Friday night, when I woke up at about 1 AM and couldn't get back to sleep, I did what I usually do when I suffer from insomnia and turned on the tube. As fate would have it, the Sundance Channel was just about to air "You're Gonna Miss Me," a documentary on legendary '60s acid casualty Roky Erickson.
In case anyone out there doesn't know, Roky Erickson was singer for the '60s psychedelic rock band The 13th Floor Elevators and also did some great stuff in the seventies, despite being institutionalized for three years from about 1969 to 1972. (My chronology might be off, but I don't feel like checking my facts right now).
The only Roky Erickson I currently have in my music collection is the 13th Floor Elevators' first album, "Psychedelic Sounds of..." It's the CD issue released by Varese Sarabande and, not only is the title misspelled, but the sound quality is abysmal. From what I've read, the original master tapes have been lost or are simply unavailable, so we're stuck with crappy recordings like this.
I once had a great compilation on cassette of Roky Erickson's seventies output with his band, the Aliens (along with some solo stuff). It was called, appropriately, "You're Gonna Miss Me: The Best of Roky Erickson" and I picked it up as a cut-out in the bargain bin of Meijer. (For those readers unfamiliar with the Great Lakes area, Meijer is a large regional supermarket chain). I was extremely proud of that purchase, but unfortunately it was lost in what I now refer to as "The Great Cassette Purge of 2002."
The best way for me to describe Roky's seventies music is this: it sounds a bit like Creedence after a really, really, really bad acid trip. Picture John Fogerty singing about "two-headed dogs" and "creatures with atom brains" and you kind of get the general idea.
The best way for me to describe Roky's seventies music is this: it sounds a bit like Creedence after a really, really, really bad acid trip. Picture John Fogerty singing about "two-headed dogs" and "creatures with atom brains" and you kind of get the general idea.
I won't go into excessive detail about the documentary--just google the title and you'll find all you need to know. If anyone out there is a fan of Roky Erickson, psychedelic '60s music, or really enjoyed the documentary "Crumb," I'd highly recommend this documentary. At the crux of the film is the "custody battle" for Roky between his youngest brother, Sumner, and his mother Evelyn. But the film is so much more than that, it's a fascinating and at times disturbing view of the life of a mentally disturbed but gentle and still creative man.
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