R.I.P. Roky Erickson

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

He passed away in Texas yesterday at 71.

"Roky Erickson — lead vocalist and principal songwriter for the psychedelic band the 13th Floor Elevators and one of the leading lights of Texas rock — died Friday in Austin. He was 71.

Erickson's death was confirmed by his brother Mikel to Bill Bentley, who produced the all-star 1990 Erickson tribute album “Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye,” which included performances by R.E.M., ZZ Top, Doug Sahm and other stars.

“Roky lived in so many worlds, you couldn't keep up with him,” Bentley told Variety. “He lived so much, and not always on this planet.”

Erickson specialized in a stormy, nightmarish brand of rock. His otherworldly original songs were often inspired by his favorite horror movies (a collection of his lyrics was published in 1995 by Henry Rollins' book company 2.13.61). His intense, piercing yowl was the focal point of the Elevators' seething 1966 single “You're Gonna Miss Me.” A magnum opus of garage rock, it was featured on Lenny Kaye's influential 1972 compilation “Nuggets.”"

More here:

https://variety.com/2019/music/news/...D3-0n1LkNEkzcQ

[Mark Tolch Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark Tolch]

RIP. The Youre Gonna Miss Me doc is amazing if you haven't seen it.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

I've seen parts of it but need to check out the whole thing. He led quite a life.

[Mark Tolch Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark Tolch]

he was definitely a character.

[agent999 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close agent999]

Yeah, his mother was pretty crazy in that documentary trying to prevent him from getting the help that he needed. Only got the Evil One album, but there are some great songs on that.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Neat tribute.

[paul h. woly boly Find all posts View Profile Close paul h.]

Damn. We're gonna miss you indeed. Just heard this news. Given all that he went through in his life, I'm surprised that he made it to 71, yet still shocked and saddened by his passing.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Tribute album coming soon.

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/roky-e...y-segall-more/

[agent999 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close agent999]

Is it uncharitable of me to say that most tribute albums end up being the exact opposite of that? You know, we love artist x so much that we're going to mangle one of their songs.

Having said that, I think Ghost's cover of If you have Ghosts is far better than the original which is just a rough sounding studio outtake.

[BW Haggar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BW Haggar]

Scanning over the track listing, I think I'd rather download a few more Roky bootlegs and make a donation to his estate instead.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Is it uncharitable of me to say that most tribute albums end up being the exact opposite of that? You know, we love artist x so much that we're going to mangle one of their songs.

Having said that, I think Ghost's cover of If you have Ghosts is far better than the original which is just a rough sounding studio outtake.

That Ghost cover is great, one of their best songs.

[Koukol Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Koukol]

I agree about Ghost's cover.

Here's two more I like as much as the originals.