Hi everyone! Dave Wallflower here again. Underground culture is a worldwide phenomenon. It is everywhere. It is all around us. It is like the air we breathe, the water we swim in (assuming that we are fish). In this the third edition of This We Dug, you will learn about Red Krayola, a band that helped form the collective Che Underground consciousness. They were like some of the water we fish swam in. This issue of This We Dug was supplied by Che alumni Paul Kaufman and Dave Fleminger, two guys who in turn provided more than a little of the underground air we breathed.
Austin, Texas, made some very high-profile contributions to the psychedelic scene, notably Roky Erikson’s 13th Floor Elevators. But there were other bands in that scene you should check out. The Bubble Puppy album is cool. But my all-time favorite album from this time and place is the second LP by Red Krayola, “God Bless the Red Krayola and all who Sail with It.” This came after their half-song, half-“free form freak-out” debut LP “The Parable of Arable Land,” which provided the immortal “Hurricane Fighter Plane” (notably covered by Boo in the mid-’90s).
This is not an easy album to describe, and it’s very far from easy listening. Way ahead of its time (1968), it has some of the dark minimalism you might expect from a gloomy band from Manchester, England, from the late ’70s. Experimentalism rules the day, and some concoctions annoy (“The Shirt,” with some kind of heavy hammering going on), while others delight (“Music,” a haphazard a capella; “Big,” which allows a small girl to take the mic; “Save the House” and “Sheriff Jack,” which leave you to wonder whether the rhythmic chaos will spin completely out of control). Tonally dissonant instrumentals fill in the gaps between the composed songs. At first listen, you might think there’s little melody, but soon you’ll be singing along with “Jewels of the Madonna”:
“Never let it be said that
This is swill
I’m glad you like it.”
And I hope you do.
— Paul Kaufman and Dave Fleminger
More “This We Dug”:
Yes! Red Krayola or as they spell it on they record “The Parable of Arable Land” The Red Crayola with the Familiar Ugly.
I love this record/band!
I was in a fairly short lived San Francisco band called “The Chariots”, & we covered ” Pink Stainless Tail”. I miss playing that song and The Chariots, great song writers in the band.
This I dug!
I seem to remember they were also on a compilation Album of sorts called “Epitaph for a Legend” .Early Roky Erickson and the Moving Sidewalks were included if I remember correctly though some one correct me if I’m wrong. Good stuff though! I wish my nephew would take some notice of these rare gems.
Hi Larry,
I have that LP and you are correct, awesome stuff by the Spades (early Elevators) and the Red Crayola are genius!
Hope things are well with you my friend!
-Lori
Hmmmm still talking to myself here….. yeah another cool Texas band from the late 60’s was “The Golden Dawn” with there record “Power Plant”. This band sounds alot like The 13th Floor Elevators but with wind chimes replacing the electric jug.
but not as good as Red Krayola and there brand of Proto-Kraut Rock via texas.
sorry just needed to geek out alittle.
Yes!This was definitely the better record of the two,but I dig Faust a lot which I find this somehow similar to but different if you know what I mean.Makes my grey matter all itchy and metallic tasting,yum!
“all itchy and metallic tasting,yum!” Like you just took a bite out of CAN?
While we are on the subject of Texas bands, I am going to see “Roky Erikson” at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco this saturday!!!! Roky will be playn’ mostly his 70’s stuff by the Aliens, The Explosives will be backing him up, Rokys got him self some new teeth!
Hell yeah…Two Headed Dog, Two Headed Dog!
Dylan: I wish I were seeing Roky Erikson! I expect a full review. Did you see the documentary about Roky? I highly recommend it -- called “You Gonna Miss Me” and is the story of his younger brother liberating him from his mental illness, kept untreated for almost 20 years by his enabling mother. A beautiful, heartfelt story. I get tears when I think about him performing.
He is such a lovely soul. With a voice that “inspired Janis Joplin”.
Am I remembering correctly that Chris Gast (RIP) had some sort of phone company kinda job that enabled him to locate a home telephone number for Roky Erickson, then cold-call him for a chat?
I remember him describing getting the mom on the phone, then hearing the screen door slam on the other end as she went off to fetch Roky. A really vivid aural image to me.
That’s a crazy story…I wonder if it’s true?
I dig “This we Dug”. I think it is incredibly interesting as well as important to document the musical luminaries who influenced and inpired our music. It is also a great way to pass the torch…perhaps inform and educate many new generation musicians an hipsters to come.
I am at a bit of a loss to Red Krayola, although I am sure I heard their music many times before. If they are any way a kin to 13th Floor Elevators thy have got to be good. Texas is a huge state, which grants them an immense talent pool.
I always secretly wanted to be a female version of Rocky Erickson!
Kristen: Yeah I have seen “Your gonna miss me” a few times now, last time I saw it I was taking photos of the T.V. screen to get images for a painting I am working on, anyways great movie.
I will fill yall in on the show, this will be the 2nd Roky show, last one was great and I gotta say I had a tear in my eye watching Roky up there after all he has been threw. My hero!
The story about Chris Gast is very cool.
I used to go “Tommy Hall” hunting in the Tenderloin when I first moved to San Francisco.
Yeah the story is true ,Chris Gast worked at some place that sold coupon books over the phone and when they were bored they called various people up? When Chris lived in Texas he also had the pleasure of meeting Roky and going to his house,he wrote a short article about it , I might even have it somewhere.It was kind of sad as Roky obviously had a very loose grip on reality at the time, but in Chris’s eyes he could do no wrong(Roky).Reminds me of the time Chris brought Sky Saxon to my house in SF for thanksgiving dinner(Around the time he was touring with The Fractuals, some band from Hawaii). It was kinda cool in a weird ,who’s the skinny little hippie junkie in my house and why is his wiccan hippie jailbait girlfriend digging a hole in my yard to bury things for thanksgiving, kind of way.After I got over the initial shock I loosened up after a couple glasses of wine and I got stoned with him, it turned out to be an alright turkey day except Sky didn’t eat meat, he seemed fine with the sweet potatoes and veggies though. I remember another story of phone mischief involving Dave Fleminger and Syd Barrett but I’m unsure of it’s validity.What of it Dave? Fact or Fiction.
Oops
Hi Lori!
Larry: Fact or fiction? Flack ‘r affliction…turn left at Greenland.
Yes, Syd used to prank call me…I don’t why he called himself Gerald, but I knew it was him the whole time.
I would luv to see Chris’s article about Roky, my memory of his story involved many, many televisions..
Yep many TV’s as I recall. I’ll look around my house for it. Hope I don’t run into a good mouse.
>>Sky didn’t eat meat, he seemed fine with the sweet potatoes and veggies though
“Sky Saxon Turkey Dinner” would still make a great concept album.
Speaking of Sky Saxon’s digestive processes, who knows the context of this gassy performance?
According to imdb, hat’s a clip from a show called “The Mothers in Law,” with Even Arden. It’s from the last show of the first season, an episode called “How to Manage a Rock Group.”
Here are the Standells on “The Munsters”:
Dave Klowden,scoring with the chicks as usual.go,Dave!
If you recall Larry, Sky and ‘Rain” (though her given name was Becky or something) called it The Food Sacrifice! It was some psuedo-Hawaiian/Native American invocation.
That was a trippy Thanksgiving day, soul brother.
and about Roky: oh, yeah, the Roky visits were Insane. Still have the magazines he gave Chris and me from the thousands piled up like stalagmites (you know what I mean). I’ve kept up w/Sumner and Roky (and even Evelyn) and it’s so nice to see how well he is doing compared to how dire the situ was before……..