I entered a shed-turned studio carpeted with woven rugs and stocked with a dozen guitars, stacks of drums, an Organ and a stand-up bass.
These hand-me-down instruments the Crystal Antlers have inherited from swap meets, pawn shops and acquaintances over the years have taken the band all over the world.
Next to the house was an empty space for their vegetable oil-powered van, which was retired at the end of last year and now buried somewhere in the snow in Philadelphia.
After the Crystal Antlers abandoned their jobs and homes in 2008, they used their advance from signing with Touch & Go Records to buy the economic, yet problematic van fueled by used grease finagled from restaurants along the way.
I sat down with four talented Long Beach locals — frontman Jonny Bell, drummer Kevin Stuart, bassist Andrew King and organ player JP Bendzinski, while quiet saxophone player London Guzman drifted in and out of the background.
Of the five band members, not all are consistent, and that is what makes the group so unique. Bell and Stuart are the only original members since the band’s creation in 2007. King joined the group in 2008, after the original bassist Errol Davis left.
Otherwise, the band has seen members come and go over the years, each bringing their own flavor and forming the melting pot they are today.
The Crystal Antlers started to rehearse, standing in a circle as they busted out three ballads. Powerful drumming and groovy bass combined with King’s power chords strangely complemented the buzz of the organ in the background, creating a sound that one could only describe as a fusion of psychadelic, garage and progressive rock.
The band seems to do whatever they want, and their improvisation is magic. With hints of rebellion from their punk roots, attempts at jazz and classical influences from old-timer mentors, the band has a sound that is unique to the Long Beach- born band.
After inheriting a Farfisa organ from an old boss who hoped they would cover ‘60s classics from the Knickerbockers and the Monkees, the group began incorporating the reverberant sound into grungy post-punk.
By keeping it simple and sticking to the white keys, Bell’s vocal range was often heightened to screams that mixed nicely with the rich, echoing sound of songs like “Pray.”
“Our amateur attempt at audio collage ended up being this sort of … whatever it is that we do,” Bell said, whose favorite songs are those that naturally materialize after hours of jamming and collaboration.
Their trademark songs are heavily layered with one or two instruments playing on a loop, while others fade in and out, speed up and slow down, which ultimately shapes the song.
In “Summer Solstice,” a simple arpeggio lingers in the background as the song wavers through different stages.
For being DIY for much of the band’s career, their success is more of a result from personal drive than a miracle. By abandoning their jobs for self-conducted tours and designing their own album art, Crystal Antlers have spent the last six years living purely for the love of the music.
Over the years, the band has gained a wide fan base, from bar flies to youngsters and old-timers, traveling solo and hopping on gigs wherever they could.
The band did, however, have trouble breaking into the scene as they were sometimes hard-pressed to score a gig at the Prospector.
“We were always the weird band on every bill,” Stuart said. “We were some enigma, just kind of like … there.”
When the band embarked on their van tour, their mobility not only made them experts in vegetable oil engine maintenance, but also in securing more tours and expanding their fan base.
In January 2009, the band embarked on their first and most memorable European tour, during which long-time friend and cameraman Michael Reich filmed the tour as a loosely scripted horror movie.
With the five band members, Reich and their manager, the pack traveled for two months in the grueling cold, filming scenes with random bystanders and holding up lines for restrooms while covered in fake blood. The movie is still unedited but the band said they anticipate its completion.
“When we took these strangers and enlisted them in our movie, suddenly we had a reason to connect with all these people that we would normally just not [interact with],” Stuart said.
Their newest album, released in October 2013, is proof that the band has already had a lifetime full of experiences.
From perplexing punk anthems like “Licorice Pizza” and hypnotically psychedelic songs like “Andrew,” the band is a product of years of traveling, going with the flow and growing together.
On Monday, the Crystal Antlers begins yet another month-long European tour, this time headlining all over the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
After years of music and experiences, the band now has a catalogue of songs with which to build their set.
“Nothing is real” just came out in October via label Innovative Leisure. and by record store day on April 19, the band plans to release a seven-inch record of their newest single, “We All Gotta Die,” with a remix by dub artist The Scientist.
Prior to hitting the road again, the Crystal Antlers will be gracing Los Angeles on Friday at the Bootleg Theatre. Tickets are $10.