Jet Black Crayon

by Stewart MasonJet Black Crayon is the instrumental post-rock outlet for former professional skater Tommy Guerrero, who also releases more eclectic, hip-hop oriented sets under his own name. (Back in the 1980s, Guerrero was also the bassist in the legendary -- mostly because of their truly excellent name -- skatepunk outfit Free Beer, whose career overview The Only Beer That Matters was released on Alternative Tentacles in 2002.) Following the release of his first solo album, Loose Grooves and Bastard Blues, in 1998, Guerrero was invited to open for Chicago post-rock outfit Isotope 217. Rather than perform solo sets, Guerrero formed the instrumental band Jet Black Crayon with himself on guitar and bass, Monte Vallier (a fellow former pro skateboarder and a key member of San Francisco dream pop outfit Swell) on bass and electronics and Gadget as DJ. Following the tour, the trio released their debut EP, Low Frequency Speaker Test, in 2000. Although never intended as more than a part-time experimental outlet, Jet Black Crayon maintained a fairly steady release schedule at first, with the 2002 single Mean Streets and the 2003 EP Experiments In The Space Metal Time Signature preceding 2004's debut full-length Inaccuracies of the Mind Machine. However, following the album, an extended layoff preceded 2008's In the Interim.