Roky Erickson

Roky Erickson, an heroic icon of modern rock & roll and one of the best friends the music ever had, died in Austin, Texas today. Born there on July 15, 1947, Erickson had a visionary zeal rarely seen in 1965 when he co-founded the 13th Floor Elevators. The band's original songs, many written with lyricist Tommy Hall, coupled with Erickson's super-charged vocals and guitar sparked the psychedelic music revolution in the mid-1960s, and led to a new role of what rock could be. Erickson never wavered from that path, and while he faced incredible challenges at different points in his life, his courage always led him on to new musical adventures, one he continued without compromise his entire life. The family asks for privacy while they deal with the loss of a son, brother, husband and father. "Roky Erickson has moved on. Roky came to mean many things to many admirers and will continue to resonate with a legacy of remarkable style, talent, and poetic and artistic tales from beyond. As a long standing friend and follower of Roky’s amazing performing abilities and aa a guitarist and singer, I can only relate the far reaching impact he and his mates in The Thirteenth Floor Elevators brought to the fore with their eerily magnetic psychedelic sounds. It’s almost unfathomable to contemplate a world without Roky Erickson. He created his own musical galaxy and early on was an true inspiration. Even now, Roky is a source of creative energy of the first order. It’s really a circumstance where he continues to provide the requisite “Reverberation.” Something he predicted when he sang “You're Gonna Miss Me”…We certainly do know now that he’s at one with the universe.” - - - Billy F Gibbons

Looking forward to seeing you Los Angeles! https://www1.ticketmaster.com/event/090054A6EE7F3F52

Here some dates to save! Share away! “Roky Erickson & White Mystery: Psychedelic Generations Tour.” Dates as follows: 10/27 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, NC 10/28 The Black Cat Washington, DC 10/30 Monty Hall Jersey City, NJ 10/31 Knockdown Center Queens, NY 11/2 Once Ballroom Somerville, MA 11/3 Underground Arts Philadelphia, PA 11/5 Lee’s Palace Toronto, is Canada 11/6 El Club Detroit, MI 11/8 Headliner’s Music Hall Louisville, KY 11/9 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL 11/10 Blueberry Hill Duck Room St. Louis, MO Tickets on sale now. Art by Tim Smith

Looking forward to seeing you in Dallas tomorrow!

Roky returns on May 12 to @Homegrown Fest 9 with Explosions In The Sky. Get your tickets at www.homegrownfest.com.

The one and only David Fricke features Roky's recent show at Rough Trade in NY on his show The Writer's Block - airs tonight at 8 PM ET on The Spectrum, Ch 28; repeats this Saturday at 4 PM ET and will be on the Sirius XM On Demand app for two weeks from tonight! He'll talk about the gig and play Roky/Elevator songs.

He comes from Transylvania On St. Swithin's Day he was born Tonight is the night of the vampire! ❤️Happy 70th Birthday to Roky Erickson!❤️ Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

Tomorrow is the big day! We are so looking forward to the big birthday celebration of this brilliant, beautiful soul! Photo by Todd V Wolfson Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

Pick up today's Austin Chronicle for a conversation with our upcoming birthday boy!

“When we were playing music with Roky, it was very interesting to see how music kind of brightened him up and made him more alive and made him more clear in thought,” Maas says. “I would like to see his legacy translate in a musical, therapeutic way. … Roky’s living proof of somebody [for] whom music will, at the end of the day, save him. And I think that’s true for a lot of people.” -Alex Maas of the Black Angels Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

The church Stained glass windows Enhances the lace As we kneel, I can feel Loved one beside me And loved ones grace How can we ask for more Alive and standing at my door How can we ask for more❤️ Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

In 2008, Mogwai and Roky recorded "The Devil Rides" for Mogwai's Batcat record. It was the only track on the entire album to feature vocals. Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

"Bleib alien", Bleib being an anagram of Bible and/or German for "stay," and "Alien" being a pun on the German word allein ("alone") – the phrase in German therefore being "remain alone." The Evil One is an amazing album and the Aliens were the perfect band for it! Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

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When Roky decided to play music again, one of his first shows over in Scandinavia was in Hultsfred, Sweden with the Explosives. The Entombed had recently covered Night of the Vampire and so the audience sang every word with the Evil One when Roky took the stage for an encore that was horrifyingly beautiful! Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

From the gargoyles to stonehenge From the sphynx to the pyramids Lucifer's temples praising the devil right To the devil's clock as it strikes midnight I have always been here before:) Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

Only 10 more days!!! GOD DEVIL ALIEN: Hard to believe, but our beloved Roky Erickson turns 70 this year and we want you to come celebrate his musical legacy with us! We look forward to sharing this beautiful milestone with all of you. Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

Here is a tribute Roky shared for the Austin Chronicle that appeared this week for our beloved Margaret Moser. Thought to share it here:) Margaret Moser Tribute: Roky Erickson I first met Margaret at St. David’s church. I would go to church and come out to get coffee and cream, and she would be there, like she was supposed to be there. Right away I knew she was one of the nicest people I’d ever met. I liked it a lot when she started writing for the Austin Sun. I kept encouraging her to stay with it, and I’d look forward to her writing when the Chronicle started and she went there. It was fun when they started the Austin Music Awards and Margaret did so much to make it all happen. I enjoyed all of them and have great memories of going to them and playing. She wrote so much during all her years at the Chronicle. She had such a personal and passionate way of writing about music. I also liked seeing if she had written about me or my life or what I was doing. She had a different way of looking at things, and the way she wrote made the music come alive, like the musicians were right there with me. She has a gift not every writer has. I always appreciated her, for more than 40 years now, back to the Seventies when she started at the Sun. Austin was different then, more like a little town, and we all got to know each other real quick. That doesn’t happen for everybody anymore, but I’m so glad it happened for us. Please tell Margaret I’m going to write her a letter. A letter to her and her family. Photo by Todd Wolfson

Natalie Sideserf and Dave Sideserf from Sideserf Cake Studio and now Food Network's brand new show: Texas Cake House are creating the most amazing beautiful cake for Roky to celebrate his 70th Birthday! What they come up with won't be revealed until our beloved Austin legend takes the stage. Guesses are welcome! What cake would you design to capture Roky Erickson's 70 years of history? Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

See you in September!

A beautiful tintype that was done in Bandit Town in the center of California. It was a really cool experience with the old beautiful flash photography with all the smoke and temporary blindness. Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

In a 2005 interview with Esquire, Johnny Depp discusses the unwavering authenticity of Hunter S. Thompson, and likens his late friend to another great, often-troubled mind, saying: "...like Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators, a band out of Texas. They were basically the first psychedelic-rock band. 1965. And if you listen to old 13th Floor Elevators stuff -- Roky Erickson especially, his voice -- and then go back and listen to early Led Zeppelin, you know that Robert Plant absolutely copped everything from Roky Erickson. And it's amazing. And Roky Erickson is sitting in Austin, Texas; he's just there. And Robert Plant had a huge hit. It always goes back to those guys, you know? I love those fucking guys." Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

“I’ve gone through three changes– I thought I was a Christian… then I was the devil… then the third one, where I know who I am… you know… I feel like I’m an alien.” –Roky Erickson Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday

They met when the were kids and life happens. Once Roky received his rights back about ten years ago, I received a phone call asking for her number. It's not everyday the one you love, take a pause when your son is two, and reconnect when he turned 30. Sometimes true love does cast out all evil. Roky's Erickson GOD, DEVIL, ALIEN 70th Birthday this July! Purchase your tickets now: bit.ly/Roky70thBirthday