History

Early History

The band started as a 3 piece, Kevin Stuart (Drums), Errol Davis (Guitar) and Jonny Bell (Bass/Vocals) in late 2006 in Long Beach, California. Stuart, Davis, and Bell met while attending a music class in High School. Later, the three all worked together as Chimney Sweeps for an eccentric boss who helped them purchase musical equipment in exchange for learning cover songs.

The first single was recorded at Closer Studio in San Francisco and Engineered by Joe Goldring (Enablers/Toiling Midgets

Toiling Midgets

Toiling Midgets is an influential rock band from San Francisco, California with "roots in seminal San Francisco punk acts the Sleepers and Negative Trend1." They were "one of the first West Coast punk bands to experiment with dub and post-punk elements1", and have been active on-and-off since 1979...

/Swans

Swans (band)

Swans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...

). The single was funded by a small label (Majic Wallet) created by a friend of the band who had recently been released from Federal Prison for multiple counts of bank robbery. The label was named "Majic Wallet" after the money used for the single had been won while betting on a horse race. The A-side of the single was the first song written by the band "Parting Song For The Torn Sky" which was later re-mixed and included on the band's first EP

Crystal Antlers EP

EP is the first release by Crystal Antlers. It was self-released on 9 February 2008 and has subsequently been re-released on Touch and Go Records...

. The B- side featured a cover of Blue Cheer

Blue Cheer

Blue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...

's version of Mose Allison

Mose Allison

Mose John Allison, Jr. is an American jazz blues pianist and singer.-Biography:...

's "Parchman Farm" which had to be included as a condition of the agreement with the label Majic Wallet. A third instrumental song, "Theme for Time" was also recorded during the session but never commercially released.

After the band recorded the first single, Victor Rodriguez-Guerrero joined the band on Organ. Rodriguez was the son of a Mariachi

Mariachi

Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...

, and a natural musician. The organ had been given to the band by their former boss while working as Chimney Sweeps, and Rodriguez-Guerrero had to learn to play with no prior experience on keys.

In 2007, the band added another addition, Damian Edwards on Percussion. Damian had been a long time friend of the band, as well a the drummer and leader of a side-project called Black Geisha which featured Bell (bass/vocals) and Davis (keys). Edwards originally joined the band during their first West Coast tour. He had come along as the tour manager and unexpectedly joined the band on stage while performing in Oakland, California.

A second single was released in 2007 under the label Backflip, out of Orange, California. The single was produced by Guitarist Michael Belfer of the influential late 1970s punk/experimental bands The Sleepers and Tuxedomoon

Tuxedomoon

Tuxedomoon is an experimental post-punk/New Wave group formed in San Francisco, California, consisting of core members Blaine L. Reininger, Steven Brown and Peter Principle....

 and recorded at the legendary, Mama Jo's

Mama Jo's

Mama Jo's Recording Studio, started in the late 1960s, is a recording studio in North Hollywood, California.-History:Built in the late 1960s by Producer & Engineer Freddie Piro, Mama Jo's recording Studio was one of the first...

. The band paid for the sessions by helping to remodel the studio, mainly by pulling nails out of old floorboards for days. The single featured the song "Until The Sun Dies (Part 2)" which was later re-recorded for the EP

Crystal Antlers EP

EP is the first release by Crystal Antlers. It was self-released on 9 February 2008 and has subsequently been re-released on Touch and Go Records...

, backed with "Swamp Song." At the release show for the single, Isaiah "Ikey" Owens performed with the band playing organ.

Crystal Antlers EP, Tentacles, and Touch & Go Records (2008–2009)

In the fall of 2007, Crystal Antlers began recording their first EP

Crystal Antlers EP

EP is the first release by Crystal Antlers. It was self-released on 9 February 2008 and has subsequently been re-released on Touch and Go Records...

 with producer Issiah "Ikey" Owens, who had been making regular guest appearances with the band for several months. After the majority of the tracking was complete, Guitarist Errol Davis left the band to pursue other interests and Andrew King joined. Edwards and King had played together previously in a band with H.R.

H.R.

H.R. is the stage name of Paul D. Hudson, the lead singer of the hardcore punk band Bad Brains. His vocals can be quite diverse, ranging from a rapid-fire nasal whine, to feral growling and screeches, to smooth near-crooning or staccato reggae rhymes...

 from Bad Brains

Bad Brains

Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...

. King played guitar on the track "Until The Sun Dies (Part 2)."

In March 2008 the band self-released the EP

Crystal Antlers EP

EP is the first release by Crystal Antlers. It was self-released on 9 February 2008 and has subsequently been re-released on Touch and Go Records...

 to great critical acclaim and began touring extensively, joining the F-Yeah Tour which featured Monotonix, Dan Deacon, Circle Jerks

Circle Jerks

The Circle Jerks are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Los Angeles, California. It was formed by Black Flag's original singer, Keith Morris, and future Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson. They were among the preeminent hardcore punk bands of the L.A. scene in the late 1970s.The band...

, Team Robespierre, Death Set, and many more. In the summer 2008 the band signed with the label Touch And Go records, who re-issued the EP with new art by Jefferson Mayday Mayday. The original version of the EP featured a cropped version of the painting "The Robbing Of The Bride" by dada artist Max Ernst

Max Ernst

Max Ernst was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism.-Early life:...

.

After signing with Touch and Go the band quickly began work on their first full-length release entitled Tentacles

Tentacles (album)

Tentacles is the debut album by the band Crystal Antlers. It was released via Touch and Go Records on April 7, 2009 in the USA and a day earlier in the UK...

. The album consisted of new songs as well as a few songs written previous to the EP. The album was recorded and mixed again at Closer in San Francisco, allegedly in only seven days due to time constraints and pressure from the label. Immediately following the recording, the band left for their first European tour in support of the EP and the soon to be released Tentacles

Tentacles (album)

Tentacles is the debut album by the band Crystal Antlers. It was released via Touch and Go Records on April 7, 2009 in the USA and a day earlier in the UK...

. The tour lasted two-months and was filmed by director Michael Reich (videothing.com) for a feature-length scripted film starring the band. The film tentatively titled Until The Sun Dies has yet to be released.

During the tour the band was notified that their label Touch and Go

Touch and Go Records

Touch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.After its genesis as a hand-made fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s alternative and underground rock scenes, Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous...

 would be drastically downsizing and would no longer be releasing new records. Tentacles

Tentacles (album)

Tentacles is the debut album by the band Crystal Antlers. It was released via Touch and Go Records on April 7, 2009 in the USA and a day earlier in the UK...

 released on April 7, 2009 and was the last new release issued by Touch and Go. The band spent the rest of 2009 touring the US and Europe in support of the release. The artist Janet Beeler did the cover art and layout for Tentacles.

Current 2010-

In the summer 2009, Organist Victor Rodriguez-Guerrero left the band and was replaced by Cora Foxx. In fall 2009 the band self-released a tape entitled "Tapes' Volume 1 Tentacles Era" featuring home recordings, previously unreleased demos, and other rarities. The tape is to be the first in a series of very limited hand made releases by the band.

In February 2010, the band briefly moved into a barn in La Punta Banda

La Bufadora

La Bufadora is a marine geyser or blowhole located on the Punta Banda Peninsula in Baja California, Mexico. The spout of sea water is the result of air, trapped in a sea cave, exploding upwards. Air is forced into the cave by wave action and is released when the water recedes. This interaction not...

, Mexico to begin writing for their next album.

Members

Current

• Johnny Bell – bass, woodwinds, vocals
• Andrew King – guitar
• Cora Foxx – organ
• Kevin Stuart – drums
• Damian Edwards – percussion

Former

• Victor Rodriguez - organ
• Errol Davis – guitar, organ

Discography

Studio Albums

Year	Title	Label	Notes
2008	Crystal Antlers EP Crystal Antlers EP EP is the first release by Crystal Antlers. It was self-released on 9 February 2008 and has subsequently been re-released on Touch and Go Records... CD/LP/Download	Self-Released, Touch & Go Records	S/R version limited to 3000
2009	Tentacles Tentacles (album) Tentacles is the debut album by the band Crystal Antlers. It was released via Touch and Go Records on April 7, 2009 in the USA and a day earlier in the UK... CD/LP/Download	Touch And Go Records Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.After its genesis as a hand-made fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s alternative and underground rock scenes, Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous...	-
2011	Two-Way Mirror	Recreation Ltd.	-
2011	Son of The Mirror 10" Vinyl only	Recreation Ltd.	Limited to 500

Singles

Year	Title	Label	Notes
2006	Parting Song For The Torn Sky 7"/CDR	Majic Wallet	Limited to 500
2007	Swamp Song 7"	Backflip	Limited to 250
2010	Little Sister/Dead Horses 7"/Download	Self-Released	Limited to 500
2011	Summer Solstice 4-Ways 7"	Recreation Ltd.	Limited to 500

Collections & Compilations

Year	Title	Label	Song/Notes
2007	Spanish Archer Compilation CD/Download	Spanish Archer	Featured a cover of Bob Dylan's It's all over now baby blue
2008	Trust Us "A Long Beach Compilation" CD/Download	Fidotrust	Featured an alternate mix of the song Arcturus
2009	Tapes' Volume #1 "Tentacles Era" Cassette	Self-Released	Featured 21 Tracks of demos, work tapes and other rarities
2010	Chickens In Love Compilation CD/LP/Download	826 LA	Featured the song "100 Pigs" written by kids with the band