Friday, February 19, 2010

The Return of Roky Erickson Part 1

You’re Gonna Miss Me is a documentary that chronicles the life of Roky Erickson, front man for the 1960s psychedelic rock band the 13th Floor Elevators. The band was popular when I was in high school. I heard about the movie and thought, what the heck; this movie about the singer might be kind of interesting, but it really grabbed me.


Toward the beginning of the documentary, there is footage of Roky and the band performing their hit single, “You’re Gonna Miss me,” You may have heard this song in the opening sequence of the movie Hi Fidelity. Dell Computers also featured the song in their 2006 ad for their XPS laptop. I've searched high and low for a decent video of this band that should have been seen by the whole world. I hope you'll settle for a good audio of "You're Gonna Miss Me" to HEAR Roky on vocals and guitar, Tommy Hall on the electric jug, and Stacy Sutherland playing some amazing lead guitar. Good gosh. I almost forgot about Roky on the harmonica. This band was clearly ahead of his time.

I plan to write a blog that lists the top 50 screamers of rock 'n' roll, like Jim Morrison in L.A. Woman or James Brown in just about anything. Please check out the delicious screams of "You're Gonna Miss Me."

Everyone at YouTube tries to upload the same shoddy film clip of the band’s 1966 performance on American Bandstand. I think you have to watch the documentary to see the only cleaned up version, which knocks my socks off. Roky, an extremely fine-looking individual, plays guitar and sings like a wild man. Only a few famous people possess that kind of stage presence. I’m a self-proclaimed music buff, and I honestly had no idea what we all missed when this band left the music scene way too soon.

The 13th Floor Elevators were the first “psychedelic” band. The members of the band believed in the mind-expanding virtues of LSD. (I once held the belief that LSD expanded the mind as well.) Those of us who survived until 2010 can clearly see how damaging LSD is to the brain. But so are psych drugs and other barberic remedies used by mental hospitals.

I wish I were privy to exact dates and specific medications that were given to Roky, but early in 1969 he was arrested in Texas for possessing one marijuana joint. I’m guessing there were previous arrests, but this was Texas, and this incident occurred before the decriminalization of marijuana. Roky’s lawyer advised him to plead insane to the felony charge to avoid a 10-year prison sentence. But once he was committed to a mental hospital, Roky became a victim of very bad medicine. He was given repeated doses of both Thorazine and Electro Shock Therapy.

In 2010 it is well-known that that LSD can cause permanent damage to the brain. But so can Thorazine and Electro Shock Therapy. Roky had had an early diagnosis of schizophrenia, but what bothers me is that the symptoms of LSD imitate schizophrenia, and once Roky became inducted into the mental illness quagmire--with the label of schizophrenia forever attached to him--I have to wonder how much of the damage to his mind and to his soul was caused by doctors.

The 13th Floor Elevators’ talent was barely tapped. Friends and followers of their music fully expected the band to have a huge career. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top says:
....The talent behind Roky’s voice is the mystery factor that no one could touch. To this day he stands alone and is revered as such an unusual artist because he had the gift of that wonderful voice that was just...crazy.
In my efforts to writer shorter blogs, I will continue with more about Roky Erickson in Part 2.

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