California Crossing

California Crossing
Studio album by Fu Manchu
Released	October 23 2001
Recorded	Fall 2000 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California
Genre	Stoner Rock
Length	39:27
Label	Mammoth Records
Producer	Matt Hyde
Fu Manchu chronology
King Of The Road (2000)	California Crossing (2001)	Planet Of The Ape Hangers / Breathing Fire (2001)

California Crossing is the seventh studio album by the California stoner rock band Fu Manchu, released in early 2002 after some delays. Notably this would be the last Fu Manchu album to feature Brant Bjork, whom left the band to concentrate on a solo career. It would also be their last album via Mammoth Records as the label would fold mere months after the album's release. The album also features Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, OFF!) as a guest on "Bultaco".

California Crossing at the time and retroactively has been praised by fans and critics alike.

Background

Following two canceled tours in 2001 Fu Manchu would instead shift plans towards writing a new album, having twenty songs written and prepared. Fu Manchu would work with producer Matt Hyde for their seventh album, recording at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys. Originally the album was supposed to be released in September 2001 but due to the World Trade Center attacks on 11 September, the album's United States release would be pushed back to January. New singles would be revealed in "Separate Kingdom" and "Squash That Fly", the latter getting a music video and moderate airplay on MTV. Notably drummer Scott Reeder appears in the video rather than Bjork. Notably the song "Mongoose" is a shorter re-recording of the song from 1999's Eatin' Dust. The title track was co-written with Rodney Skelton (Speedealer) and also appeared in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground.

However on 16 November 2001 it would be announced that Brant Bjork would be leaving the band as he was no longer able to commit fully to the band while in the beginnings of a commitment to a solo career. On 2 December it would be announced Scott Reeder (Smile) would join the band as the new drummer, with his first performance with the band taking place on 16 December 2001 at Canes in San Diego.

California Crossing saw release on 23 October 2001 in Europe and later 29 January 2002 in the United States, peaking at #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers charts California Crossing at the time saw praise from several critics at the time such as Pop Matters, Michigan Daily, Exclaim! and Rough Edge to name a few. Retroactively the album has seen further praise.

California Crossing would see a re-issue via Fu Manchu's label At The Dojo Records in 2017. This deluxe re-issue would feature the re-mastered album, along with two other LPs featuring demo and pre-production versions of the album.

Tracklist

Fu Manchu California Crossing (full album) 2001

Fu Manchu - Squash That Fly

All songs written be Fu Manchu except where noted.

• 1. Seperate Kingdom (3:41)
• 2. Hang On (3:39)
• 3. Mongoose (4:10)
• 4. Thinkin' Out Loud (3:27)
• 5. California Crossing (3:36) (Fu Manchu, Rodney Skelton)
• 6. Wiz Kid (3:51)
• 7. Squash That Fly (2:56)
• 8. Ampn' (3:35)
• 9. Bultaco (3:11)
• 10. Downtown in Dogtown (3:18)
• 11. The Wasteoid (3:52)

Personnel

• Scott Hill - Guitar, Vocals; Keyboards (2)
• Bob Balch - Guitar, Backing Vocals
• Brad Davis - Bass. Backing Vocals
• Brant Bjork - Drums, Backing Vocals
• Keith Morris - Vocals (9)
• Nick Raskulinecz - Engineer
• Matt Hyde - Mixing, Producer
• Dave Collins - Mastering
• Unified Design Labs - Art Direction
• Alex Obleas - Photography
• Steven Stickler - Photography (Band Photos)
• Ken Pucci - Enhanced CD Footage

External Links

• California Crossing on Discogs
• California Crossing on Billboard