The word “legendary” gets bandied about pretty loosely these days. But it definitely applies to Roky Erickson, whose mind-bending music with The 13th Floor Elevators in the 1960s stands up as some of the most exciting and adventurous music of the era – but his long strange trip was far from over when The Elevators came unstuck.
Roky Erikson is from Texas, not the most enlightened state in the Union, then, or now. He was busted for possession of one joint and eventually committed to the Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane where he was forced to undergo electroshock therapy.
By the time Roky was released in 1972, he was a shell of his former self. Even then, he began making music again. His songs were inhabited with two-headed dogs, zombies, aliens and alligators in the sewers. Musically, he had turned up his guitar, unleashing a proto-punk sound that still resonates today.
The 1980s were a washout for Erickson, his brain giving way to the demons and voices in his head. It looked like he was doomed to become one of rock's great lost souls alongside Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett and The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.
Things started to turn around for Roky over the last 15 years or so. His brother helped sort out his medical and legal problems and he began making music again. A feature length documentary, You're Gonna Miss Me, was produced in 2005 and two years later a book on The 13th Floor Elevators was published. Erikson began gigging around his hometown of Austin, Texas, and in 2010 he released a new album, True Love Cast Out All Evil, with assistance from Austin band Okkervil River.
That's a lot of history. Which makes it seem all the more remarkable to learn that Erickson will play a date in Auckland at the Kings Arms. With some trepidation, I placed a call to Roky's home in Austin, spoke briefly with his wife, and then, there he was, greeting me with a strong Texas twang. It was a holiday in the US and Roky and his wife were relaxing, contemplating cooking up a barbeque.
