Timeline/1960s

1966

Summer 1966: Houstonians Mayo Thompson and Frederick Barthelme work on an film together. They eventually abandon the project and decide to start a band, The Red Crayola
September 1966: The Red Crayola line-up adds Steve Cunningham, Bonnie Emerson, and Danny Schacht. The line-up soon consolidates to Mayo Thompson (guitar, vocals), Frederick Barthelme (drums), Steve Cunningham (bass).
Late 1966-1967: The group plays live shows around Houston, Texas
December 21, 1966: First known mention of the group published

February 1967: Record producer Bob Steffek approaches the group to record a single after hearing Thompson play "Mother" live. The band's first recording session results in an unreleased single Dairymaid's Lament / Free Piece.

March 23-26 1967: Following the band's performance in the KNUZ Battle of the Bands, producer Lelan Rogers signs The Red Crayola signs to independent label International Artists.
March? 1967: The Red Crayola records demos for their first album
March 31, 1967: The Red Crayola perform at Rice University's Archi-Arts Ball
April 1, 1967: "Free Form Freak-Out" recording session with The Familiar Ugly

April 5, 1967: Second recording session
April 10, 1967: Third recording session: "Pink Stainless Tail", "Hurricane Fighter Plane", "War Sucks", "F.R.E.D.", "Concrete Block". Roky Erickson from The Thirteenth Floor Elevators added harmonica to "Transparent Radiation" and keyboard to "Hurricane Fighter Plane"
April 13 & 19, 1967: Mono mix
April 25, 1967: Mastering
May 11, 1967: Unknown fourth recording session (2:30pm - 5:00pm)
May 25, 1967: Mixing
June 3, 1967: The Red Crayola play the opening of Love Street Light Circus

June 7 & 9, 1967: Final mixing, editing
June 1967: The Red Crayola's first album The Parable of Arable Land is released

1967: Recording sessions for improvisatory instrumental album Coconut Hotel. Unreleased until 1995.
1967: Band photoshoot by Les Blank

June 1967: The group travels to California to perform at festivals
June 29, 1967: The Red Crayola perform at the Angry Arts Festival (later released on Live 1967)
July 2-4, 1967: The Red Crayola perform at the Berkeley Folk Music Festival (later released on Live 1967). Guitarist John Fahey joined their performance on July 3
July 9, 1967: The Red Crayola open for John Fahey at the New Orleans House
July 1967: Recording session with guitarist John Fahey. Their label International Artists forces the group to hand over the tapes in order to return to Houston. The tapes have never been found

July? 1967: The band breaks up; Frederick Barthelme moves to New York
July 21, 1967: A review of Parable, the group's performance at the festival and afterward appears in the Berkeley Barb^[2]
November 1967: A piece by Frederick Barthelme is exhibited in the opening of Joseph Kosuth's Normal Art gallery in New York City

Late 1967: The Red Crayola's first album The Parable of Arable Land becomes an unexpected success so their label International Artists asks them to make another album. The band reforms as "The Red Krayola" with a new drummer. The new line-up is Mayo Thompson (guitar, vocals), Steve Cunningham (bass), Tommy Smith (drums)

February 17, 1968: Overdubbing session
February 18, 1968: Recording session #2: "Leejol", "Victory Garden", "Music", "Free Piece"
February 20-23, 1968: Remaining songs recorded
March, 1968: Additional recording
March 8, 1968: Mayo Thompson records Johndavid Bartlett's demo Mother's Milk
March 9, 1968: God Bless the Red Krayola completed
May 1968: Second album God Bless the Red Krayola and All Who Sail With It is released
July 1, 1968: Both Red Crayola albums are reviewed in the Chicago Seed^[3]

1968: The band breaks up for the second time
1968: Publisher Doubleday buys Frederick Barthelme's upcoming book War and War

February 19, 1969: Thompson marries his first wife Dana
March 12 - April 1969: Frederick Barthelme writes what will become his second book, War and War
1969: Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis invites Thompson and Cunningham to visit New York to consider becoming involved in his musical theatre project Opera for Five
1969?: Mayo Thompson illustrates Frederick Barthelme's first released book, Rangoon