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RIP Roky Erickson
A couple of years or so after I moved to Austin, my employer got me backstage for the Austin Music awards ceremony. I didn't know anyone and felt awkward, so I hung out in a dark back corner by a trashcan smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer.
There was another scruffy lookin' dude who came up and bummed a cigarette from me. He seemed cool and we talked a good while. I think I told him about some strange trip I'd recently had in Mexico with some Mazateca indigenous folks.
At some point, a German couple came up and interrupted out chat to ask if they could get a photo with the scruffy dude. He obliged but started acting really strange and he looked... well... kinda crazy. Like he wasn't all there.
The weird thing was, that as soon as the German couple left he went back to being completely normal and picked up the conversation where we'd left off.
I really enjoyed hangin' with him and being somewhat new to Austin, I thought maybe this could be a new friend.
After nearly an hour of hangin' by the trashcan, we parted ways. He said he'd be back later and wanted to chat some more about Mexico.
The music show was going on so I headed out from backstage into the audience. The German couple spotted me and asked if I knew who that guy was I was talking with. I said no, just some dude. They said that's Roky Erickson. I said, "Ok. I've never heard of him. Is he famous or something?"
About that time, the audience all got quiet. Some musicians came on the stage and started playing some rock song that it seemed everyone there knew except for me. Then, this singer named LouAnn Barton was trying to help that same scruffy dude onto the stage! Which, was kind of absurd because she looked so drunk that it was questionable whether she could actually make it to the mic herself.
The scruffy dude now had a red leather Michael Jackson jacket on with all the zippers. He was pretty chubby and the coat looked like it was about 3 sizes too small. He didn't look like he wanted to be there, but he apprehensively sort of shuffled up and took the microphone.
What came out of his mouth was a sound quality that's hard to describe. His voice sounded like every iconic singer all rolled into one insane yowl that made the hair stand up on your neck. This guy sounded incredible as he sang about aliens, 2-headed dog at the Kremlin, Starry Eyes, etc. I was thunderstruck with the incredible quality this scruffy dude's voice had.
RIP Roky
Comments
Dang - he was one unique individual. 2-Headed Dog is an incredible song, and he destroys the vocals on that one.
The documentary about him was intense and interesting. I hope he had a good life after all was said and done.
RIP
Roky had one of the great rockandroll voices.
Here's a mindblowing RE story I came across a couple of months ago:
http://niche-appeal.com/the-official-most-fucked-up-band-of-all-time-roky-erickson-the-missing-links/
Great story there @skiphunt
RIP Roky
Yes a very interesting story.
Thanks for sharing.
Wow. A brush with greatness and didn’t even know it. Great story for sure.
No shame though, I wouldn’t have known who he was either given the circumstances.
People like Roky see and hear things that the rest of us can’t or don’t.
Thanks for sharing.
One of the absolute best artists from the 60s IMO, I really love the 13th Floor Elevators. Great story too.
Well told Mister Skip. Never know who you'll be in the Torchy's line next to in this funny town
Incredible story, thanks for sharing.
That is wild! I had no idea...
Great story and an amazing and funny article.
People thrive in the strangest of situation.
Isn't it?
Being a crime buff, I was aware of the Jimmy Walcott/ James St. James saga, but never knew about the Erickson connection.
A Roky Erickson fueled prom sounds memorable.
This dude a my spirit animal. Major bummer.
That’s awesome! Ha, you never really know who you’re really talking to when you strike up conversations with strangers.
I often wonder that same thing when I meet up with backpacking strangers while traveling. Especially when I’m waaay off the beaten path renting a converted previous pig stall in the Mexican desert. Or staying in a hut in the jungles of Peru. Or, even a coffee shop in Vietnam.
I wonder how often I’ve naively been chatting it up with murderers of folks with close ties to violent crime?
And, I wonder if those I’m chatting with have wondered that same thing about me?
One thing is for certain though, I should make an effort to chat with perfect strangers more often.
Thanks for the music & Happy Trails R.E. !
Skip, thanks for sharing your story. I must confess that I am envious of both your conversation and seeing Roky live.
Glad you liked it! It was particularly cool because I didn't know who he was and no expectations when he sang. I can say that after that show I bought a couple of 13th-floor elevator CDs. They're good, but nothing I've heard recorded of his singing comes anywhere close to how he sounded that night... loud, and on a decent PA
I can only imagine, I think his voice is really powerful on record. Here's a live performance on YT from the 60s, his singing is pretty rocking:
Mix@home : A Psychedelic Breakfast Vol.23
Dedicated to Roky Erickson (July 15, 1947 - May 31, 2019)
https://www.mixcloud.com/karimjackson/mixhome-a-psychedelic-breakfast-vol23/