Long Beach Antlers: it's like bringing Christmas early for Cal State Long Beach indie rock fans!

I'm fixated on their name. Even more fixated on their sound—psychedelic and smooth.

And it's only been about a week since I found out about them.

Who are they? None other than Crystal Antlers—a Long Beach band you SHOULD know about.

The band is rather underground still, but, as DJ Oldboy put it, "They are probably our biggest band to come out this whole year."

Why did DJ Oldboy (or Chris Lynch) fall in love with Crystal Antlers? Apparently, Oldboy went on to the band's MySpace music page, heard their cover of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" which had that Chocolate Watchband sound, he recalls, and then: Love.

It's all over now for me, too. I want Crystal Antlers. Rapido!



Here is an exciting Q&A with Crystal Antler's singer/bass player Jonny Bell, where I got to delve into the dynamics of this Long Beach band, their sly playnames, and what "grawge" means.

What's going on at the Nugget? Why is it THE place (of all Long Beach venues) for your show Thursday night?
Well, we've never actually been to the Nugget before, so we don't really know what to expect. It is THE place we were asked to play on Thursday and we're pretty excited about it.

Do any of you go to school? Or, maybe you already graduated from college?
Damian (a.k.a Sexual Chocolate; percussions) and I graduated from UCLA; Victor (organs) went to Otis; and Andrew and Kevin (guitar and drums, respectively) work blue colar jobs.

I hear your music. I like it. Though, I've read such descriptive words like "grawge" used to label your music, and I'm not sure how to make the connection. Can you explain what "gwarge" means?
Thanks for the kind words... When I think of "garage" I think of the Sonics or Love, that kind of stuff. We're not really trying to be 60's revivalists. We just like the old gear.

Where did you get started?
I think our official start was when we recorded our first single which was in San Francisco.

Where do you usually play (shows, parties, etc.)?
Nowadays we play anywhere that seems like a good time where we can reach a log of people and get drunk for free. I guess it's a good thing we finally get to reach the CSULB crowd. We'll have to get LA Record some distro out there. (Barbara's note: You can find LA Record at {open} bookstore on Fourth Street.)

Do all of you live in Long Beach?
Most of us live in Long Beach...

Where do you hang out?
We hang out at the local gay bars sometimes. Everyone seems to have more fun than at the other dives in town and there's not much pretention. Also, lately we've been having BBQ's in Bixby Park and playing kickball.

Do you have playnames? Like, "Sexual Chocolate"?
Haha... Damian Edwards a.k.a. "Sexual Chocolate." Damian doesn't identify himself—he just IS.

How do you feel about the Long Beach music scene? Where do you fit in with it all?
I like the LB music scene. There's all sorts of interesting stuff going on in different styles and none of the bands sound like each other. I think we fit right in there.

Are you friends with famous LB musicians, like the Cold War Kids (or anybody else who isn't as "mainstream")?
Haha... We don't know the Cold War Kids. Are they from Long Beach? We're friends with Free Moral Agents and Magic Lantern as well as many others.

Watch out for the boys performing tonight at the Nugget Pub & Grill at 7 p.m. The show's free and features two other bands. But, um, Crystal Antlers, just as Oldboy said, will "make eyes and ears bleed." I'm intrigued. See you there!

To hear Crystal Antlers' music (and to view their videos, tour dates and catch a glimpse of Mr. Sexual Chocolate himself), please visit their MySpace page by clicking here.

Photo by Grant Peterson. Artwork by Crystal Antlers.