Roky Erickson
Encyclopedia
Roky Erickson is an American
singer, songwriter
, harmonica
player and guitarist
from Texas
. He was a founding member of the 13th Floor Elevators
and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock
genre.
from age 5 and took up guitar
at 10. He attended school in Austin
and dropped out of Travis High School in 1966, one month before graduating, rather than cut his hair to conform to the school dress code. His first notable group was The Spades, who scored a regional hit with Erickson's song "We Sell Soul"; this song is included on the compilation album
Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 17
(although the songwriter is identified as Emil Schwartze on the track listing on this album). Also the song "You're Gonna Miss Me
", later a hit for 13th Floor Elevators
, was featured on the compilation album The Best of Pebbles
Volume 1.
in late 1965. He and bandmate Tommy Hall were the main songwriters. Early in her career, singer Janis Joplin
considered joining the Elevators, but Family Dog's Chet Helms
persuaded her to go to San Francisco, California
instead, where she found major fame.
In 1966 (Erickson was 19 years old) the band released their debut album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
. Psychedelic Sounds had the band's only charting single, Erickson's "You're Gonna Miss Me." A stinging breakup song, the single remains probably Erickson's best-known work: it was a major hit on local charts in the U.S. southwest, and appeared at lower position on national singles charts as well. Critic Mark Deming writes that "If Roky Erickson had vanished from the face of the earth after The 13th Floor Elevators released their epochal debut single, 'You're Gonna Miss Me
,' in early 1966, in all likelihood he'd still be regarded as a legend among garage rock
fanatics for his primal vocal wailing and feral harmonica work."
In 1967, the band followed up with Easter Everywhere
, perhaps the band's most focused effort, featuring the epic track "Slip Inside This House
", and a noted cover of Bob Dylan
's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
".
The album Live
was put out in 1968 by International Artists
. It featured audience applause dubbed over studio recordings of cover versions and older material, and it had little to no input from the band.
Bull of the Woods
, released in 1969, was the 13th Floor Elevators' last released album on which they worked as a group and was largely the work of Stacy Sutherland. Erickson, due to health and legal problems, and Tommy Hall were only involved with a few tracks, including "Livin' On" and "May the Circle Remain Unbroken".
, Erickson started speaking nonsense. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia
and sent to a Houston
psychiatric hospital
, where he involuntarily received electroconvulsive therapy
.
The Elevators were vocal proponents of LSD, mescaline
, DMT
and marijuana
use, and were subject to extra attention from police. In 1969, Erickson was arrested for possession of one marijuana
joint in Austin. Facing a ten-year prison term, Erickson pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He was first sent to the Austin State Hospital
. After several escapes, he was sent to the Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he was subjected to more electroconvulsive therapy
and Thorazine
treatments, ultimately remaining in custody until 1972.
and/or German
for "stay," and "Alien" being a pun on the German word allein ("alone") - the phrase in German therefore being "remain alone." His new band exchanged the psychedelic sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators for a more hard rock
sound that featured lyrics on old horror film
and science fiction
themes. "Two Headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer)" (produced by The Sir Douglas Quintet's Doug Sahm
) was released as a single.
The new band renamed itself Roky Erickson and the Aliens. In 1979, after playing with the Reversible Cords on May Day at Raul's, Erickson recorded 15 new songs with producer
Stu Cook
, former bass
player of Creedence Clearwater Revival
. These efforts were released in two "overlapping" LPs — "I Think Of Demons" (CBS UK, 1980) and "The Evil One" (415 Records, 1981). Cook played bass on two tracks, "Sputnik" and "Bloody Hammer." Roky performed with The Nervebreakers
as his backup band at The Palladium in Dallas
in 1979. A recording was issued on the French label New Rose
and was recently re-issued elsewhere.
In 1982, Erickson asserted that a Martian
had inhabited his body. He came to feel that, due to his being alien, human beings were attacking him psychically. A concerned friend enlisted a Notary Public to witness an official statement by Erickson that he was an alien; he hoped by declaring so publicly he would be in line with any "international laws" he might have been breaking. Erickson claimed the attacks then indeed stopped.
Several live albums of his older material have been released since then, and in 1990 Sire Records
/Warner Bros. Records
released a tribute album
, Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson
, produced by WB executive Bill Bentley
. It featured versions of Erickson's songs performed by The Jesus and Mary Chain
, R.E.M.
, ZZ Top
, Julian Cope
, Butthole Surfers
, Bongwater
, John Wesley Harding
, Doug Sahm
and Primal Scream
, among others. According to the liner notes, the title of the album came from a remark Erickson made to a friend who asked him to define psychedelic music, to which Erickson reportedly replied "It's where the pyramid meets the eye, man," an apparent reference to the Eye of Providence
and the Great Seal of the United States
.
drummer King Coffey
's label Trance Syndicate
Records. Produced by Texas Tornado
bassist Speedy Sparks, Austin recording legend Stuart Sullivan
and Texas Music Office
director Casey Monahan, the release coincided with the publication of Openers II, a complete collection of Erickson's lyrics. Published by Henry Rollins
's 2.13.61
Publications, it was compiled and edited by Casey Monahan with assistance from Rollins and Erickson's youngest brother Sumner Erickson, a classical tuba
player.
The same year, Entombed
and New Bomb Turks
released a split EP titled Night of the Vampire, with a cover of Erickson's single.
Sumner was granted legal custody of Roky in 2001, and established a legal trust to aid his brother. As a result, Roky received some of the most effective medical and legal aid of his life, the latter useful in helping sort out the complicated tangle of contracts, which had reduced royalty payments
to all but nothing for his recorded works. He also started taking medication to control his schizophrenia.
A documentary film on the life of Roky Erickson titled You're Gonna Miss Me
was made by director Keven McAlester and screened at the 2005 SXSW film festival. In September of the same year, Erickson performed his first full-length concert in 20 years at the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival
with The Explosives with special guest and long time associate, Billy Gibbons
of ZZ Top
.
In the December 30, 2005 issue of the Austin Chronicle
, an alternative weekly newspaper in Austin, Texas, Margaret Moser chronicled Erickson's recovery, saying Erickson had weaned himself off his medication, played at 11 gigs in Austin that year, obtained a driver's license, bought a car (a Volvo
) and voted.
In 2007, Erickson played his first ever gigs in New York City
at SOUTHPAW in Brooklyn, NY, as well as California
's Coachella Festival and made a debut performance in England
to a capacity audience at the Royal Festival Hall
, London
. Roky continued to play in Europe
, performing for the first time in Finland at Ruisrock
festival. According to the article in Helsingin Sanomat
8 June 2007, the performance was widely considered the highlight of the festival day.
On 8 September 2008, Scottish post-rock
band Mogwai
released the Batcat
EP. Erickson is featured on one of the tracks, "Devil Rides". Erickson performed alongside Austin
-based indie rock band Okkervil River at the Austin Music Awards in 2008 and then again at the 2009 South by Southwest
music festival.
Roky Erickson returned to the stage in 2008 to perform songs from the 13th Floor Elevators catalog that had not been performed in decades with fellow Austinites The Black Angels
as his backing band. After months of practices and time recording in an Austin studio, they performed a show in Dallas followed by a West Coast tour. The Black Angels played a regular set then backed Roky as his rhythm section playing 13th Floor Elevators songs and classics from Roky's solo albums.
On April 20, 2010, Erickson released True Love Cast Out All Evil
, his first album of new material in 14 years. Okkervil River
serves as Erickson's backing band on the album.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He was a founding member of the 13th Floor Elevators
13th Floor Elevators
The 13th Floor Elevators were an American rock band from Austin, Texas formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland, which existed from 1965 to 1969...
and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
genre.
Biography
Erickson was interested in music from his youth: he played pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
from age 5 and took up guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
at 10. He attended school in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
and dropped out of Travis High School in 1966, one month before graduating, rather than cut his hair to conform to the school dress code. His first notable group was The Spades, who scored a regional hit with Erickson's song "We Sell Soul"; this song is included on the compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 17
Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 17
Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 17 is a compilation album in the Highs in the Mid-Sixties series, featuring recordings that were released in Texas...
(although the songwriter is identified as Emil Schwartze on the track listing on this album). Also the song "You're Gonna Miss Me
You're Gonna Miss Me (song)
"You're Gonna Miss Me" is a 1966 single from the band 13th Floor Elevators from their album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. The song peaked at #55 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1966...
", later a hit for 13th Floor Elevators
13th Floor Elevators
The 13th Floor Elevators were an American rock band from Austin, Texas formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland, which existed from 1965 to 1969...
, was featured on the compilation album The Best of Pebbles
Pebbles series
Pebbles is an extensive series of compilation albums in both LP and CD formats that have been issued on several record labels, though mostly by AIP...
Volume 1.
13th Floor Elevators years
Erickson co-founded the 13th Floor Elevators13th Floor Elevators
The 13th Floor Elevators were an American rock band from Austin, Texas formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland, which existed from 1965 to 1969...
in late 1965. He and bandmate Tommy Hall were the main songwriters. Early in her career, singer Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
considered joining the Elevators, but Family Dog's Chet Helms
Chet Helms
Chester Leo "Chet" Helms , often called the father of San Francisco's "1967 Summer of Love," was a music promoter and a cultural figure in San Francisco during its hippie period in the late Sixties....
persuaded her to go to San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
instead, where she found major fame.
In 1966 (Erickson was 19 years old) the band released their debut album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators is a 1966 album by 13th Floor Elevators. The album's sound, featuring elements of folk, garage, blues and, of course, psychedelia, is notable for its use of the electric jug, as featured on the band's only hit, "You're Gonna Miss Me", which...
. Psychedelic Sounds had the band's only charting single, Erickson's "You're Gonna Miss Me." A stinging breakup song, the single remains probably Erickson's best-known work: it was a major hit on local charts in the U.S. southwest, and appeared at lower position on national singles charts as well. Critic Mark Deming writes that "If Roky Erickson had vanished from the face of the earth after The 13th Floor Elevators released their epochal debut single, 'You're Gonna Miss Me
You're Gonna Miss Me
This article is about the documentary film. For the related 1966 song of the same name see You're Gonna Miss Me You're Gonna Miss Me is an American documentary film by Keven McAlester. It focuses on Roky Erickson, the former frontman for the band The 13th Floor Elevators. The band is cited as...
,' in early 1966, in all likelihood he'd still be regarded as a legend among garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
fanatics for his primal vocal wailing and feral harmonica work."
In 1967, the band followed up with Easter Everywhere
Easter Everywhere
Easter Everywhere is the second album from the Texas psychedelic rock band 13th Floor Elevators. The album was originally released as an LP by International Artists. For a long time, the album was a hard-to-find collectors' item, until re-released as a CD from Collectables Records in 1993.The...
, perhaps the band's most focused effort, featuring the epic track "Slip Inside This House
Slip Inside this House
"Slip Inside this House" is a song originally released by psychedelic rock band 13th Floor Elevators as the first track on their 1967 album Easter Everywhere. At 8 minutes, it is the longest album-released track of the 13th Floor Elevators...
", and a noted cover of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his Bringing It All Back Home album, released on March 22, 1965 by Columbia Records . The song was originally recorded on January 15, 1965 with Dylan's acoustic guitar and harmonica and William E. Lee's bass...
".
The album Live
Live (13th Floor Elevators album)
Live is a 1968 studio album by the psychedelic rock band 13th Floor Elevators. In an interview the band cited that the live album was essentially made up of studio outtakes that were overdubbed with phony cheering and applause...
was put out in 1968 by International Artists
International Artists
International Artists was an independent record label based in Houston, Texas that originally existed from 1965 to 1970.During its existence IA released 12 albums and 39 singles and was owned by a group of businessmen in Houston. Among its staff were producer Lelan Rogers, brother of country...
. It featured audience applause dubbed over studio recordings of cover versions and older material, and it had little to no input from the band.
Bull of the Woods
Bull of the Woods
Bull of the Woods was the 13th Floor Elevators' last album on which they worked as a group, and despite the near absence of both Roky Erickson and Tommy Hall, it is noted for its moody, dreamy, and fuzzed-out psychedelic sound. It featured not only the 1968 lineup of Roky Erickson, Stacy...
, released in 1969, was the 13th Floor Elevators' last released album on which they worked as a group and was largely the work of Stacy Sutherland. Erickson, due to health and legal problems, and Tommy Hall were only involved with a few tracks, including "Livin' On" and "May the Circle Remain Unbroken".
Mental illness and legal problems
In 1968, while doing a stint at HemisFairHemisFair '68
HemisFair '68 was the first officially designated world's fair held in the southwestern United States. San Antonio, Texas hosted the fair from April 6 through October 6, 1968. More than thirty nations hosted pavilions at the fair. The fair was held in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the...
, Erickson started speaking nonsense. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
and sent to a Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
, where he involuntarily received electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
.
The Elevators were vocal proponents of LSD, mescaline
Mescaline
Mescaline or 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the phenethylamine class used mainly as an entheogen....
, DMT
Dimethyltryptamine
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound of the tryptamine family. DMT is found in several plants, and also in trace amounts in humans and other mammals, where it is originally derived from the essential amino acid tryptophan, and ultimately produced by the enzyme INMT...
and marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
use, and were subject to extra attention from police. In 1969, Erickson was arrested for possession of one marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
joint in Austin. Facing a ten-year prison term, Erickson pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. He was first sent to the Austin State Hospital
Austin State Hospital
Austin State Hospital , formerly known as the State Lunatic Asylum, is the oldest psychiatric hospital in the state of Texas, operated by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Established by the Legislature in 1856, it commenced operations in 1861 with twelve patients. The name was...
. After several escapes, he was sent to the Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he was subjected to more electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
and Thorazine
Chlorpromazine
Chlorpromazine is a typical antipsychotic...
treatments, ultimately remaining in custody until 1972.
Bleib Alien years
When released from the state hospital, Erickson's mental outlook had changed. In 1974, he formed a new band which he called "Bleib alien", Bleib being an anagram of BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and/or German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for "stay," and "Alien" being a pun on the German word allein ("alone") - the phrase in German therefore being "remain alone." His new band exchanged the psychedelic sounds of The 13th Floor Elevators for a more hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
sound that featured lyrics on old horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
themes. "Two Headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer)" (produced by The Sir Douglas Quintet's Doug Sahm
Doug Sahm
Douglas Wayne Sahm , was an American musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues rock and other genres. Today Sahm is considered one of the most important figures in what is identified as Tejano music...
) was released as a single.
The new band renamed itself Roky Erickson and the Aliens. In 1979, after playing with the Reversible Cords on May Day at Raul's, Erickson recorded 15 new songs with producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Stu Cook
Stu Cook
Stuart Alden Cook is an American bass guitarist, best known for his work in the rock band, Creedence Clearwater Revival....
, former bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player of Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....
. These efforts were released in two "overlapping" LPs — "I Think Of Demons" (CBS UK, 1980) and "The Evil One" (415 Records, 1981). Cook played bass on two tracks, "Sputnik" and "Bloody Hammer." Roky performed with The Nervebreakers
The Nervebreakers
The Nervebreakers are a Dallas-area proto-punk and punk rock band that formed in 1975. Well known for their melodic, rocking punk with a liberal smattering of George Jones and psychedelia, they have the distinction of being one of the only bands to open for The Sex Pistols.-Background:The...
as his backup band at The Palladium in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
in 1979. A recording was issued on the French label New Rose
New Rose
"New Rose" was the first single by British punk rock group The Damned, released on October 22, 1976. It was the first single by a British punk group, and was released in the Netherlands, Germany, and France in 1977....
and was recently re-issued elsewhere.
In 1982, Erickson asserted that a Martian
Martian
As an adjective, the term martian is used to describe anything pertaining to the planet Mars.However, a Martian is more usually a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Mars. Historically, life on Mars has often been hypothesized, although there is currently no solid evidence of...
had inhabited his body. He came to feel that, due to his being alien, human beings were attacking him psychically. A concerned friend enlisted a Notary Public to witness an official statement by Erickson that he was an alien; he hoped by declaring so publicly he would be in line with any "international laws" he might have been breaking. Erickson claimed the attacks then indeed stopped.
Creative decline and renewed interest
In an unmedicated state, Erickson began a years-long obsession with the mail, often spending hours poring over random junk mail, writing to solicitors and celebrities (dead or living). He was arrested in 1989 on charges of mail theft. Erickson picked up mail from neighbors who had moved and taped it to the walls of his room. He insisted that he never opened any of the mail, and the charges were ultimately dropped.Several live albums of his older material have been released since then, and in 1990 Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
/Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
released a tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
, Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson
Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson
Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson is a 1990 tribute album to singer-songwriter Roky Erickson, founder of the 13th Floor Elevators and solo artist, whose career has been subject to significant periods of challenge from schizophrenia. The album was released by Sire Records...
, produced by WB executive Bill Bentley
Bill Bentley (producer)
Bill Bentley is a music industry executive, particularly notable for having produced tribute albums of the music of significant cult artists Roky Erickson and Skip Spence , in addition to other projects, such as being the co-producer of a tribute album to noted Texas and international artist Doug...
. It featured versions of Erickson's songs performed by The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...
, R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
, Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...
, Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
, Bongwater
Bongwater (band)
Bongwater was a psych rock band formed in 1985 and dissolved in 1992. The group was founded by Ann Magnuson and Mark Kramer , who had worked together previously in Pulsallama. The group also featured drummer Dave Licht and guitarists [Dave Rick] and later Randolph A. Hudson III...
, John Wesley Harding
John Wesley Harding (singer)
Wesley Stace is a folk/pop singer-songwriter and author who goes by the stage name John Wesley Harding. He has called his style of music folk noir and gangsta folk...
, Doug Sahm
Doug Sahm
Douglas Wayne Sahm , was an American musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues rock and other genres. Today Sahm is considered one of the most important figures in what is identified as Tejano music...
and Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
, among others. According to the liner notes, the title of the album came from a remark Erickson made to a friend who asked him to define psychedelic music, to which Erickson reportedly replied "It's where the pyramid meets the eye, man," an apparent reference to the Eye of Providence
Eye of Providence
The Eye of Providence is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle...
and the Great Seal of the United States
Great Seal of the United States
The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...
.
Return to music
In 1995, Erickson released All That May Do My Rhyme on Butthole SurfersButthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
drummer King Coffey
King Coffey
King Coffey is an American drummer, best known for being the drummer of the psychedelic/noise rock band the Butthole Surfers. He began drumming in a Fort Worth hardcore punk band called The Hugh Beaumont Experience. Around that same time he published a fanzine called Throbbing Cattle...
's label Trance Syndicate
Trance Syndicate
Trance Syndicate was an independent record label founded in 1990 by King Coffey, drummer of Austin, TX band the Butthole Surfers.. Its first release was Crust's The Sacred Heart of Crust EP...
Records. Produced by Texas Tornado
Texas Tornado
The Texas Tornado are a Junior A hockey team located in Frisco, Texas, USA. The team joined the North American Hockey League's Central division in 1999 while located in North Richland Hills, Texas, and have enjoyed unprecedented success since their expansion year...
bassist Speedy Sparks, Austin recording legend Stuart Sullivan
Stuart Sullivan
Stuart Sullivan is a record producer and recording engineer in Austin, Texas. He is founder, owner and engineer of Wire Recording in south central Austin where he has recorded and worked with an impressive list of talent including Paul Leary, Sublime, Butthole Surfers, Canvas, Meat Puppets, et...
and Texas Music Office
Texas Music Office
The Texas Music Office is a state-funded business promotion office and information clearinghouse for the Texas music industry. It is headquartered in the State Insurance Building in Austin....
director Casey Monahan, the release coincided with the publication of Openers II, a complete collection of Erickson's lyrics. Published by Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
's 2.13.61
2.13.61
2.13.61, Inc. is a publisher and record company founded by musician Henry Rollins and named after his birthday . The company has released albums by the Rollins Band, all of Rollins's spoken-word work, and numerous books....
Publications, it was compiled and edited by Casey Monahan with assistance from Rollins and Erickson's youngest brother Sumner Erickson, a classical tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
player.
The same year, Entombed
Entombed (band)
Entombed is a Swedish death metal band which formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Though Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed itself from its American counterpart with its distinct guitar tone, by the early 1990s their sound had...
and New Bomb Turks
New Bomb Turks
The New Bomb Turks are an American punk rock band formed at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 1990. The founding members are Jim Weber, Eric Davidson, Bill Randt, and Matt Reber. Sam Brown replaced Bill Randt on drums in 1999. Early on their inspiration came from the Devil Dogs, Lazy...
released a split EP titled Night of the Vampire, with a cover of Erickson's single.
Sumner was granted legal custody of Roky in 2001, and established a legal trust to aid his brother. As a result, Roky received some of the most effective medical and legal aid of his life, the latter useful in helping sort out the complicated tangle of contracts, which had reduced royalty payments
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
to all but nothing for his recorded works. He also started taking medication to control his schizophrenia.
A documentary film on the life of Roky Erickson titled You're Gonna Miss Me
You're Gonna Miss Me
This article is about the documentary film. For the related 1966 song of the same name see You're Gonna Miss Me You're Gonna Miss Me is an American documentary film by Keven McAlester. It focuses on Roky Erickson, the former frontman for the band The 13th Floor Elevators. The band is cited as...
was made by director Keven McAlester and screened at the 2005 SXSW film festival. In September of the same year, Erickson performed his first full-length concert in 20 years at the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...
with The Explosives with special guest and long time associate, Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
of ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
.
In the December 30, 2005 issue of the Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle
The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
, an alternative weekly newspaper in Austin, Texas, Margaret Moser chronicled Erickson's recovery, saying Erickson had weaned himself off his medication, played at 11 gigs in Austin that year, obtained a driver's license, bought a car (a Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
) and voted.
In 2007, Erickson played his first ever gigs in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at SOUTHPAW in Brooklyn, NY, as well as California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's Coachella Festival and made a debut performance in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to a capacity audience at the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Roky continued to play in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, performing for the first time in Finland at Ruisrock
Ruisrock
Ruisrock is a rock festival held annually on the island of Ruissalo in Turku, Finland.Ruisrock, founded in 1970, is the second oldest rock festival in Europe and the oldest in Finland. The festival has attracted world-famous artists throughout its lifetime except in the turn of the 2000s, due to...
festival. According to the article in Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat
Helsingin Sanomat is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays...
8 June 2007, the performance was widely considered the highlight of the festival day.
On 8 September 2008, Scottish post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
band Mogwai
Mogwai
The word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".-Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture:...
released the Batcat
Batcat
Batcat is the ninth extended play by Scottish alternative rock band Mogwai. It was released on 8 September 2008 through Wall of Sound, three weeks prior to Mogwai's sixth studio album, The Hawk Is Howling, which also features the track "Batcat"...
EP. Erickson is featured on one of the tracks, "Devil Rides". Erickson performed alongside Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
-based indie rock band Okkervil River at the Austin Music Awards in 2008 and then again at the 2009 South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
music festival.
Roky Erickson returned to the stage in 2008 to perform songs from the 13th Floor Elevators catalog that had not been performed in decades with fellow Austinites The Black Angels
The Black Angels (band)
- History :Formed in May 2004, the band's name derives from the Velvet Underground song "The Black Angel's Death Song".In 2005, the Black Angels were featured on a dual-disc compilation album of psychedelic music called Psychedelica Vol.1 from Northern Star Records...
as his backing band. After months of practices and time recording in an Austin studio, they performed a show in Dallas followed by a West Coast tour. The Black Angels played a regular set then backed Roky as his rhythm section playing 13th Floor Elevators songs and classics from Roky's solo albums.
On April 20, 2010, Erickson released True Love Cast Out All Evil
True Love Cast Out All Evil
True Love Cast Out All Evil is the first album of new material released by Roky Erickson in 14 years. Okkervil River is the backing band on the album.-Track listing:#"Devotional Number One" - 2:17#"Ain't Blues Too Sad" - 1:24...
, his first album of new material in 14 years. Okkervil River
Okkervil River
Okkervil River is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya. They self-released their first album, Stars Too Small to Use, which led them to the South by Southwest music festival. After recording their first...
serves as Erickson's backing band on the album.
With the 13th Floor Elevators
See 13th Floor Elevators DiscographySolo albums
- Roky Erickson And The Aliens (1980, CBS RecordsCBS RecordsCBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
) - The Evil One (1981, 415 Records415 Records415 Records was a San Francisco record label created in 1978. The label focused its efforts on local punk rock and new wave music acts of the late 1970s through the late 1980s, including The Offs, The Nuns, Romeo Void, and Wire Train...
) - Don't Slander Me (1986, Pink Dust Records)
- Gremlins Have Pictures (1986, Pink Dust Records)
- Casting the Runes (1987, Five Hours Back)
- Holiday Inn Tapes (1987, Fan ClubFan clubA fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
) - Live at the Ritz 1987 (1988, Fan ClubFan clubA fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
) - Click Your Fingers Applauding The Play (1988, New Rose Records)
- Openers (1988, Five Hours Back)
- Live Dallas 1979 (1992, Fan ClubFan clubA fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well-known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fan clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the person...
) - Beauty and the Beast (1993, Sympathy for the Record IndustrySympathy for the Record IndustrySympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...
) - All That May Do My Rhyme (1995, Trance SyndicateTrance SyndicateTrance Syndicate was an independent record label founded in 1990 by King Coffey, drummer of Austin, TX band the Butthole Surfers.. Its first release was Crust's The Sacred Heart of Crust EP...
) - Demon Angel: A Day and a Night with Roky Erickson (1995, Triple X RecordsTriple X RecordsTriple X Records is a Los Angeles based record company. They are the label for bands such as Bo Diddley, The Vandals, Jane's Addiction, Social Distortion, Human Drama, Of Cabbages And Kings, Angry Samoans, Bad Manners, Stephen Pearcy, Dr...
) - Roky Erickson and Evilhook Wildlife (1995, Sympathy for the Record IndustrySympathy for the Record IndustrySympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...
) - Never Say Goodbye (1999, Emperor JonesEmperor JonesEmperor Jones is a small Austin, Texas based independent record label founded in 1995 by Craig Stewart. It has released albums by acts such as Alastair Galbraith, The American Analog Set, Roky Erickson, Thuja, ST37, The Mountain Goats, Stick Men with Ray Guns, Peter Jefferies, Pip Proud, Rusted...
) - Don't Knock the Rok! (2004, Norton RecordsNorton RecordsFor the Canadian independent record label of the same name, see Matt Minglewood.Norton Records, a New York City based independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller, maintains a focus on primitive, retro rock'n'roll, rockabilly, garage punk, garage rock, lounge music...
) - I Have Always Been Here Before (2005, Shout! FactoryShout! FactoryShout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
) - Halloween (2008, Norton RecordsNorton RecordsFor the Canadian independent record label of the same name, see Matt Minglewood.Norton Records, a New York City based independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller, maintains a focus on primitive, retro rock'n'roll, rockabilly, garage punk, garage rock, lounge music...
) - True Love Cast Out All EvilTrue Love Cast Out All EvilTrue Love Cast Out All Evil is the first album of new material released by Roky Erickson in 14 years. Okkervil River is the backing band on the album.-Track listing:#"Devotional Number One" - 2:17#"Ain't Blues Too Sad" - 1:24...
(2010, ANTI-ANTI-ANTI- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label of Epitaph Records.While Epitaph's focus has shifted over the last decade from mostly punk rock, nowadays ANTI- has a more diverse roster, ranging from country , hip hop , reggae , Soul , folk , rap-rock , indie rock...
Records)
External links
- Roky Erickson official website
- Roky Erickson official MySpace page
- Roky Erickson and The Explosives official MySpace page
- official Thirteenth Floor Elevators MySpace page
- -P Texas Psych Google Group: Online Community & Discussion Group
- Texas Psychedelic Ranch: 13th Floor Elevators, Roky Erickson, Golden Dawn, Bubble Puppy, more...
- Roky CD Club Discography
- Austin Chronicle article (12/05)
- Roky Erickson FAQ
- Roky Erickson / 13th Floor Elevators Extensive Discography
- Thirteenth Floor Elevators Discography
- [ Roky Erickson on AllMusic.com]
- Texas Psychedelic Ranch: 13th Floor Elevators, Roky Erickson, Golden Dawn, more...
- Review of You're Gonna Miss Me soundtrack
- November 2008 interview with L.A. RecordL.A. RecordL.A. Record is an independent music magazine originally published weekly as a broadsheet poster. The poster usually depicts a local Los Angeles musicians and according to the magazine editors is meant to recreate an iconic album cover. In March 2008, it began publishing as a monthly magazine with a...
- Texas Psychedelic Blog: posts, images, articles, interviews, more...
- The official 13th floor elevators website