Difficult Listening 8 - Mayo Thompson & The Red Krayola

I like the musical iconoclasts - the folks that shove other musicians in new directions. Mayo Thompson has been out there shoving since the late 1960s. He is the driving force behind The Red Krayola (a band also known as The Red Crayola, a name they were forced to change by the corporate ownership of the actual Crayola makers) out of Houston, Texas. The Red Krayola has released many albums and collaborations over the years - Mayo Thompson, as a solo artist, has released just one.

"Corky's Debt to his Father" dates from 1970 and was one of those releases that was unnoticed by most of the public. "God Bless The Red Krayola and All Who Sail With it", from 1968, was the band's second album (the first was as The Red Crayola) but still they were little known outside of Houston. A couple things helped. A marketing association with The 13th Floor Elevators flopped (they are pretty different bands but both were thought of as weird novelties at the time) but gave them some national exposure. Mayo toured as a guitarist for Pere Ubu around this time which gave him "cult" credibility.

The Red Krayola continues to grow in influence and genuinely have their own cult following now.