Roky Erickson

     The world lost a titan of a human being on May 31^st, 2019.  Roky Erickson left us at the age of 71.

     If you're not familiar with the man's work, he was in a band call the 13^th Floor Elevators.  Their song “You're Gonna Miss Me” plays over the opening credits of the movie High Fidelity.  Portions of the song were also used in an ad for Dell computers in the mid 2000s.

     As great as the 13^th Floor Elevators were, it was in Roky's solo work where his song writing fangs sunk deep into my mind.  His album The Evil One is one of the best records that I have ever heard.

     If I remember correctly, Tom Petty played in one of Roky's bands for a time.  Much like when David Bowie would take a break from being David Bowie he would play keyboards for Iggy Pop, Tom Petty would take a break from being Tom Petty and go play guitar with Roky Erickson.

     There is a live album called Halloween that shows Roky's prowess as a live performer.  The songs were taken from shows in the late 70s and early 80s.  The man's howl could feel like it was coming from the depths of Hell and at the same time still convey the feeling of “I know what you mean.”

     I was going to flip a coin to pick between two shows that were happening on Friday night but decided to stay home when I heard the man had passed.  A giant stack of his records came off the shelf and the plan was to listen to them, at face melting volume, one after the other while editing photos.

     This was working until I got to the collection Gremlins Have Pictures.  It's rather difficult to edit photos through tears.  I ended up sitting on the floor watching the record spin and letting the music wash over me, flipping back to side A as soon as side B ended.  I listened to that record about three times before I felt like I could function again.  And I thought leaving The Evil One until last was the safe way to go, I was a damned mess.

     Roky Erickson had struggled with mental illness for most of his life.  Going in and out of institutions for many years.  Roky landed in Pittsburgh for a time in the early 2000s because he was staying with his brother who happened to be a musician with the Pittsburgh Symphony.  I'm glad I never gathered up the courage to seek the man out while he was in town because it probably would have been embarrassing for all involved.  My blathering and sweaty palms would have scared him off for sure.

     Humanity is losing its brightest minds at an alarming rate.  Almost to the point where I don't think humanity deserves them anymore because of our poor behavior.  Their words are no longer heeded. We have ceased paying attention to the lessons they provide us.  Instead of being moved by the beauty of their art, the only thing that seems to motivate anyone these days is greed.  The stars are burning out and not too many people seem to care that we are losing them.

Roky Erickson--The Evil One