Press/Reviews
Arts
Local Group’s Music Unusual Hobby
By Lydia Piper
Normally, math, computers and nuclear medicine have little in common
with psychedelic rock music, but there is an exception—the Crawling
Walls.
Although playing this type of music is not a common hobby for most
professionals, the members of the Crawling Walls—which consists of a
mathematician, a computer operator and a student in nuclear medicine
technology—said they enjoy playing for fun.
“We have no aspirations to make a living playing music,” said keyboard
player and lead vocalist Bob Fountain, a University of New Mexico
graduate student and teaching assistant in the department of math and
statistics.
“I think as soon as anyone decides that’s what they’re going to do, the
music starts suffering. Music is just a hobby,” he said.
Fountain, together with guitarist Hans Kohls and drummer Richard Perez,
started the Crawling Walls in May. The group will perform with Plan 9
and Kor-Phu at a benefit concert for child care research at 8 p.m.
Thursday in the New Mexico Union Ballroom.
Unlike most bands in the Albuquerque area, the Crawling Walls is content
to play private parties and small clubs and considers itself an
underground band.
“We’re underground in the sense that we don’t want to break into the
commercial circuit,” said Fountain. This includes, he explained, the
more popular Albuquerque clubs.
“I think one of the problems is that music has been associated too much
with commercial success,” added Perez, a UNM student studying nuclear
medicine technology.
“Music has been around for a longtime, You can take (as an example) the
folk music which is played in Europe, and see that there are a lot of
competent bands who have full-time jobs and play music in their spare
time,” he said. “So, although we might not want to make a living playing
music, that doesn’t mean we don’t take it seriously.”
The Crawling Walls plays a style of music popular in the mid ‘60s.
Although labeled psychedelic rock, it is different from the acid rock of
the Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix in that it is more concise.
In many ways, the Crawling Walls’ music is more like the punk music of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. The punk movement was a rebellion against established ways, and punk music demonstrated this by rejecting sophisticated, technological music and going back to a more basic sound.
“When we play the songs, the first few notes get a sound of recognition
from the crowd,” said Fountain. “They know the song—they just don’t
remember they know it.”
Although the group said it has no interest in making a living by playing
music, it has talked about making a record, and has been asked by a Voxx
Records to send a tape for consideration on a compilation album of ‘60s
garage band/psychedelic music.
“It is difficult to make money off a single in Albuquerque, said Kohls,
a computer operator. “In Los Angeles, it’s more feasible because the
college stations play a lot of material from local bands and give them
exposure. But here, most local bands end up losing money.
Money has also deterred the band from making a video. The cost of making
a video for MTV is more than unknown bands can afford without investors,
Perez said. Because of this, the music ends up being controlled by
outside sources, such as record companies and advertising agencies.
“I think it does more harm than good,” he said. “ Music takes a back
seat to the visual image. Also, some good music gets suppressed because
there are a lot of good bands that can’t afford to make a video to play
on MTV.”
“We have a lot of fun playing the way it is now,” Fountain said. “When
you try to start making money or getting famous, it takes the fun out of
it.”
Daily Lobo, September 28, 1984
When it rains it
pours. The musical forecast for the weekend is blustery, windy,
rainy—all sorts of weather for all sorts of tastes.
The
Crawling Walls, featuring
skilled musicians, are busy making a name for themselves reviving
classic ‘60s riffs and hooks.
They will play at Bow Wow, 8 p.m. Saturday, where Paul Arden’s Various Late Modernist Tendencies is currently on exhibit. Two dollars at the door also entitles one to a 10-percent discount on musical purchases.
The Crawling Walls, Albuquerque’s answer to
the 13th Floor Elevators, played 60’s music on Saturday night
at Bow Wow records. From left to right: Larry Otis, guitarist; Nancy
Martinez played bass; Richard Perez, on drums; and Bob Fountain played
keyboards.
Mutual Oblivian, October, 1984
KOR-PHU/CRAWLING
WALLS/PLAN 9
S.U.B. Ballroom – October 20th
Talk about Freak-outs!! Far-out funky Kor-phu,
stoked and stoned-out Crawling Walls, and mysterious Plan 9 from Rhode
Island, grooved the UNM Ballroom. Billed as a “3 Band Meltdown” with an
“authentic” psych-a-delic light-show and film, which I didn’t see
because it wasn’t shown … the small crowd never the less was
entertained. Kor-Fhu opened with their own brand of 80’s
Psycho-Psych-a-delic rock, and are tight as usual. If you haven’t seen
them, be sure to check em’ out cause they really rip. Local faves
Crawling Walls played next and really got the people dancing with a
steady blast from the 60’s pschadelic past. This was probably their last
public performance as fast fingers Hans is moving on, they will be
missed by alot of locals and are a prime example of the excellant local
talent of which Albuq. is capable. Unfortunately, most of the crowd left
after C.W.’s. As it was, Plan 9 broke down in some corn field in Kansas
and were late to set up after a 12 hour dirve. But, they were worth the
wait. An 8 piece band with 4 guitars and a lead singer who can make Sky
Saxon turn over in his grave. (if he were dead)!!! The 4 guitars sounded
as one, and a definate highlight was the cherub looking bass guitar
player who at 19 is 5 years ahead of his time. (Their single). Memorable
songs were “White Woman” and “Can’t Have You” along with other soon to
be released originals. They enjoyed their stay in Albuq. and even
attended Hans’ going away party. They might stop here again sometime in
November.
Albuquerque Tribune, November 9, 1984
In support of that album, Dee Dee and his
“brothers”—Johnny, Joey and Marky Ramone (not really related)—will be
appearing at the University of New Mexico Student Union Building
Ballroom Wednesday night at 8:30. Albuquerque punk band Crawling Walls
will open.
The Ramones get tough in Albuquerque 8:30
p.m. Wednesday, in the SUB Ballroom. Opening the show will be
Albuquerque’s Crawling Walls. Tickets, $8.75 in advance and $9.75 the
day of the show,
are available at
Bow Wow Records, Natural Sound Records, and all Giant Ticket Outlets.
The show is
presented by Natural Sound and ASUNM-PEC as a benefit for
the People’s Anti-Cruelty Association
(PACA)
which provides aid and shelter for stray animals.
The Ramones return to Albuquerque tonight at
8:30 p.m. in the SUB Ballroom. Special guests are Albuquerque’s
psychedelic dance band, the Crawling Walls. Tickets are $8.75 ($9.75 at
the door), available at all Giant outlets, Natural Sound and Bow Wow
Records. The concert, presented by Natural Sound and ASUNM-PEC, is a
benefit for the People’s Anti-Cruelty Association.
THE CRAWLING WALLS
With a name like this they’ve gotta be cool,
right? Right! The pride of Albuquerque, this band has improved rapidly
over the past year and is now among the most impressive neo-psych garage
groups we’ve heard.
Crawling Walls
By David J. Clemmer
And so it
came to pass that an angel came down to earth and said unto the gathered
multitudes, “Go ye forth into thine garages and make ye a loud racket.
Be ye fruitful and multiply and I shall appoint Saint Fred, the patron
saint of Japanese guitars and cheap recording studios, to watch over
thee and keep thy neighbors from getting too pissed off. Over and out.”
Thus was the era of the garage bands born, or
something like that. Starting in the early/mid-sixties thousands of
Americans of the young male persuasion heeded the call of a nation that
needed to counter the first British invasion of rock bands with a noise
of its own. The strangest flowers that bloomed out of the garage scene
were the psychedelic bands, that took the lysergic sentiments of the day
to new extremes. Bands like the 13th Floor Elevators, the
Seeds, the Chocolate Watchband and others were among the best known, but
hundreds more were hidden away in small clubs, basement parties, garages
and primitive recording studios all across the country.
With the emergence of the new wave, old wave,
punk or whatever-you-want-to-call-it scene in the late 70’s a new
generation of American and British youth started looking back into the
proto-punk roots of the original garage movement. Vinyl psychedelia
compilations such as the “Nuggets,” “Pebbles,” and “Boulders” series
started appearing, and it now seems that America is in the throes of a
full-blown (and somewhat suspect) psychedelic revival. But then again,
the first one was pretty suspect too.
The Crawling Walls is Albuquerque’s own
1980’s update of the garage psychedelic resurgence. Based on an earnest
appreciation of their forbearers of two decades previous, the Crawling
Walls formed in 1983 with Bob Fountain on organ and keyboard bass (a la
the Doors Ray Manzarek), Hans Kohls on guitar and Richard Perez on
drums. Kohls was transferred from his U. S. Air Force job at Kirtland to
a new post in Denver, and Larry Otis and Nancy Martinez were added to
the line-up on guitar and bass, respectively. The Crawling Walls played
at parties, Fireman’s Hall Gigs, bars and the occasional psychedelic bar
mitzvah. Enthusiastic responses from local audiences encouraged the band
and Bob Fountain’s original songs began to make up the bulk of the
Crawling Walls set. The Crawling Walls occasionally hid themselves away
in Albuquerque’s mysterious Bottom Line Studios to record their
progress, and in late 1984 they sent a tape to Los Angeles-based Bomp
Records. Bomp expressed more than a passing interest, and a deal was
struck for the Crawling Walls to record an album’s worth of tunes. The
finished product, Inner Limits on the Voxx label (a subsidiary of Bomp), has just been
released and all of us are the richer for it.
Shortly after the band finished recording its
LP at Bottom Line, the Perez/Martinez rhythm section departed and were
replaced by the extremely dangerous duo of Carl Petersen (bass) and Bill
Mudd (drums). Petersen and Mudd have been playing together for years (do
Bill’s Friends, Martian funk or Ubana Pistola ring a bell?), and their
union with Fountain/Otis seems to be a fine match. Although Fountain
jokingly refers to the band as a group of “former musicians,” and
Petersen firmly states that “jazz stinks,” the Crawling Walls’
performances, both in concert and on vinyl, leave no doubt as to its
members’ instrumental abilities. In addition to his musical achievements
Fountain is one of the few (if not the only one) who holds a Ph.D. while
handling lead vocals and organ in a psychedelic band. Fountain recently
got his doctorate from UNM’s math department and will be leaving
Albuquerque to accept a teaching post at the University of Texas at San
Antonio. In conjunction with the release of the
Inner Limits LP, the Crawling
Walls will be available to their fans at an album signing party at Bow
Wow Records, 7-10 p.m. on Friday, June 28. Upcoming gigs include: the
Mad House, July 6; Casa Armijo, July 13; the Tamarind, July 27
(tentative); and the Cavern Club in L.A., August 3. Excellent production
by Mark Shipman and humorously bizarre cover art by R.K. Sloane and Teri
Corbin (all locals) help to make this high-quality package complete. Buy
local. The Crawling Walls are anxious to crawl all over you, so don’t
miss them. Sadly they won’t be around much longer due to Fountain’s
departure. At least we know what we’ve got here
before it’s gone.
Albuquerque Journal, June 28, 1985
SPOTLIGHT
Rock Band Celebrates Album
Crawling Walls, an Albuquerque band that plays 1960s rock, will celebrate the release of its new album titled “Inner Limits” with a reception and album signing party from 7 to 10 tonight at Bow Wow; Records, 103 Amherst SE. The album features cover art by Albuquerque underground artists/cartoonists R.K. Sloane and Teri Corbin. The songs on the album were composed by Bob Fountain, the band’s music director and keyboardist. Other band members are Larry Otis, guitar, Carl Petersen, bass and Bill Mudd, drums.
Albuquerque Tribune, July 5, 1985
Crawling Walls
Albuquerque band mixes
psychedelia, New Wave
By RUSS PARSONS
Tribune Accent writer
When last we visited
Larry Otis, he was a member of what we were assured would be
Albuquerque’s first big pop success—the New Wave Philisteens. When last
heard from, Bob Fountain was a member of the determinedly unsuccessful
proto-rockabilly band Jet Girls.
So if it comes as a
mild surprise that the two found each other in the Crawling Walls, it
must be something of a shock that their chosen common ground was 1960s
psychedelic rock.
And it’s got to be
enough to floor you when you learn they’ve actually got a record out
with national distribution, even if it is on the cult label Bomp.
How could such a thing
come to pass?
“Really, it just
happened,” said Fountain. “We’re pretty much just a band of loons—no one
went into this thing with any stars in their eyes. No one thought about
a record, except maybe as something we’d record ourselves and keep for
our grandchildren.
“We just hoped to play
in a couple of living rooms ... maybe some dances.
That’s quite a
difference from Otis’ days with the Philisteens, kind of the Duke City’s
answer to the Knack (if you remember them). They were pushed into
recording an album and hyped along every step of the way. With the
Philisteens now irretrievably splintered, Otis has fond memories of his
friends but no regrets about the change in bands.
“For one thing, in this
band I haven’t heard one word about learning to dance on stage,” he
said. “We’ve put hardly any effort at all to making it as opposed to the
other band where that’s all we thought about.”
Of course, being a band
that tries to play original music in Albuquerque is not easy. It is hard
for the Walls to get gigs—local club owners seem to prefer bands that
can sound just like all your favorite Top 40 artists.
“But in a way, the fact
that the clubs didn’t want us has been a big help,” Otis said. “We
developed our own way without any outside pressures and that is what the
record company liked about us.”
The album, “Inner
Side,” is … we’ll dismiss the temptation to say it’s’ surprisingly good
for a local band and just say it’s surprisingly good. Period. With
Fountain’s chanting Vox organ riffs and Otis’ inventive guitar playing,
it verges on psychedelia but retains the tight, dance-band feel of New
Wave. Let’s call it psychedelia without the self-indulgence.
In addition to Fountain
and Otis, the band that recorded the album included Nancy Martinez on
bass and Richard Perez on drums. Since then, they’ve been replaced by
Carl Petersen and Bill Mudd.
Crawling Walls will
perform Saturday night at the Madhouse, above Foxes Lounge, 8521 Central
Ave. N.E. Next Saturday they’ll be at Casa Armijo, 1021 Isleta Blvd.
S.W.
The roots of the band’s
sound lie in Fountain’s old Conflicting Theories band where instrumental
covers of Ventures hits were arranged for synthesizer and guitar. From
there it was a short step to other instrumental covers—notably The 13th
Floor Elevators’ “You’re Going to Miss Me.” Other favorite bands (“It’s
easier to name bands than songs,” Fountain says) include the Electric
Prunes and the Moving Sidewalks.
“From there we just
really got into buying all these old ‘60s compilations albums and
digging up real obscure material and doing those,” Fountain said.
“That’s where our sound got started. At first we tried to make it sound
just like those songs but finally we just said let’s go and do our own
kind of music.
“It turned out to be
more dance music, mostly simple four-chord songs. It’s got a lot of the
same appeal as rockabilly. It doesn’t take much for a garage band to
play, it doesn’t take a lot of talent.
“It’s still about girls
and cars and stuff. It’s that period when the drugs were almost starting
to take effect. It’s certainly not the Jefferson Airplane or Jimi
Hendrix but it’s where they came from. We’re just trying to capture that
same feel.
“What it was was all
these small-time bands trying to play like the Beatles and the Rolling
Stones. This is what came out. They failed, but they wound up making
something better.”
The Walls aren’t really
a garage band, they’re more of a basement band. “Inner Side” was
recorded on a four-track box in Otis’ basement. Mark Shipman, former
sound man for the Philisteens, produced.
“Really, the most
amazing thing about this whole deal is that we’ve gotten everything done
almost for free,” Otis said.
Albuquerque Tribune, July 26, 1985
Last gig for Crawling
Walls will be benefit
Albuquerque post-psychedelic band Crawling Walls
will perform its final concert at a benefit for the People's
Anti-CrueltyAssociation on Tuesday at the Northwest Corral.
Walls leader Bob Fountain is reportedly moving
to the East Coast for a music teaching post.
Other bands performing at the benefit, which
will start at 7:30 p.m., will include the Glamourines and Mike Glover
and Shout, featuring a former Philisteen in a new setting.
The Northwest Corral is located at 7901 Fourth
St. N.W.
Albuquerque Journal, July 28, 1985
Crawling Walls Revive ‘Garage Psychedelic’
THE
CRAWLING WALLS will headline a benefit concert at 8 p.m. Tuesday for the
People’s Anti-Cruelty Association, a group against cruelty to animals.
The concert will be at the Northwestern Corral, 7901 N. 4th
St. The show will also feature Michael Glover and Shout.
By Nancy Harbert
Journal Correspondent
Rock
sounds reminiscent of the 1960s can be heard on any given evening
emanating from Larry Otis’ basement in Albuquerque’s Southeast Heights.
The songs won’t remind you of such famous musicians of that era as
Peter, Paul and Mary or Jimi Hendrix. But they are a throwback to such
‘60s bands as the Kingsmen, the Electric Prunes, Question Mark and the
Mysterians and the Standells.
Bob Fountain, keyboard player for the Crawling Walls, describes the
music as “1960s garage psychedelic music with a 1980s flavor.”
Although Otis, a 33-year-old guitar player, said he welcomes musicians
interested in the revival of 1960s music to the basement.
Though the basement is the scene of a jam session, the central
attraction found most nights is the Walls, a four-man band in rehearsal,
with Otis on lead guitar.
The catchy title of the band is the result of a dream the 31-year-old
Fountain had.
“The name has a double meaning,” he said. The urgency of crawling walls
combined with the drug concept of hallucinating that the walls are
crawling.
“In other words, when you crawl walls, you usually are trying to get out
of the situation you are in,” he added.
Rounding out the band are drummer Bill Mudd, 24, and Carl Petersen, 22,
who plays electric bass.
The band formed two years ago with Fountain, who does most of the
singing, Otis, Nancy Martinez and Richard Perez. Martinez and Perez left
the group earlier this year, but not until they had recorded a
four-track album in Otis’ basement, which officially is known as Bottom
Line Studios.
The album, title, “Inner Limits,” was released two months ago, which is
about the time Mudd and Petersen joined the band. Despite the membership
change, the band continued its commitment to the sounds of the 1960s,
Otis said.
Mudd and Petersen, both from Los Alamos, have played together in other
bands and therefore have formed a tight rhythm section, Otis added.
When the Walls crawl out of Otis’ basement, they play at dances and
parties, but rarely at local bars.
Because the band does a lot of original tunes, Fountain said most bar
owners don’t want to hire the group, preferring bands playing Top 40
songs.
Fountain, who last spring received a doctorate in statistics at the
University of New Mexico, wrote all the songs on the group’s first
album.
Music of the 1960s is not Fountain’s only obsession connected with that
era. Paisleys—those popular patterns of colorful swirls on shirts and
ties of the time—are a way of life for the affable Fountain.
To gigs he usually wears shirts awash in a paisley design. In keeping
with the 1960s design theme, Fountain has attached black and white
paisleys to his speaker cabinets and has the designs covering the top of
his 1966 Vox Continental organ.
(Occasionally, Mudd wears a pendant showing a three-pronged peace
symbol, which gained fame in the ‘60s.)
Fountain will be leaving the band this fall when he moves to San
Antonio, Texas, where he has accepted a teaching position at the
University of Texas branch there.
Regarding his replacement, the remaining members will have to “look for
someone who wears paisleys,” he said.
In addition to its original tunes, the band plays once-popular songs
such as “Dirty Water,” made famous in the mid-1960s by the Standells,
and “Louie, Louie,” a 1963 hit by the Kingsmen.
Not surprisingly, the group admits bands such as these heavily influence
their music.
Fountain plays the organ similar to the style heard on “96 Tears,” a hit
by California band Question Mark and the Mysterians. Otis' leads border
on psychedelic music, which has a heavy metal flavor to it.
One song on their album, titled, “Day Glow,” contains chords also found
in “Louie, Louie.”
Other songs on the album have titles such as “Run Inside,” “Go-Go ’85,”
and “The Brain That Wouldn’t Fry.”
Although their record is on sale in Albuquerque, Otis said the band’s
biggest following is in Los Angeles, where they are booked to play Aug.
3 at the Cavern Club in Hollywood.
The record is being sold on the West Coast and overseas on the Bomp
label, which is based in Los Angeles.
The record being sold in Albuquerque is on the Bottom line label. The
labels are different because the band is distributing it locally.
“We’re not in it to make money or become famous, but to have a good
time,” Fountain said.
Given Fountain’s importance to the band as musician, songwriter, and
lead singer, the remaining members said they will decide soon whether
the Crawling Walls will continue to be viable musicmakers.
Tickets for Tuesday’s benefit concert are $3 at the door.
CRAWLING WALLS
“Inner
Limits” Voxx
Italian |
English |
Con
un titolo vagamente
riecheggiante
le
perdute gesta dei gloriosi Chocolate Watchband, si presentano a
noi i Crawling Walls, l’ultima scoperta in ordine di tempo della
scuderia Voxx, diretta impagabilmente da quell’autentico prime
mover che risponde al nome di Greg Shaw. |
With a title
vaguely
echoing
the lost
glorious
deeds of the
Chocolate
Watchband, appear to us
the
Crawling Walls, the latest
discovery in time of the Voxx
stable, directed supremely
by
that authentic prime mover
by the name
of
Greg
Shaw. |
Sulle prime l'album mi ha lasciato un pó indifferente, ma poco
per volta—sapete come succede—mi sono ritrovato ad ascoltarlo
sempre più intensamente, segno che il lavoro è valido e che
resiste all’’usurá del tempo. |
At first
the album left me a
little bit
indifferent, but
little by little—you know
how it happens—I found myself
listening to it
more and more
intensely, a sign that the work is
valid
and that it resists
usury
of time. |
I Crawling Walls sono una formazione del sud della California,
che affonda una parte delle proprie radici anche nel sottostante
Mexico (il disco è sta registrato ad Albuquerque, nel nuovo
Mexico, e risente indubbiamente dell’influsso culturale di quel
Paese). Come la musica del glorioso Sir Douglas Quintet, anche
quella del Crawling Walls sembra essere influenzata dal tex mex,
ma in maniera del tutto diversa rispetto agli illustri colleghi.
La cosa è evidente soprattutto nell’uso dell'organo Farfisa,
suonato dal cantante e compositore di tutti i brani Bob
Fountain. |
The Crawling Walls are forming in southern California, sinking a
portion of its roots also in the underlying Mexico (the disc is
recorded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and undoubtedly reflects
the cultural influence of that country). As the glorious music
of Sir Douglas Quintet, also that of the Crawling Walls seems to
be influenced by Tex Mex, but in a completely different way than
their illustrious colleagues. This is evident especially in the
use of the Farfisa organ, played by singer and composer of all
the songs Bob Fountain. |
Intendiamoci, non si tratta della prova discografica in assoluto
più originale fornitaci dalla Voxx, ma di un album caldo e
impregnato di buoni profumi questo si. Se a tutto ciò vorremo
aggiungere la straordinaria tecnica strumentale del chitarrista
Larry Otis, ci resteranno ancora pochi dubbi sull’opportunità o
meno di acquistare il disco. |
Mind you, it is not the most original trial record ever given us
by Voxx, but this is an album steeped in hot and good scents. If
at all we would like to add the extraordinary instrumental
technique of guitarist Larry Otis, there will still be little
doubt about whether to buy the disc. |
CLAUDIO SORGE
Stone Age News, August 2, 1985
SATURDAY
The Fashion Frolics
continue with THE LEAVING TRAINS, whose determined efforts to resist fashion have
made them mavericks of the local garage scene for years now. This band’s
mighty sound is only matched by their out-of-sync clothing (fringed
leather jackets in ‘83?) and there’s no telling what they’ll come up
with tonight.
From the desert sands
of Albuquerque come the CRAWLING
WALLS. Those of you who may wonder what sort of garage scene there
could be in Albuquerque had better show up to check out what these guys
are wearing—there’s no telling
WHAT the thrift shops may hold in such a place! Our scene is growing
so fast, every week brings some new development, and as we see what
bands are wearing in other parts of the country, our own scene will
become all the more diverse and challenging.
Also playing will be
the Need, who still aren’t a Mod band. But just the same, we hope their
own style of original, creative attire will prove acceptable to our
discerning crowd.
(The above reviews are dedicated to the L.A.
Weekly)
Milwaukee Journal, August 18, 1985
THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
Sunday, August 18, 1985
LISTEN UP!
ROCK
Crawling Walls—“Inner Limits”—Voxx.
Be assured that listening to the music of
Crawling Walls isn’t nearly as unpleasant as looking at this album’s
cover. The jacket, which features a blue fright drawing of a giant bug
eating a brain flanked by two women holding big eyeballs, will send most
would-be listeners running back to the comfort of WKTI. but the record
isn’t all that weird.
In fact, Crawling Walls is a pretty decent pop
band. Its songs are quirky, original and fairly well-played. There are
some boring underground clichés: a cheesy organ sound takes too much
precedence over guitars, and singer Bob Fountain sounds a bit too much
like Lou Reed. But if the group can ever focus on its own abilities
rather than its association with the underground, this record suggests
that it could turn as many heads as its cover art turns stomachs
GREG MAGARIAN
Maximum RockNRoll, August, 1985
CRAWLING WALLS -
“Inner Limits” LP
Organ-dominated neo-‘60’s punk that chugs along
pretty well. At times, the guitar parts get a bit too rockish for my
tastes, but the basic simplicity of the songs save it from degenerating
too much. (TY)
(Voxx, 2702 San Fernando Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90065)
The Austin Chronicle, November 15, 1985
THE CRAWLING WALLS
Inner
Limits
(Voxx Records)
Psychedelia continues into the ‘80s and will
probably still be enticing central nervous systems well into the next
century. The term “psychedelic,” coined by Humphrey Osmond in 1956,
literally means mind-manifesting (from the Greek: psyche-mind, delein-to
manifest.) Osmond proposed the term to fellow tripster Aldous Huxley
with the following line, “To fathom hell or soar angelic, just take a
pinch of psychedelic.”
Arguably one of the more accessible
mind-manifesting pathways is music. Psychedelic music, like most good
art, defies definition. What exactly do psychedelic bands like The
Psychedelic Furs, the Electric Prunes, Green on Red and the Rain Parade
have in common? Only a certain “sound” that is as diverse as it is
recognizable, the psychedelic sound.
Extending,
transforming, and paying homage to this peculiar musical blend of
Halloween and philosophy is a new band, The Crawling Walls. With
Inner Limits, they’ve dug back
into the pre-1967, pre-“summer of love” psychedelic period for
inspiration. Call it the “garage psychedelic” era. The Crawling Walls
exploit the musical groove pioneered by bands like the Electric Prunes
and Texas’ own Thirteenth Floor Elevators.
They are more “melodic” than the Elevators were.
This is due primarily to songwriter Bob Fountain’s keyboard virtuosity.
Making full use of synthesizers and modern recording techniques, he
still captures that “cheesy, garage, electric organ” sound that was the
sweet, trippy hook of so many mid-‘60s songs.
This record sounds good, achieving a synthesis
of spontaneity and layered production that combines the best of the old
with the new. The songs modulate from pure tripped out psychedelic in
the title track to the sprightly, succubic macabre in “Day Glow,” with
some appropriately inward-directed fun-poking in “The Brain That
Wouldn’t Fry.”
Inner Limits has been
favorably received in such far out reaches of the Psychedelic Kingdom as
Rome, Italy. In Austin, which rivaled San Francisco for prominence on
the nation’s audio-neurological topography during the golden, 60’s age
of mind-manifestation, this album should strike some chords.
Mark Leon
Forced Exposure, November, 1985
THE CRAWLING WALLS:
“Inner Limit” LP
(Voxx)
… with Korphu now relocated t’ Oakland, these
scooters’re no doubt the best band in New Mexico. This’s not t’say that
they’re the finest band on the planet, but LIMIT’s a pretty impressive
debut. The band’s leader’s a guy called Bob Fountain who plays organ &
whilst a keyboards-as-king disposition quite often indicates heavy suck
action, such’s not the case here. Bob handles his Vox in a tastily
integrative way (ala that instrument’s use by the Cunts) & it’s an extra
bonnie day when ya find a neo-psych disk that’s ALL ORIGINALS the way
this ‘un is. Who knows, mayhaps in fifteen yrs some young tucks’ll be
doin’ a cover o’ the long-lost “Tell Me Why.” Hey? Hey.
Byron
THE CRAWLING WALLS:
Inner Limits Psychedelia
at first glance; check the R.K. Sloane dripping
eye/cosmic demon cover art. Garage rock at second glance; pumped-up Vox
organ is the instrumental focal point. But midway through the second
cut, “Inner limits,” you realize that it’s unfair to try to typecast
this Albuquerque quartet. Tex-Mex crossed with camp-horror schtick
passably describes “The Brain That Wouldn’t Fry.” Some Gothic organ
pretensions lysergically lace “She’s So Wild.” “One Last Kiss” is the
strongest cut, sounding a bit like the Lyres and answering the question,
“What would ‘Get Ready’ have sounded like if Paul Revere & the Raiders
and Tommy James & the Shondells had gotten together to jam on it?”
Occasionally the ever-present organ begins to grate and you wish for
some keyboard variety; yet the songwriting is distinctive, the playing
loose and sometimes downright witty (a number of clever quotes), and the
production thoroughly modern with an ear, of course, for the genres
mentioned. (Voxx, 2702 San Fernando Rd., L.A., CA 90065)
Fred Mills
San Antonio Express-News, December 20, 1985
Gift records for that music lover
on the list
By JIM BEAL JR. Express-News Staff Writer
What follows is a purely arbitrary gift guide
for those among us shopping for records. The records being reviewed here
are related to each other simply because they were probably released in
1985, the music in the grooves stands up under repeated listening and
most of them are fun.
Christmas time means Christmas records and,
though the music has about a two-week per year life span, you can find
holiday favorites done hundreds of ways.
“Inner Limits” -The Crawling Walls -Voxx Records
You can take all the synthesizers in the world,
put ‘em all together, program them for a decade and play ‘em until all
the extension cords in the world are burned to a crisp and you’ll never
be able to duplicate the soul and life a Farfisa or Vox organ bring to
heads-up, pretenses-down, good-times garage rock.
The Crawling Walls were from Albuquerque. They
recorded and released “Inner Limits.” Then they broke up. But with that
record, the band left behind 11 songs that sound like the 13th Floor
Elevators meeting the earliest version of the Sir Douglas Quintet for an
after-hours battle of the bands.
The music on “Inner Limits” is psychedelic
garage rock driven by Vox organ, soaring guitar, steady rhythm,
excellent singing and, most of all, fun.
When you listen -and dance to “Inner Limits,”
you may be struck by the thought that less technology is better,
synthesizers are no good at all and you do look better when you’re
wearing paisley.