pretty Goes with Pretty: Writing with a Red Crayola

1972

1972 1972 Mayo Thompson on community access television Note: not digitized Community access television / Ben Teague and Mayo Thompson; introduced by Tom Eaton Discussion of the history and potential of community access television and also on starting a video theater. 1 reel (30 min.) : 7 1/2 ips, mono. 1972-01 KPFT radio guide Mayo Thompson listed as a volunteer for this Houston radio station 1972-02-13 Houston Chronicle: Books: Fiction Explored From Frederick Barthelme... Full text: 1972-02-13 Houston Chronicle: Books: Fiction Explored From Frederick Barthelme... By Ann Waldron, Book Editor [Photo of Frederick Barthelme by Larry Evans, Chronicle Staff] And now we have Frederick Barthelme, "experimental novelist." Some people think he's better than his brother, Donald, whom the New York Times Magazine called "the most interesting writer in American today." Other people think Frederick is a put-on, a dabbler too lazy to write so people can understand him. He's had two novels published -- "Rangoon" and "War and War." An excerpt from a third "Ten Bears", appeared in Works in Progress, but was turned down for publication by the publisher who had contracted for it. Frederick Barthelme is back in his native Houston, working occasionally at the Contract Graphics gallery, "relaxing," thinking about writing, talking about a new musical group, discussing his work. "It's strange being out of New York," he said. "You lose contact. But I've stopped worrying about it. I decided to give up the posture of the famous New York writer down on his luck." What posture has he assumed? Well he's at work on a fourth novel, but hasn't written a line in three months. "I wouldn't write anything until I could write something that would really knock me out," he said. "Most of the work I've done is limited, on the arcane side. There's some kind of truncation, the reader doesn't get involved in it. I'm trying to cross that boundary without becoming Jacqueline Susann. I don't mean telling a story. I'm not interested in a story. I'm more interested in saying that John killed Sally in one exquisite sentence than I am in the fact that he killed her. "I don't know why that is. That's just the way I'm built, little lady." Frederick Barthelme grew up in Houston, one of the five children of Donald Barthelme Sr. He went to Tulane and the University of Houston, amassing 212 hours, but no degree in seven years. He painted and his work appeared in several group shows around town. "I was writing, too," he said. "I wrote some plays, very strange, only 1000 words, some only one sentence. They were a cross between painting and drama. In my brash youth, with my vast knowledge of painting, I decided painting was confining. I wrote short stories and never tried to publish them. All the characters were horses. They talked and went to communion." He played drums in a three-man band, Red Krayola, which made two records and played concerts here and in California. In 1967, he went to New York and worked for a while at the Kornblee Gallery. "I sat there and answered the phone and talked to people who came in." Then he quit work to write fulltime. How did he live? "With a friend," he said, "and she had a good job." Barthelme worked hard, and waded through a first novel, "Hof." "It's never been published," he said, "and I've robbed it for other books." His brother, Donald Barthelme Jr., author of "Snow White" and "City Life," helped him find an agent. It had taken Frederick only three or four months to write "Hof," and although it didn't sell, several publishers asked "what Mr. Barthelme is writing now?" So Frederick obligingly sat down and wrote "War and War" in one month. Doubleday bought "War and War" in 1968. It wasn't published until June, 1971, because the editor who bought it left, the second editor didn't get along with Frederick and the third editor didn't do anything. Finally the fourth editor was found. Meanwhile, Barthelme put together another novel, "Rangoon," which he says is a "combination of stuff," presumably some of the bits and pieces of "Hof," and a new publisher, Winter House, brought it out in 1970. "Rangoon" is illustrated by Mayo Thompson, an old friend of Frederick's Red Krayola days. "'War and War' is the leading edge of my development," Barthelme said with a straight face. "It's more serious." Neither book got much critical attention. "War and War" was panned on Page 46 of the New York Times Book Review. Barthelme started on "Ten Bears" and came back to Houston last summer to finish it. Doubleday decided not to publish it, and Barthelme say it's "in limbo." Meanwhile, he says he's learning how to relax. "I used to hate Houston," he said. "I used to think it was a real dump. Now it doesn't bother me, except that the air is rotten and the terrain is flat and the trees were all designed by Roy Hofheinz' engineers." What does he read? He doesn't seem to be a great reader. "In 1967 I was very hot on John Barth," he said, "and Wilfrid Sheed and William Gass. I never could stand Tom Wolfe. When I was writing 'War and War' I was going through a mock-intellectual period and read a lot of philosophy. I'd read ten pages and be so bored I couldn't go on. I read the mystics, the Don Juan books -- that's sort of life-living made simple, 'Cliff's Notes' on living life. I used to read Simenon and Dick Francis. I liked Alfred Jarry's 'Ubu Roi.'" What will become of Frederick Barthelme? Who knows? An editor at Doubleday wrote a meme that said, "This guy is a genius and... in the long run he is better than his brother...he really plows new ground...it's frighteningly good." "I do not believe that fiction is a microcosm. I do not believe that fiction is a "little world" which is in some vague way a reconstruction of a possible "real world." A fiction is autonomous, and while it is necessarily referential in character, it is ideally an addition to as against a reconstruction of a possible world. "Lazlo says that fiction describes a process or method of working (specifically writing) which holds as its originary impulse the imagination, and which does not necessarily submit to any regulation other than that imagination. I find this definition satisfactory." -- From "War and War," by Frederick Barthelme. 1972-spr Prairie Schooner: Rangoon review Full text: Rangoon, by Frederick Barthelme with illustrations by Mayo Thompson (Winter House Ltd.), is a relatively expensive ($7.95) put-on that, in its best moments, approaches Mad Magazine at its worst. The written text ranges from unentertaining short fictions to a half-page outline on logical and extralogical reasoning. Interspersed with the written text are three solid black leaves, a group of blurry photos of inconsequential scenes, and some popart drawings that are sometimes related to the text and sometimes interesting. I resent this book not because it is a put-on (to suggest that it is the author's best would be too insulting), but because it is not even a clever put-on.

1973
1973

1974
1974 1974 Mayo Thompson as assistant of Robert Rauschenberg in Israel 3 photos Robert Rauschenberg in Israel art book (1975): https://archive.org/details/robertrauschenbe00raus_5

1975
1975

1976

1976 1976-spr Newsletter of the John Weber Gallery: 1976 Spring-Summer Schedule Group Exhibition: June 19-July 14 1976 Unused labels for Music-Language: Corrected Slogans Two sheets printed green on white – both 30 x 21cm, 1pp. These are two unused labels from the Art & Language/ Red Crayola LP. Some records were released without labels and these could easily be used on such records. Both fine. 1976-06-18 Art & Language - Music-Language: Corrected Slogans LP 1976-06 Art-Language: Vol.3 No.3 Note: not found One section 1976-06 US Postcard: Art & Language exhibit at John Weber Gallery June 18 - July 14, 1976 John Weber Gallery 420 West Broadway New York, New York 10012 (Provisional) Art & Language 1- Corrected Slogans * 2- 9 Gross & Conspicuous Errors ** 3- The Organization of Culture Under Monopoly Capitalism 4- The Organization of Culture Under Self-Management Socialism 5- The Intellectual Life of the Ruling-Class Gets Its Apotheosis in a World of Doris Days 6- What Would Canada Do Without a Flavin Music-Language, Record, 46:51, 3PM M-L, Video-Tape, 26:00, 1 & 5 PM (Or by appointment) 1976-06 Postcard: Art-Language: Vol.3 No.3 and Music-Language: Corrected Slogans 10.5 x 15cm, 1pp. Typographic postcard announcing the new volume of the journal and the famous LP (with Red Crayola). Also rubber stamped top left in red ink with the announcement that in Oct 1976 Volume 3 Nr 4 was also published. Fine. From Charles Harrison’s own archive. Unmailed example. Oct. 76 Vol. 3 No. 4 Art-Language Volume 3 Number 3 $4.00 £2.00 plus Postage Music-Language Corrected Slogans 12 inch L.P. 21 songs $4.00 £2.00 plus Postage Orders to Art & Language(P) 126 Broughton Road Bansbury Oxon, England 250 Bowery New York N.Y. 10012 U.S.A. 1976-10 US Postcard: Art-Language Vol.3 No.4 and Music-Language: Corrected Slogans Offset-printed, black-and-white, 10.7 x 15.7 cm. Single sided postcard issued to promote the publication of the periodical Art-Language, volume 3, issue number 4 (October 1976), and the vinyl LP record Music-Language: Collected Slogans, both offshoots of Art & Language. LP producer was Mayo Thompson with songs written and performed by Art & Language

1977
1977

1978

1978 1978-04-01 No Cure: Lora Logic working with the Red Crayola No Cure #04 Excerpt: Nethertheless, through her's and other members of the band’s involvement in outside activities, namely Red Crayola and Dave's work on the Lonesome No More LP, Lora maintains that the group is a pretty loose one, though this in no way affects the band. 1978-05-09 Mayo Thompson meets Pere Ubu At Pere Ubu & Nico concert at Marquee, London Source: Keep All Your Friends zine 1978-10 Bomp!: Theaesthetics'f Psychedelic Music Excerpt: You may also want to check out the more advanced sounds of LSD, such as Terry Riley, John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, John Cage, and certain Stravinsky works. Also, give a listen to the lawn mower, garbage disposal, door knob, Red Crayola, or most any record played at 16 RPM (I suggest Ginger Baker drum solos, but to each his own). 1978-10 ZigZag: Hurricane Fighter Plane flexidisc Note: magazine not found Cover: https://www.beatchapter.com/zigzag-magazine-no-88-october-1978-blondie-patti-smith-ramones-xtc-mick-farren-the-normal-14227-p.asp 1978-10-14 Music Week: Releases: Wives in Orbit WIVES IN ORBIT, Yik Yak, RED CRAYOLA. Radar ADA 22 (W) DISTRIBUTORS CODE: W -- WEA WEA = Warner-Elektra-Atlantic 1978-10-21 NME: concert review Hope & Anchor, London Note: not found Excerpt: An early psychedelic legend came to roost unexpectedly last weekend in the none-too-appropriate environs of the Hope and Anchor. Total word count of piece: 324 1978-10 International Artists promo booklet: Howdy From Texas The Lonestar State Note: partially found The "Howdy" 24-page booklet was compiled in 1978 as part of the promotion for Radar Records' IA reissue program. The booklet contains a Lelan Rogers interview, a reprint of a long 13th Floor Elevators interview from 1967, an Elevators discography, a Mayo Thompson piece on the Houston '60s scene, an interview with the revived Red Crayola, and a number of Elevators & Krayola photos. The booklet was given away at Radar's release party in London, October 1978, and is rarely seen today. Baghdad on the Bayous? Mayo Thompson's piece on the Houston '60s scene 1978 Comstock Lode zine: Red Crayola interview Note: not found Comstock Lode no. 4 International Artists label (LPs), Gary Snyder retrospective, Mayo Thompson/Red Crayola interview (some Elevators talk), Pete Brown pt 2, reviews This issue devoted to the band Red Crayola, with an interview with some band members, news on the band, and printing of some lyrics. Cover art: https://www.beatbooks.com/pages/books/38912/comstock-lode-1-10-london-1977-1982-all-published The Mayo Thompson interview was later republished in Sources#1980?_Red_Crayola_songbook_zine (also not found) 1978-11-18 concert Acklam Hall, London: Red Crayola, Cabaret Voltaire, Scritti Politti, pragVEC Poster: Link 1978-12-02 Melody Maker: concert review Acklam Hall, London Note: not found Excerpt: In the collapse of trends, movements — individuals: when they combine, all the stronger. Tonight four bands moving forward, confidently or haltingly, but all with a spark... all ripe to be scooped up, then pigeonholed in a new "trend", the very last thing any of them want. Total word count of piece: 527 1978-12-09 Cash Box: '60s 'Punk' Records To Be Re-Released Full text: NEW YORK — A 12-record set of the entire output of the '60s punk label, International Artists Records, has been reissued by label owner Lelan Rogers and is being distributed by marketing consultant Len Levy through his Commonwealth Marketing Services, Inc. The set carries a suggested retail price of $120. Among the albums included will be the 13th Floor Elevators, Bubble Puppy, Red Crayola, and Lightnin' Hopkins. A companion volume to the box is scheduled for release on January 1. It will include out-takes from all IA groups, unreleased tracks by other groups, and a documentary by 13th Floor Elevators leader Roky Erickson. 1978-12-12 Circus Weekly: Pere Ubu plays fave cave Full text: Secrecy was the order of the evening November 16 for what was billed in tiny "Pere Ubu gig" at an undisclosed location 30 miles outside of London. The 250 or so fans of Cleveland's premier underground band who took the bait found themselves transported (at a cost of about $4, and by a very circuitous route) to Chislehurst Caves, an underground club (literally) that once hosted gigs by Jimi Hendrix and Hawkwind, but which had fallen into disuse over the past five years. Ubu unveiled the fuller, more upbeat sound of their new Dub Housing album (available here only on import so far), and were joined on the bill by Texas' semi-legendary 60s psychedelic punk band, Red Crayola, now based in London around founder Mayo Thompson, of whom the Ubus are great admirers. A good time was had by all, and everyone was home by midnight. Only in England.

1979

1979 1979-01 Slash: Vinylly: Wives in Orbit Radar Records (a truly innovative label) shows their respect for roots by releasing the 13th Floor Elevators' "You're Gonna Miss Me" (g) and a new single by Red Crayola called "Wives in Orbit" (r). More International Artists stuff is expected and should be encouraged. 1979-03 Bomp!: Wives in Orbit review Bomp! #21 13th Floor Elevators - "You're Gonna Miss Me" - Radar 13 The Red Crayola - "Wives in Orbit" - Radar 22 "You're Gonna Miss Me" needs no review, it's a classic, and the Radar sleeve is beautiful. Too bad it didn't hit the charts. But check out the Crayola disc, it's not from the reissued album, but rather a new recording done by Mayo Thompson in the UK, backed by various local and NY punks. As one of the last functioning survivors of '60s avant-garde punk, he's managed to plug right into the current trends--this sounds a lot like Devo--and he's got all it takes to become a leader in '80s much. Good one, Radar. Classified Ads WANTED: International Artists 45s 101, 102, 104, 110, 115, 129, 130, 132. Elevators foreign singles, EPs, Radar promo EPs--Red Crayola live, IA sampler. Buy, trade. 1979-03 After Hours zine: Red Crayola & Scritti Politti tour dates March F. 23rd Nottingham. S. 24th cheltenham. S. 25th M. 26th Rugby. T. 27th W. 28th Altringham. T. 29th Oxford. F. 30th London. S. 31st Manchester. April S. 1st M. 2nd Lancaster T. 3rd Birmingham W. 4th York. T. 5th London. Records I've been listening to recently: YIK-YAK by the current Red Crayola--straight to the head of the artist 1979-04-08 Concert poster: Red Crayola and Scritti Politti Check out this Red Crayola / Scritti Politti poster from Ratinger Hof, 4.9.79. The club - Ratinger Hof in Düsseldorf was the place to be in the late seventies in Germany. The German Punk Rock Scene happened there. Scritti and the Red Crayola toured together and took turns headlining. During the spring of 1979, The Red Crayola and Scritti Politti played gigs together across Europe. Despite the 2 bands’ very different beginnings and career stages at that time, The Red Krayola began in Texas in 1966 as an avant-garde psychedelic group and had by then released several albums, including collaborations with Art & Language, while Scritti Politti was an upstart English post punk band with only a couple of singles released, the match was perfect. Concert poster: Flickr 1979-05 Slash: review of The Parable of Arable Land reissue Full text: Red Crayola: Parable of Arable Land (reissue of original IA recording) Crazy Texan youth in the summer of Sandoz. Have a psycho wigout party, bringing their own noisemakers and their own Owsley truths, having no rules except the ones invented by the whims of a sugar cube. No conventions, no restrictions, and if that sounds like that cliche "anarchy," yes this "rebellation generation" knew the essence of that word a lot better than most of your drugstore nihilists. Through the chaos three crayolas play six 'songs'—leaking and swirling through treatments, shifters, delays, rhythm and structure barely held to- gether by lysergicized hands and voices, finally, inevitably disintegrating into another 'free form freakout.' You can forget those puerile cliche putdowns of 'peace and love' —these people really were making an attempt to destroy any cages of flesh or spirit, they were trying to break down more barriers than most of the current zipper pinned media idols know about. And forget the stupid attempts to recreate the period like 'Hair' — this was a time that could never be prolonged or duplicated. It was too over the edge — only Mayo Thompson has crawled out of the warp intact. A great document, and it sould like they had one hell of a party that night. Wish I could have been there. Z (sentimental for an experience never had) 1979-05-08 The Boston Phoenix: imports on sale this week: Soldier-Talk Vol.8 Iss.19 1979-05-27 ITV: South Bank Show: Rough Trade / Allen Jones S2E02 YouTube link 1979-06 Slash: Staff Chart: Opposition Spokesman Track from Soldier-Talk 1979-06 Music Week: review of God Bless reissue GOD BLESS THE RED CRAYOLA AND ALL WHO SAIL IN IT Red Crayola RAD 16 1979-07-21 NME: Red Crayola: '...The Ideological Features of Any Work as a Function of Consumer Relations... Long article/interview Mayo Thompson photo by Jill Furmanovsky Page 1 on Ebay Page 2 on Ebay Total word count of piece: 3200 1979-08 Slash: review of Soldier-Talk Full text: Parable of Arable Land Red Crayola Radar import (reissue of original IA recording) Crazy Texan youth in the summer of Sandoz. Having a psycho wigout party, bringing their own noisemakers and their own Owsley truths, having no rules ex- cept the ones invented by the whims of a sugar cube. No conventions, no restric- tions, and if that sounds like that cliche "anarchy," yes this "rebellation genera- tion" knew the essence of that word a lot better than most of your drugstore nihil- ists. Through the chaos three crayolas play six 'songs' — leaking and swirling through treatments, shifters, delays, rhythm and structure barely held to- gether by lysergicized hands and voices, finally, inevitably disintegrating into another 'free form freakout.' You can forget those puerile cliche putdowns of 'peace and love' —these people really were making an attempt to destroy any cages of flesh or spirit, they were trying to break down more barriers than most of the current zipper pinned media idols know about. And forget the stupid attempts to recreate the period like 'Hair' — this was a time that could never be prolonged or duplicated. It was too over the edge — only Mayo Thompson has crawled out of the warp intact. A great document, and it sould like they had one hell of a party that night. Wish I could have been there. Z (sentimental for an experience never had) 1979-08 Ivey's Calendar: Red Crayola gets booking agent Johnny and Frannie Walker, Peter and Kathi, some of whom were formerly involved in Walking Dead Prod. have started in the booking business and plan a record label. In September, they plan on bringing Lora Logic, Red Crayola and Judy Nylon. 1979-09 Ivey's Calendar: Red Crayola shows FINALLY: Red Crayola will be playing three dates this month and in addition to Mayo Thompson on guitar and Jesse Chamberlain on drums, will be Lora Logic on sax and the bass player from Swell Maps. 09-21 Mabuhay, Red Crayola, B-People T.B.A. 09-22 Red Crayola + B-52's Pauley Ballroom (U.C. Berkeley) 09-23 Deaf Club -> Red Crayola + Nervous Gender 1979-10 Slash: review of Micro-Fish & Chips Full text: Red Crayola (Micro Fish and Chips/The Story So Far) Rough Trade Import I keep playing this rather regularly. It doesn't hurt one bit, convincing structure, nice sound, modern feel, all that. But I'm waiting to feel something, anything in me once it's over. There is a lot of that sax/funk bass combination that is usually so lethal, but here it is more toyed with than slung across (as with the Contortions) and all you end up is a few minutes of sophisticated hip doodlings. These people have decided that in the future the form will be the content and act accordingly. And the couple of abrupt changes in style and tempo that are scattered about don’t seem to erupt from necessity but from restless impatience with their own approach. The front and back cover of the record are rather obsessed with tourism for some unclear reason: a bunch of postcards are used for the lettering on the front, and the back is a picture of typical tourists aimlessly wandering amidst some antique ruins. Does that mean Mayo Thompson feels like a tourist in today’s music world? Looking for artifacts and clues that will enable him to relate to his surroundings?? Kick 1979-11-01 Smash Hits: review of Micro Chips and Fish Better things from the special one-off line up of Red Crayola and their intense experimental 12 incher "Micro Chips and Fish"/"The Story So Far"--well worth checking out. 1979-11-10 concert poster etc for Gang of Four, Red Crayola, Swell Maps show Link Main poster high resolution 1979 Great Bands Small Labels zine: Microchips and Fish German zine Red Crayola: Microchips and fish/The story so far - RT o26 (12")

1980

1980 1980 Mayo Thompson photo Link 1980s Mayo Thompson photo Photo Back Photo size: 111x160mm (4.37x6.3 inches) 1980? Red Crayola songbook zine Note: not found I've heard about COMSTOCK LODE before since it had quite a reputation about it, and in fact still have this Red Crayola songbook which reprints a very in-depth Mayo Thompson interview that originally appeared in COMSTOCK LODE's pages. The zine is listed in common "Creative Writing... Mindless Reading..." fanzine ads from 1980. Examples found in: 1980 Peroxide #1 1980-smr Rapid Eye Movement #3 1980 Mental Children #2 1980 Peroxide zine: Epic Soundtracks playing with Red Crayola Epic plays for Red Crayola as well as the Swell Maps, he thinks that its fine for groups to exchange members & he is great freinds with Mayo Thompson. Influences on the group are quite diverse, from Can & Soft Machine, through T-Rex & Robert Wyatt, to wire, Pere Ubu & the Sect. 1980 Voice Of Buddha: Mayo Thompson interview Voice Of Buddha #2 Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 1980? Rock Session: Magazin der populären Musik: Mayo Thompson interview Note: not found Rock Session #4 Pete Frame, “The Red Crayola—Interview mit Mayo Thompson,” in Rock Session 4, Reinbek bei Hamburg Rowohlt, 1982, pp. 30–47. 1980-07-25 Born in Flames/Sword of God single Pic The Red Crayola.."Born In Flames"/"The Sword of God" (Cat.No.RT 054) Produced by Geoff Travis, Red Crayola & Adam Kidron. "Born In Flames is the title of a film made in the U.S.S.R. in 1929, Director Vladimir Korsh, Screenplay by Anatoly Volny. The film concerns the fight of the Red Army against the Nationalists and the Germans during the civil war in Russia. This song is programme music for a new film by Lizzie Borden about the enthusiastic amateurs of social change. "The Sword of God" is about the nature of Logic..."In a Muslim story, a fallen champion saw a Crusader wielding against him a magic invincible sword bearing the name of God: 'Sword', he cried, 'Can you strike a true believer? Do you not know the name on your blade?' 'I know nothing but to strike straight', the sword replied. 'Strike then, in the name of God.'" Peter Geach, "God And The Soul", London 1969, p.85. 1980-smr Slash: Red Crayola recording new album Excerpt: SLASH: Any new projects on Rough Trade? GEOFF: Red Crayola are recording a new LP, Raincoats have recorded half of their new album. 1980-08-21 Smash Hits: review of Born in Flames This is 1980 lads, and time you grew up. Red Crayola are/is Mayo Thompson, a clever, witty American plus borrowed musicians who make spiky, nervously energetic left field music without being unduly arty in the process. The programme music for a film about "enthusiastic amateur of social change" (according to the press release), this takes a few plays to sink in while the brain sorts out the melody and the four creative parts--rather the usual pre-programmed arrangements--that go into making up the whole. Brain fodder father than dance music but melodic and enjoyable. 1980-09-22 New West: review of Born in Flames The latest word on U.K. neo-revisionist-post-punk-avant-garde: Born in Flames, a Rough Trade press release says, is the title of a 1929 Soviet film about the struggle of the Red Army during the civil war of 1918-20. It's also the title of a new single by the Red Crayola, a group of moonlighting Londoners that includes recent Pere Ubu recruit Mayo Thompson (who headed the original Red Crayola in Houston during the psychedelic sixties) on guitar, Gina Birch of the Raincoats on bass, Epic Soundtracks of the just disbanded Swell Maps on drums and the brilliant Lora Logic of Essential Logic on saxophone. Lora takes the lead vocal here, twisting lyrics that depict a fantasy of the-U.S.A.-after-the-revolution into a pattern in which a lust for abstraction battles random images of class war, capitalist iniquity, solidarity and political hedonism. With words by Art & Language, a collective of socialist artists, the song is insufferably Stalinist and naive on a lyric sheet; on record it's the most surprising 45 I've heard this summer. And there is one truly haunting couplet: "Of America's mysteries/None remain."

1981

1981 1981 Kangaroo promo poster Pic Detail 1981 Kangaroo US promo poster Pic THE RED CRAYOLA. Kangaroo. San Francisco: Rough Trade. [1981]. 16 ½ x 13 inches. Promotional poster for this LP, the third of three that The Red Crayola recorded together with the British-American art collective Art & Language. Rough US12. 1981 Red Crayola band photos Photos by Janette Beckman Jesse Chamberlain, Lora Logic, Mayo Thompson Pic 1 Pic 2 1981 Future Days zine: Kangaroo review Future Days #2 Rough Trade are probably one of the leading proponents of what I'd dub 'anti-mood music': that is, its of such a nature that I'm never quite sure when's the time to listen to it. I have records which match up to the way I may feel at a given moment, and are suitable for certain situations as well. As a result with many of the labels bands it merits a special effort and concentration when listening in order to appreciate the complexity in the music. The degrees of 'difficulty' inherent in the labels product is typified by the Raincoats on one co-ordinate, and Red Crayola on another. ... Looking at the lyrics on the back of the cover of 'Kangaroo' you could be excused for lapsing into a Julie Burchill-style harangue against 'Marx and Muesli Set', so commonly found in the households which buy Rough Trade records perhaps? That aside Red Crayola's aim is to urge us to 'forget the contradictions of the present and contemplate what you cannot help feeling'. Using Art & Language (in its organisational and substantive forms) their search for 'the reflection of contingency' brings to mind the fine work of the late-lamented Henry Cow, and happily as the record reveals, something of the humour of Carla Bley. Thats an important element here as similar projects are often heavy-handed and ultimately tedious. So you can appreciate the irony of exhibitions of prisoners art being subsidised by multi-nationals, the Leninist distortion of language whereby a defeat becomes a 'phase', and best of all that Jackson Pollock was'nt killed by the narrow mindedness of the Art world but by his missing a bend and driving into a tree! There are several other social/political points scored, but the songs represent convulsions of various sorts - they are not the convulsions of the performers. 1981 Adventuring into Basketry zine: Kangaroo and Old Man's Dream reviews Adventuring into Basketry #1 THE RED CRAYOLA: "Kangaroo?" Laura Logic has got it. Siouxsie had it. Alison Statton had it. Now Laura Logic has got it. She is currently one sixth of The Red Crayola, along with two Ubu's, an ex-Map, a Raincoat and Ben Annesley (?). This album is wonderful. It shows politically inclined lyricism can make its point and be FUN!! Mayo Thompson's eclectic ideas behind songs like the title track, 'Prisoner's Model' and 'The Tractor Driver' combine ideally with the disjointed musical antics of the musicians. "They say it's art killed Pollock As if that could be. In fact he missed a bend And drove his Ford into a tree." ('A Portrait Of V.I.Lenin In The Style Of Jackson Pollock Part I') Excellent couplets like the above are scattered throughout the album, these observations and the dainty/faintly jazz-tinged wanderings of the music providing a balance for some particularly cumbersome song titles. Kangaroo? Certainly. THE RED CRAYOLA: "An Old Man's Dream" (Rough Trade) Allegedly attracting 'disco action', the first 45 for over a year is a gloriously brutal bass maze. The 'Milkmaid' coupling doubles its justification for singularity, but invest in the wonderful 'Kangaroo?' LP instead. 1981 The Rock Yearbook: compiled Kangaroo reviews The Rock Yearbook 1982 ...set in a warm, mocking music with an elastic, airy structure that leaves plenty of space for its many tangents and surprises. New Musical Express ... an intriguing album with overtly intellectual lyrics that tackle everything from the modern American artist Jackson Pollock to Lenin, Trotsky, Plekhanov and gestalt experiments with a sly humour that finds a mirror in the controlled madness of the music. Melody Maker I'd be very surprised if Thompson was serious about these windy Left-wing persemantics. I'm no Roland Barthes, but that inability to distinguish sums up this album's mystifying nature. Sounds

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1983 1983-03 ArtForum International: Jiri Georg Dokopil: The Imprisoned Brain Excerpt: Yet another example is provided by Mayo Thompson’s band Red Crayolas with its ironic, functional rock, experimenting with a mixture of traditional rock and Dada, of carnival music and sardonic psychedelia.

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