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Crystal Antlers got together because their high school music teacher was being investigated for child molestation. As absurd as that sounds, it actually starts to make sense in context of the world that is Crystal Antlers. It’s a place in which guitarists take kickboxing sabbaticals to Thailand, albums are crafted in a tour van using a boom box and a four-track, and vans are powered by restaurant grease.

Unfortunately, Crystal Antlers’ world also includes the near demise of their record label, Touch and Go Records, as it announced earlier this year that it would be closing down its distribution arm and suspending any new releases until further notice. Despite (or maybe because of) their eccentric circumstances, this Long Beach six-piece has managed to join a growing number of musicians that are gaining popularity through a little DIY elbow grease and online buzz.

In this video spotlight, vocalist/bassist Johnny Bell and guitarist Andrew King talk about their songwriting, future plans, and their outlook on the future of bands in an industry that is redefining itself.

The text version of the entire interview is on the way.  Special thanks to Bree for transcribing the whole thing.

Yes...I am always this creepy. Image courtesy of Tyler Dixon

I know it’s been a while since our last video spotlight went up. Let’s just say that while some people spend their  summers riding beach cruisers, eating otter pops, and pouring into music blogs, others are digging out piles of rocks from an otherwise great yard and then dealing with back problems that are usually reserved for men 40 years my senior.  I’m just saying…

But instead of making excuses, I’ll just mention that we have a handful of great videos on the horizon–15 to be exact. In the next couple of weeks we’ll have Crystal Antlers and Dear and the Headlights video spotlights up (special thanks to Nate for being a soldier and helping me edit my footage/interview from the DATH show).

Here is the complete list of videos you can expect to see soon on motorcademag.com/motorcade.tv (the video arm of this site). After Crystal Antlers & Dear and the Headlights, this list is in no particular order:

1. Crystal Antlers (within 2 weeks)
2. Dear and the Headlights (within 2 weeks)
3. Bishop Allen
4. Neon Trees
5. Shark Speed (sorry for the wait NT & SS; we ran into some crazy technical difficulties with your Velour footage due to our hard drive dropping frames)
6. Ponytail
7. Miniature Tigers
8. Cub Country
9. The Black Lips
10. Drew Danburry
11. Love Like Fire
12. Awesome Color
13. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
14. The Depreciation Guild
15. Cymbals Eat Guitars.

In the meantime, I’ll be getting up some still frames of the upcoming videos to wet your palette.

All these artists have been amazing to interview, have put on incredible shows, and have all had great things to say about some of the issues confronting musical artists in this day and age. For me, meeting these artists is truly one of the finest parts of this job.