THE OBVIOUS EPITAPH

Roky Erikson passed away yesterday. He was the lead singer and guitarist of the 13th Floor Elevators, one of the first psychedelic bands. An early adopter of acid, diagnosed as schizophrenic, and at one time thought he was an alien. All signs point to a mentally unstable person and he was at times. (In his later years, with the aid of his brother and medication, he pulled it together.) But he managed to put out quite a bit of good music and had a career that spanned five decades. Most of the people I know first heard the 13th Floor Elevators on the double LP Nuggets compilation, originally released in 1972. The song, "You're Gonna Miss Me", was a regional hit in 1966. There weren't any other garage compilations back then (no Back From the Grave or Pebbles compilations, let alone three Nuggets boxed sets), so when the '76-'77 wave of punk hit, that first Nuggets got a lot of plays, which is why I think that his death hits a little harder for old farts. If you had Nuggets, you likely knew who Roky Erickson was, and likely kept up with his career, and sporadic output. He was one of the few from the Nuggets era that kept making music (Sky Saxon also comes to mind). He was like a weird uncle that had a band.

Those of you who don't know his music should keep your eyes peeled for the documentary You're Gonna Miss Me. It pops up from time to time (it was posted at YouTube as of yesterday, but was taken down in the last 24 hours), or look for the site and buy it, or stream it, whatever,  that's your business.There's a lengthy obit at Pitchfork that ends with a great quote from Billy Gibbons.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
The 13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me (stereo) mp3 at The Rising Storm
The 13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me (mono, 1966) mp3 at The Rising Storm
The 13th Floor Elevators - Roller Coaster mp3 at Rocking Classic
Roky Erickson - You Don't Love Me Yet mp3 at Review Stalker 2007
Roky Erickson - I Think of Demons mp3 at On Radar (?) 1981
The Spades - You're Gonna Miss Me (streaming) at YouTube Pre-Elevators Erickson
 The Spades - We Sell Soul mp3 at Rocking Classic
Video:
The 13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me (pool party version) at YouTube
Roky Erickson - Interview and The Creature With the Atom Brain (1980) at YouTube
Interview with Roky Erickson (2010) at Vimeo