An Open Letter

JUST WHO THE HELL ARE/WERE THE KRAYONS ANYWAY?

Twenty years ago, a fledgling Southside hardcore punk unit called The Krayons played its first concert in front of several hundred punk fans at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Alameda Street in Corpus Christi. Thus began an eight-year odyssey that would eventually take the band across the country and back and leave in its wake, a legacy of recordings that reflect a burgeoning punk music scene in transition.

Emerging from hiatus, The Krayons will mark the 20th anniversary of its founding with a special performance at the House of Rock starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 23. Special guests include Sweet Daddy, Right Turn Clyde and Drastic Actions.

The Krayons will also debut the release of the band’s first ever anthology CD, “Hindsight is 20/20,” at the show. The new disc is a digitally remastered collection of the band’s best songs that originally appeared in a variety of formats including cassette and vinyl. The 24-song track list includes early favorites such as “Tomorrow is Another Day” as well as end-run notables such as “Brand New Notion” and “Six Over Eight.”

During its 1987-95 run, The Krayons opened for numerous touring acts at Corpus Christi showcases including Desperate Minds (Canada), The Cro-Mags (New York City), Verbal Assault (Rhode Island), Jawbreaker (San Francisco), Voodoo GlowSkulls (California) and Los Crudos (Chicago). The Krayons also opened for The Offspring at The Oasis in San Antonio, years before that band became a household name. The band toured through across the Western half of the nation in ’94 and opened for a variety of performers including The Gigolo Aunts (Boston), Braid (Illinois), Mecca Normal (Canada), Tilt (California) and numerous others.

The band’s music was played locally on the now defunct KRAD 105.5 FM, the defunct rock radio station Z Rock in Austin and has been featured on a host of specialty shows on independent radio stations and podcasts across the country. Internationally, The Krayons have ended up on playlists the world over including CFLX 95.5 FM in Quebec, Canada, Radio Starsul FM – 102.9 Mhz in Sao Paulo, Brazil and on the MIG 31 student radio station in Slovenia.