Text by Gypsy / FFanzeen, 1977
Introduction © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2015
Images © Robert Barry Francos
The first time I saw Crayola was opening for the Fast at some club whose
name I can’t recall right now that came and went, on MacDougal Street; it was
the same night I saw Sid Vicious drunkenly kick some homeless guy sleeping on
the corner of MacDougal and 8th as I walked to the subway. But I digress…
Crayola were a decent, rockin’ all-female band who definitely didn’t get the recognition
they deserved. I approached them at CBGB’s the next time about an article, and
the drummer, Hayden Brasseur, who would later join the Student Teachers,
suggested the anonymous Gypsy write it (I know who she is, but I was sworn to
secrecy). Other than legend, Crayola didn’t really go anywhere. I’m not sure
they even released more than a single; I certainly can’t find any info on them
on the Internet, which is saying something. But they are a part of that period’s
underground history, and I am also a champion of those bands that weren’t one
of the usual dozen or so you always hear about (Ramones, Talking Heads,
Blondie, Heartbreakers, Dictators, Television, Patti Smith, Voidoids, etc.). So
for posterity on the Internet, I present Crayola. – RBF, 2015
But this probably isn’t true because
the rumor was started by Lolly Holly, the carrot-topped guitarist of Crayola.
Sexy, sultry and talented. A direct descendant of Buddy Holly, her ambition in
life is to one day wear glasses and ride a defective airplane. She doesn’t move
much on stage (possibly for fear of a fatal collision with dervish Janek) but,
like the Statue of Liberty, she doesn’t have to move to be noticed. There’s intensity
on her face: the intensity of a professional. It was once suggested that if she
ever smiled, she’d break the hearts of teenage boys everywhere. She just doesn’t
want the responsibility.
Backing up Crayola with pow-pow-power
is drummer Hayden Brasseur. She plays with such force that drumsticks have
started to smoke in her hands and recently, she broke several of her sticks
over a bartender’s head. Dark haired and green eyed, smiling, making faces and
driving Crayola with innovative pulsating beats, Hayden is what parents
everywhere hope their daughters won’t turn into.
Introduction © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2015
Images © Robert Barry Francos
This interview was originally published in FFanzeen, issue #3, dated Winter-Spring 1977-78. It was written by Gypsy.
Lolly Holly, Janek Five, Hayden Brasseur |
CBGB’s in New York City is normally a
quiet, dignified, out-of-the-way little bistro frequented by middle-echelon
bums after a hard day of windshield cleaning. The bands who occupy its stage
are the descendants of such groups as the Kingston Trio, the Four Freshmen and
the Ink Spots.
Its usual clientele, however, wouldn’t
have recognized the place one recent Wednesday night when a quartet of fetching
females called Crayola launched into a rattle, a whoosh of guitar power and a
singer (with more energy than Con Edison) who asked, “What makes you think you’re
soo cool, looking me up and down? Turn them eyes away before it’s too late.”
Even though they knew Janek Five meant
what she was saying, the crowed couldn’t
turn their eyes away. Janek exploded across the stage like Orville Redenbacher’s
popcorn and people jumped in and out of their seats – and kept jumping – through
songs like “Scream and Cry,” “At the Rumble,” “You’ll Be Destroyed,” and “Massage
Parlor Junkie.” The set ended with Crayola pounding out a scathing version of “Love
Potion Number 9,” complete with Janek bursting into an impromptu Hullabaloo-reminiscent Monkey. Then the
stage lights went down and the house lights came up and Crayola was gone. But
you knew they had arrived. Crayola: you’ve held them in your hands, now they’re
melting in your heart.
I’ve already mentioned singer Janek Five, but
she deserves as much mention as she can get. She’s like a stick of dynamite,
with a voice bigger than she is. No matter what stage she lands on, you get the
feeling it just isn’t big enough for her (Madison Square Garden take note).
Blonde hair, shorn short, which is ideal because you don’t want to miss one
single glance or stare or leer. She is the focal point of Crayola and rumor has
it that J. Rotten was dismissed in hopes of getting Janek as a replacement.
Karen Krayon |
Occupying the other side of the stage
is every-steady, affable, tall, thin and often green Karen Krayon. If there’s one
person in all the hundreds of bands who hasn’t forgotten that rock and roll was
supposed to be fun, it’s Karen. She bops and hops and, along with Lolly,
occasionally steps up to her microphone to join Janek in harmonic lines like “Keep
your hands off my man / Or the shit will hit the fan.” Offstage, fun-loving
Karen can be found falling off barstools all over town.
Hayden Brasseur |
Together, these four girls, all aged
20 (birth certificates supplied on request) from one of the most promising new
bands to emerge from the new New York music scene. Only together six months, Crayola
are already recognized for their uniqueness, their pervading sense of fun and their
creative talent (they compose virtually all of their material). See them if you
can. If you miss them, invest half a buck on their single in Max’s jukebox
(#184). Either way, Crayola is coming after you. Have your coloring books
ready.
I saw them at max's back then. The red head was using equipment from Hall n oats. That's what the road cases were stensled. I was told she was related somehow. I look back now and perhaps someone from Sara Allen's family.
ReplyDeleteIn 1978 they moved on to:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.discogs.com/Creyola-Queen-Of-The-Beach-Girl-With-The-Hair/release/2254216
Were regulars at Max's etc.
They got really good with new members. Here's their 45 from 1978 or 1979
ReplyDeletehttps://www.discogs.com/Creyola-Queen-Of-The-Beach-Girl-With-The-Hair/release/2254216