Reality Freakout

Pop Gets Political On The New Album From The 63 Crayons

originally published February 28, 2007

Having a party on Election Night is a great idea if you like being drunk and depressed. That's where I was and what I was, respectively, on Nov. 8, 2004. What seemed like a perfectly reasonable excuse to engage in time-honored TV party six-packism turned into sad friends feeling more anxious about the fine state of Ohio than we'd ever imagined possible. The mood was so utterly grim that even Gordon Lamb, the sole right-winger at our failure soiree, urged us to not give up hope, as the polls hadn't yet closed. But if you think that's bad, consider the 63 Crayons' theater of frowns on the eve of George W. Bush's inexplicable re-election. "We were onstage at the 40 Watt while it was going down," Crayons singer-guitarist Charlie Johnston says ruefully. "We played with The Visitations. The results were [projected] on the screen behind us and it was just… going the wrong way. All the states were turning red behind us. It was fucking depressing."

The 63 Crayons aren't necessarily the folks you would expect to emerge as Athens' premier critics of the hawk-tards that make up our current administration. After meeting up at a record store in their home of Roanoke, VA, the members would eventually, like many before and since, lay down roots in Athens due in part to the well-known and -loved psychedelic music community. Elephant Six, Johnston notes, is "what made me buy a four-track." With album titles like Spread the Love , the Crayons originally traded in bright colors and smiling melodies. But as the band - these days comprised of Johnston, ace keyboardist Suzanne Allison, theremin pilot/ sample guru Ben Davis and musician's musician Derek Almstead on drums - settled into its new home shortly after the expiration of the '90s, the government's "shock and awe" foreign policy was always in the back of everyone's mind.

"It felt kind of silly to be doing really sunshiney stuff when I was kind of freaking out," admits Johnston. And so the new material being written in Athens took pages from both the protest music of another era of an unpopular war, as well as the scathing anti-Reagan years of the '80s. Spoils for Survivors , the band's self-recorded and self-released second album, puts it to the president with chants and chiding, alike. "If you're such a hero, then save us," Johnston sneers through a mask of reverb. The leadoff track is even called "Revolution Fight Song." But when pressed for any particular poli sci, Johnston demures. "There's no specific politics or anything," he insists. "It's just… freaking out."

"Freaking out" is certainly an operable phrase when describing Spoils for Survivors . Updating the herky-jerk paranoia of early Talking Heads for the age of wiretaps and neocons, Johnston's nervous vox talks of the personal as well as the political. In lieu of a bassist ("No safety net!" as a Doors fan once put it), Allison anchors her Farfisa-esque organ with solid, sinister keyboard bass. An Eno-like fog of echo and haunted sonics rests heavily over much of the proceedings, which Johnston claims can be partially credited to producer Almstead. "Derek recorded [the album]," he says. "He's kind of a genius. We did all the musical tracks at his house, I did all the vocals at my house." How Almstead, the band's only non-Roanoke transplant, ended up behind the kit for the band is equally casual. "Our [original] drummer freaked out and ended up going home, and we had some shows booked… we were out drinking and I offered him five bucks to play with us, just fuckin' around. He came over and practiced with us the next day and we had a show that night."

Along with Spoils for Survivors , an EP of bonus material will soon be made available from the Crayons entitled Tuscan Beats . The group will be performing at the Caledonia Lounge alongside the New Sound of Numbers [see ABC Box], with which Johnston has been frequently performing, as well as their old drummer's new band, the '60s-retro act the Young Sinclairs. Early showgoers for this bargain-priced event will be treated to complimentary beverages and copies of Spoils for Survivors , so timely attendance is suggested for those wishing to be a part of this particular revolution.

Jeff Tobias

WHO: The 63 Crayons, The New Sound of Numbers, Young Sinclairs
WHERE: Caledonia Lounge
WHEN: Wednesday, February 28
HOW MUCH: $2