Roky Erikson FAQ

[Mark.Robinson@xxxxxxxxxx (Mark Robinson)]

The following is FAQ on Roky Erikson, it is a bit lengthy but an outstanding 
article.

Mark

---------------------------------

ROKY ERICKSON FAQ VERSION 1.1
Created:  September 28, 1995
Last updated:  October 19, 1995

Created and maintained by Paul Rydeen (pjrydeen@ktc.com)
Reviewed, revised & approved by Casey Monahan (monahan@eden.com)
Periodically posted to:  alt.music.independent, alt.punk, alt.rock-n-roll, 
rec.music.misc

1. INTRODUCTION.  This is my preliminary attempt to collect into one place some 
basic information about the rock singer/songwriter/guitar player Roky Erickson. 
My intent is to post this across the net wherever potential Roky fans may be.  
While there is no alt.fan.roky-erickson, there should be. Everyone else has a 
mailing list or newsgroup.  What I'd really like to see is a Roky Erickson Web 
site, complete with lyrics, photos, discography, and audio excerpts of his 
recordings. If this FAQ is distributed widely enough, it could happen. 
Send comments to pjrydeen@ktc.com.  A special thanks to Casey for his valuable 
input to this document.

2.  ROKY WHO?  Roger KYnard Erickson was a founding member of the world's first
psychedelic band, The Thirteenth Floor Elevators.  They had a hit single in 1966
called "You're Gonna Miss Me."  It made the Billboard Top 100.  Roky was 19 
years old at the time. The Elevators' first album was THE PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF 
THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR ELEVATORS.  It was the first time the word "psychedelic" 
had been used to describe recorded music.

Originally based in Austin, Texas, the Elevators played frequently throughout 
the state and in the San Francisco area at clubs such as Filmore West and the 
Avalon.  Young musicians like Jerry Garcia and Grace Slick watched them play.  
Janis Joplin, another Texan, jammed with the group twice and considered joining 
the group but ended up fronting Big Brother & the Holding Company.

After a second album, EASTER EVERYWHERE, and a few drug busts, the band kind of 
lost direction.  Roky was arrested in 1969 with about six joints on Mount 
Bonnell in Austin.  It was his second arrest for pot.  Rather than serving a 
short term in prison, he pled insanity and was sentenced to the Rusk State 
Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Austin.  While in Rusk, Roky started a 
band with fellow inmates (The Missing Links), wrote nearly 100 songs, befriended
Jimmy Wolcott (an Elevators fan who had murdered his family while high from 
sniffing  glue), was subjected to electroshock and liquid thorazine treatments 
and, with the help of his girlfriend (and later wife) Dana Gaines and his 
childhood best friend George Kinney, put together OPENERS, his first book of 
poetry. Through the efforts of his brother Mikel and attorneys Jim  Simon and 
Jon Howard, Roky was judged sane by a Travis County jury and released in late 
1972.

3.  INSANITY?  ELECTRO-SHOCK?  I can't comment on Roky's mental condition prior 
to his being committed.  While he was in, he spent his time writing numerous 
songs and poems about love, God, the devil.  Roky devoured every book he could 
get while in Rusk.  His genius was fueled by his isolation and the strangeness 
of his surroundings.  Dana says that his time in Rusk was to an extent the most 
productive period of his life.  Prior to Rusk,  Roky spent the summer of 1969 at
Hedgecroft Hospital in Houston where he was also administered electroshock 
therapy. 

After Roky was released from Rusk, he performed several shows with some of the 
Elevators, but the band fizzled out.  Tommy Hall, the electric jug player and 
principal lyricist, permanently relocated to San Francisco.  Stacy Sutherland, 
lead guitarist, became strung out on heroin and was eventually murdered by his 
wife.  In late 1974, several friends, including autoharpist Bill Miller, helped 
Roky to put together his first "solo" band, Bleib Alien, since The Spades 
(1964-65).  "Bleib" is an anagram of "Bible."  Bleib Alien debuted at the Ritz 
Theatre in Austin in 1975 after an introduction by famed Austin artist Jim 
Frankin.  He cut a few songs in an Austin studio with Doug Sahm, who promptly 
traded Roky a smoothie for the rights to "Starry Eyes,"  "Red Temple Prayer (Two
Headed Dog)" and "Don't Slander Me".  But Outlaw Country ruled the day in Austin
in the mid-1970s, so Roky soon left for San Francisco.  He found a manager, 
Craig Luckin, and formed a new band, Roky Erickson and the Aliens (only Bill 
Miller joined Roky from Austin).

4.  IT'S A CLEAR NIGHT FOR MARS.  Rather than the psychedelic ballads of the 
Elevators, the Aliens played hard rock songs, many with horror  themes.  Roky 
summoned gremlins, demons, vampires and more in his dark entreaties, while also 
writing and performing some of the most touching love songs ever heard.  He also
told an interviewer he was a Martian. Some say Roky truly was insane.  Others 
claim it  was all part of the act, one more creative outlet for Roky's fertile 
mind.  Whatever the case, one cannot deny his natural musical talent. There's 
something that grabs you even in his least inspired, most repetitive tunes.

5. ROKY TODAY.  Roky no longer writes and he rarely performs.  He released an 
album in early 1995, ALL THAT MAY DO MY RHYME (available from Trance Syndicate 
at the address below), half recorded in 1994, half in 1984. It has a country 
twang to it - twelve-string guitar, acoustic  backdrop, etc.  Call it 
"Rokabilly," I guess.

Interviews I've heard with Roky are less than lucid.  He lives in a 
federally-subsidized house in Del Valle, a tiny suburb southeast of Austin.  He 
keeps several TVs and radios going at any given time, presumably to drown out 
his internal noise.  He takes no medication, although he is a diagnosed paranoid
schizophrenic.  Friends take him to dinner once a week, help him pay his bills, 
keep him company.

He was busted in 1989 for stealing other people's mail, although it was shown 
that is was a misunderstanding rather than deliberate mischief.  He had been 
collecting and distributing mail for two neighbors, but when they moved away 
Roky continued to collect but no longer distribute.  When police came to his 
home they found it all unopened and some of it taped to his walls.

6.  WHAT ABOUT THE MUSIC?  The best samplers of the Thirteenth Floor Elevators 
are their first two albums, THE PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR
ELEVATORS and EASTER EVERYWHERE.  There are many live bootlegs - ones which I
encourage you to make tapes of but not to buy because Roky makes little or no 
money from them - including a recent 3-CD set of outtakes and live tracks.  This
continues to be a problem for Roky.  A trust fund has been established in Austin
to collect past-due royalties.  A local attorney - Rick Triplett - provides pro 
bono counsel to Roky to collect these royalties.

There are a few live bootlegs from Roky's later days with bands such as the 
Aliens, the Resurrectists, the Explosives, and Evil Hook Wildlife ET.  I'd 
recommend the authorized releases as the place to start.  Look for THE EVIL ONE,
DON'T SLANDER ME, and GREMLINS HAVE PICTURES, as well as his latest, ALL THAT 
MAY DO MY RHYME.  You also should hear a tribute album recorded by other  
musicians who appreciate Roky's talents, WHERE THE PYRAMID MEETS THE EYE  (Sire 
1990).  It features ZZ Top and REM, among others.

7.  BOOKS AND VIDEOS.  OPENERS II was recently published by former Black Flag 
singer Henry Rollins.  It is a 316-page compendium of Roky's lyrics compiled and
edited by Casey Monahan (monahan@eden.com).  Get it in better record stores 
(like Waterloo in Austin), or direct from 2.13.61 Publications.  I know of at 
least one video, DEMON ANGEL, and AustinCableVision runs specials on him from 
time to time.  There's also a fanzine, ROKY ERICKSON AND THE SECRET OF THE 
UNIVERSE.  Addresses are listed below.

8. CONTACTS.

The Roky Erickson trust fund:
Rick Triplett, Esq.
Graves, Dougherty, Hearon and Moody
515 Congress Avenue, Suite 2300, Austin, TX 78701
voice, 512.480.5600; fax, 512.478.1976

OPENERS II: THE LYRICS OF ROKY ERICKSON:
2.13.61 Publications, P.O. Box 1910, Los Angeles, CA  90078
voice, 213.969.8791; fax, 213.969.9451; e-mail, garyi@two1361.com
http://www.two1361.com/people/erickson.html

ALL THAT MAY DO MY RHYME (LP/CD/CASS):
Trance Syndicate Records, P.O. Box 49971, Austin, TX  78765
voice, 512.454.3265; fax, 512.454.3287; e-mail, trancesyn@aol.com

ROKY ERICKSON AND THE SECRET OF THE UNIVERSE (fanzine):
Michael Blencowe, 19, Blackstone Close, Elburton, Plymouth, Devon., PL9 8UQ, 
England
e-mail, m.blencowe@bton.ac.uk

Roky Erickson homepages:
http://www.eden.com/thora-zine/tzpages/roky.html is Henry Rollins' essay on Roky
http://www.two1361.com/people/erickson.html is the OPENERS II page
http://www.hyperweb.com/roky/roky.html is a fan's Roky homepage
http://dewey.ed.brocku.ca/~paul/favorite/elevators/elevators.html is the 
Elevators page
http://www.southern.com/southern/band/ROKYE/index.html is the Southern Studios 
(UK) Roky
page

9. DISCOGRAPHY (see next update).

10.  CHRONOLOGY (Copyright 1995 Sumner Erickson and Casey Monahan.  Additional 
material by Paul Rydeen)

1947
7/15 Roger Kynard Erickson born in Dallas while father attends convention

1965
1/1  first single (on Contact) "You're Gonna Miss Me / Tried To Hide" w/ Spades 
(month unknown)
12/1 Roky and the Spades break up
12/1 Roky and Elevators first gig
12/1  PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS demos 1965-66

1966
1/1 Bennie Thurman leaves, replaced by Ronnie Leatherman (month unknown)
1/1 first bust (month unknown)
1/1  PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS recorded (month unknown)
1/1  Zales Jewelry Store Radio Ad, month unknown (on PSYCHEDELIC MICRODOTS FROM
THE '60s VOL. II)
1/1  PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS recorded / released (month unknown)
1/1  FIRE IN MY BONES bootleg LP (month unknown) - 1967?
1/13 Jade Room in Jim Langdon's "Nightbeat" column
1/27 "You're Gonna Miss Me / Tried To Hide" banned from KNOW
2/8 New Orleans Club two-night stand
3/1  (?) La Maison Ballroom, Houston (live w/o audience, "spring 1966")
3/15 benefit for Teodar Jackson (in Houston?)
3/16  New Orleans Club, Austin, broadcast live on KAZZ-FM
3/25  Sump'n Else TV Show, WFFA-TV Studio 3, Dallas (on PSYCHEDELIC MICRODOTS 
VOL.
I)
4/28 New Orleans Club two nights
5/1 Janis Joplin decides to join Elevators, but Chet Helms convinces her to try 
SF again 5/9  Sump'n Else TV Show, Dallas (on PSYCHEDELIC MICRODOTS VOL. II & 
FLIVVER boot & FIRE IN MY BONES boot)
5/15 opens for the Byrds at Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth
5/23 two nights at New Orleans Club
5/30 Janis Joplin performs with Elevators
6/1  La Maison Ballroom, Houston, "summer 1966," month unknown (ELEVATOR TRACKS 
boot)
6/30  live at the Avalon, San Francisco
7/28 trial date set for 9/19/66
8/1 leaves for San Francisco / Los Angeles for four months, performs on American
Bandstand and Where the Action Is; releases first LP
8/26 Filmore two-night stand
9/2 & 9/3  Avalon, San Francisco (AVALON LIVE '66 LP)
9/19 trial date
9/30 Avalon Ballroom
10/1 Avalon Ballroom
11/3 performs at Vulcan Gas Company two nights
11/11 Avalon two-night stand
12/1 John Ike Walton leaves, Danny Thomas replaces (month unknown)
12/8 with Shiva's Headband at Vulcan Gas Company three nights
12/19 Newsweek article

1967
1/1  live at the New Orleans Club, Austin (month unknown)
1/1 Danny Galindo joins (month not known)
1/1 debut issue of Mother magazine (month unknown)
1/7 Elevators and Conqueroo at Doris Miller Auditorium
1/7 returns from California
2/10 City Coliseum with Conqueroo
4/1 Doris Miller Auditorium with the Wig
7/1 enters studio for two months to record EASTER EVERYWHERE
7/1 Ronnie Leatherman out, Danny Galindo in
10/1 Easter Everywhere released (Autumn, month unknown)

1968
1/1  BULL OF THE WOODS recorded live (month unknown)
1/1 at Hemisphere Roky does a whole lot of speed and LSD and ODs "badly" (month 
unknown)
11/1 live LP released (month unknown)
12/1 Roky's second bust (month unknown)
12/7 Rolling Stone article

1969
1/1 Rusk (month not known)
7/1 Hedgecroft Hospital that summer
10/8 State of Texas vs. Roky Erickson

1970
10/3 through 16th issue Space City remembers Roky with "Get Him Out of Rusk" 
concert with Headstone (brother Mikel Erickson's band)
10/31 Space City "Our Heritage" article

1972
1/1 NUGGETS released
2/1 OPENERS by the Reverend Roger Roky Kynard Erickson (Pyramid Press) published
(month not known)

1973
1/1 Roky joins with John Ike Walton (month unknown)
2/11 Elevators at Mother Earth
4/1 Elevators at La Bistille (Bastille?) in Houston "hitting the road again, New
Orleans, Dallas, Colorado and SF" (Abraxas magazine)
12/9  KTM-FM interview, San Rafael, CA

1974
1/1 Story of Pop Punk Rock Pop 1960-1965 (record released? month unknown)

1975
1/1 daughter Spring born to Renee (month unknown)
1/1 "Red Temple Prayer / Starry Eyes" single (Mars) released with Bleib Alien 
and produced by Doug Sahm (month unknown)
4/6 Roky and the Aliens at Ritz Theatre, Not Fade Away issue on Elevators
7/2 Roky and Bleib Alien at Armadillo (year unknown)
7/4 Soap Creek (year unknown)
11/7 Longbranch with "Earthquake" opening
11/19  records demos "Alien I Creator / Bermuda / Two-Headed Dog"
11/29  studio session, location unknown
12/1 two shows at the Longbranch in Berkeley, CA
12/8 & 12/9  solo live at River City, Fairfax, CA

1976
1/1 son Jegar born to Dana
1/12  solo live at Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax, CA
6/1 June article in Rock and Folk magazine (France) says Pink Floyd lifted "Set 
Your Hearts" from "Roller Coaster"
7/2 (maybe '75) at Armadillo
12/1  (?) Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax, CA

1977
1/1  records demos "Bermuda / The Interpreter / Mine Mine Mind" (month unknown)
1/1 records Master Tape Demos for Aliens LP
1/1 "Bermuda / The Interpreter" on Rhino (US) and Virgin (UK)  (month unknown)
4/1 DMZ in Boston records "You're Gonna Miss Me"

1978
1/1 Aliens formed (month not known)
1/1 Radarscope releases promotional LP with "She Lives In A Time Of Her Own" 
(month
unknown)
4/1  KSAN-FM interview, San Francisco
8/24 Stacy Sutherland shot and killed in Houston
10/1 Whiskey a Go-Go with the Aliens (day not known)
10/28 Radar reissues "You're Gonna Miss Me"

1979
1/1 CASTING THE RUNES recorded live (month, location unknown)
1/1 All 12 International Artists albums reissued in box set (month not known)
5/1 at Rauls with Reversible Chords (Re-Cords)
6/23  Live at the Palladium, Dallas, TX (w/ the Nervebreakers)
8/1 Continental Club with the Bizarros (special guest Joe King and Doug Sahm)
10/30 Roky and Explosives at Skip Willies in San Antonio for Punk Rock night

1980
1/1  Aliens CBS demos "Alien I Creator / Bloody Hammer / Cold Night for 
Alligators" (month unknown)
1/1  CBS LP released in UK (month unknown)
4/6 MEETING WITH AN ALIEN airs on ACTV
8/1 Roky in London (day unknown) at Portobello Hotel; interviews with Splash and
New Musical Express
9/20  KZEW-FM interview, Dallas

1981
1/1  second CBS demos "Starry Eyes / Nothing In Return / Some Kind Of Ghost / 
Bermuda / Burn the Flames" (month unknown)
1/1 Creem magazine
1/1 Hot Klubb in Dallas with Explosives (month unknown)
2/20 Club Foot with Aliens
4/9 with Resurrectionists at Escape Club in Houston (year unknown)
5/7 Club Foot with Aliens
6/19 Roky and Explosives at Continental
7/17 Explosives at the Island Club in Houston for two nights
7/30 Continental Club with Explosives 
8/1 Explosives and Sir Douglas Quintet at Skip Willies in San Antonio
8/14 with Explosives at Club Foot
9/10 THE EVIL ONE released by 415 Records in US
9/25  Berkeley

1982
1/1  GREMLINS HAVE PICTURES (recorded live 1975 - 1982) released (month unknown)
3/25  live at Faces, Baton Rouge
3/26  interviewed on WTUL-FM radio, New Orleans
3/26  Beat Exchange, New Orleans
4/2 Beat Exchange with the Aliens
6/25 & 6/26  Island Club, Houston (Beauty & The Beast LP)
7/3  performs live, location unknown
9/4  live at Tupelo's, New Orleans

1983
6/1  Soap Creek Saloon, Austin (day unknown)

1984
1/1 Cydne born (month not known)
1/1  Bob Dylan covers recorded in Roky's backyard (month unkown)
3/9  Live at Trinity's, Baton Rouge, LA
5/30  DEMON ANGEL video recorded
6/11  Austin Opera House, live on KTXZ-AM radio
6/16 Elevators reunion at Liberty Church
6/29 "The Beast / Heroin" released at Waterloo Records
7/1 or 8/1  KPFT-FM interview, Houston (date unknown)
8/11 Elevators Reunion at Consolidated Arts Warehouse in Houston, Roky quotes 
Roger Corman's Return of the Living Dead as intro to "Burn the Flames"
10/1  live on KTXZ-AM radio, Austin
10/9 Soap Creek Austin Chronicle "Songwriters Recognition Series"
10/31 Halloween at Soap Creek Saloon
12/11 Dynamic Records DON'T SLANDER ME released (?)

1985
1/1 January February issue of Blitz magazine "overall sales is hundreds of 
thousands, PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS over 140,000 copies sold"
1/1  NEW TALES OF THE WEIRD 2xLP bootleg released (month unknown)
1/1  OPENERS released (recorded live 1979 - 1985)
4/5  solo live on KTXZ-AM radio, Austin
7/7  interview on KUT-FM radio, Austin
8/1 Return of the Living Dead soundtrack released
10/1 "Don't Slander Me / Starry Eyes" on Dynamic Records released
10/4 Roky meets REM's Peter Buck
11/1 November-December issue of Option magazine reviews FIRE IN MY BONES

1986
1/1  HOLIDAY INN TAPES recorded solo live (month unknown)
5/24 three-hour tribute to Roky on KFJC-FM in California

1987
2/21  The RItz, Austin (w/ Evil Hook Wildlife ET), last full concert, released 
as LIVE AT THE RITZ
3/10  live on KLBJ-FM radio, Austin

1989
1/1 third bust:  Mail Tampering

1991
1/1 WHERE THE PYRAMID MEETS THE EYE tribute album released (Sire Records, month
unknown), includes covers by ZZ Top, REM, and Butthole Surfers
1/1  YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME:  THE BEST OF ROKY ERICKSON released (month unknown)

1992
7/15 solo at Liberty Church:  "Starry Eyes / Two Headed Dog"

1993
3/1 Austin Music Awards w/ Speedy, John Reed, Will Sexton, Mike Buck
3/17  Palmer Auditorium, Austin (w/ Mystic Knights of the Sea)
6/13  Antone's, Austin (Austin Music Festival)
7/13  La Zona Rosa, Austin (7/15?)
7/15  La Zona Rosa with Speedy, John Reed, Charlie Sexton, Mike Buck
8/1 Daugherty Arts Center with Speedy, John Reed, Will Sexton, Mike Buck
10/1 Lynn Howell's benefit with Speedy, John, Charlie Mike Buck at Antone's
10/7 records basic tracks for ALL THAT MAY DO MY RHYME at Arlyn Studio

1994
1/1 " We Are Never Talking / Please Judge" 7" released (month unknown)
3/1 sings "Starry Eyes" w/ Lou Ann Barton at Austin Music Awards
7/15 w/ Speedy, John Reed, Mike Buck at his birthday show at Antone's

1995
2/13 releases ALL THAT MAY DO MY RHYME
3/21 publication of OPENERS II at Iron Works Barbecue, Austin
5/1 performs "Why Must I Be A Teenager in Love, For You (I'd Do Anything), 
Starry Eyes and Two Headed Dog" solo at Antone's at a benefit for brother Mikel 
Erickson's legal fees