The Red Crayola
Red Krayola (originally Red Crayola) is an American 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 was initially part of the 1960s Texas psychedelic music scene and were signed to International Artists. After the release of The Parable of Arable Land and God Bless the Red Krayola and All Who Sail With It, the group disbanded. At the time, they recorded unreleased albums such as Coconut Hotel, alongside a lost collaboration with musician John Fahey which was recorded after the band performed with him at the Berkeley Folk Festival. Their performance was released as Live 1967.
During the late 1970s, the group reformed in England as a two-piece with Thompson and drummer Jesse Chamberlain. Radar Records reissued the band's original material, which led to the release of Soldier-Talk, as well as Thompson working with Geoff Travis and his label Rough Trade Records. The group later underwent various lineup changes, featuring artists such as Allen Ravenstine, Epic Soundtracks, Lora Logic and Gina Birch, as well as collaborative releases with conceptual art group Art & Language such as Kangaroo? and Black Snakes. In the mid-1980s, Thompson moved to Germany and collaborated with artist Albert Oehlen on the album Malefactor, Ade.
By the early to mid-1990s, Thompson returned to the United States and signed to Drag City Records with a new lineup involving members from the Chicago post-rock scene. During the 2000s and 2010s, the band continued to collaborate with Art & Language and release several albums. In 2025, Red Krayola performed new material live for the first time in over a decade at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.
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