BigRedJed
1/2/2009, 09:49 AM
Holy heck, how have I missed these guys? I mean, I had heard of 13th Floor Elevators, but didn't know squat about them. When I heard their song "You're Gonna Miss Me" I knew it was familiar, and after poking around teh innerwebs I found out it was the opening song in the movie "High Fidelity." But beyond that I had nothing.
So, based only on the channel guide summary and a whim, I set my DVR to record "You're Gonna Miss Me (http://www.rokymovie.com/)" on either the Sundance Channel or IFC. I sat down last night to watch it, and was blown away, both by the music and by the story, which focuses mostly on Roky (http://www.rokyerickson.net/).
It was cool, sad and hopeful at the same time. Dude has basically been broken since the early seventies, living in Austin in near-poverty, with his mom as his "caretaker." She's about as nutty as he is, and was basically keeping him from taking meds that would help him deal with his schitzophrenia. At the very least she was enabling him.
Much of the documentary dealt with his brother (one of five total sons), who lives in Pittsburgh (where he is a successful musician in the symphony), going to court to become his brother's official caregiver and to get him on meds. Roky was already a little batty in the 60s, and 300+ LSD trips combined with a stay in a high-security mental institution for a minor marijuana charge ( :eek: ) in the late '60s/ early '70s sent him over the edge.
Here's what I learned:
Some people credit the band with the creation/popularization of the term "psychdelic rock."
Roky's singing style had a profound influence on Janis Joplin, who was a close friend. Listen to You're Gonna Miss Me, and you'll never again think of her signature sound the same way again.
They changed the San Francisco scene when they arrived there from Austin. They arrived there before Surrealistic Pillow. Apparently, most of the Bay area bands were a lot more folk-flavored before 13th Floor Elevators showed up.
They also had a big influence on bands like Television and Spacemen 3.
Billy Gibbons, Patti Smith, Gibby Haynes and Thurston Moore talk about Roky in reverential tones in the documentary.
Roky's whole family is amazingly disfunctional. Even the most well-adjusted of the brothers reveals himself to be pretty damaged in a scene at his therapist's office. Still, kudos to him for stepping in and doing something about his big bro.
I didn't get the impression that the Austin music scene was doing anything to take care of this guy at the time the movie was made (2005). If that's the truth, they should be ashamed of themselves.
I have an entirely new outlook on the Butthole Surfers and early Flaming Lips. I know Gibby jokes in Fearless Freaks about how bad the Lips were ripping the BS off (and he has a point to some extent), but they were BOTH stealing from the 13th Floor Elevators. Wayne's whole alien thing even looks a little fishy to me right now.The good news is that the movie ends with an apparent brighter future for Roky. After poking around on teh innerwebs, it looks like he has actually started performing again, which is pretty fantastic if you see how bad he is with teh crazee in the movie. Think Brian Wilson on a bad day. Anyway, worth a watch, and I will mos def be adding these guys (plus some of Roky's stuff from the seventies) to my playlist.
After watching it, I feel like I should be embarassed for not knowing about them.
So, based only on the channel guide summary and a whim, I set my DVR to record "You're Gonna Miss Me (http://www.rokymovie.com/)" on either the Sundance Channel or IFC. I sat down last night to watch it, and was blown away, both by the music and by the story, which focuses mostly on Roky (http://www.rokyerickson.net/).
It was cool, sad and hopeful at the same time. Dude has basically been broken since the early seventies, living in Austin in near-poverty, with his mom as his "caretaker." She's about as nutty as he is, and was basically keeping him from taking meds that would help him deal with his schitzophrenia. At the very least she was enabling him.
Much of the documentary dealt with his brother (one of five total sons), who lives in Pittsburgh (where he is a successful musician in the symphony), going to court to become his brother's official caregiver and to get him on meds. Roky was already a little batty in the 60s, and 300+ LSD trips combined with a stay in a high-security mental institution for a minor marijuana charge ( :eek: ) in the late '60s/ early '70s sent him over the edge.
Here's what I learned:
Some people credit the band with the creation/popularization of the term "psychdelic rock."
Roky's singing style had a profound influence on Janis Joplin, who was a close friend. Listen to You're Gonna Miss Me, and you'll never again think of her signature sound the same way again.
They changed the San Francisco scene when they arrived there from Austin. They arrived there before Surrealistic Pillow. Apparently, most of the Bay area bands were a lot more folk-flavored before 13th Floor Elevators showed up.
They also had a big influence on bands like Television and Spacemen 3.
Billy Gibbons, Patti Smith, Gibby Haynes and Thurston Moore talk about Roky in reverential tones in the documentary.
Roky's whole family is amazingly disfunctional. Even the most well-adjusted of the brothers reveals himself to be pretty damaged in a scene at his therapist's office. Still, kudos to him for stepping in and doing something about his big bro.
I didn't get the impression that the Austin music scene was doing anything to take care of this guy at the time the movie was made (2005). If that's the truth, they should be ashamed of themselves.
I have an entirely new outlook on the Butthole Surfers and early Flaming Lips. I know Gibby jokes in Fearless Freaks about how bad the Lips were ripping the BS off (and he has a point to some extent), but they were BOTH stealing from the 13th Floor Elevators. Wayne's whole alien thing even looks a little fishy to me right now.The good news is that the movie ends with an apparent brighter future for Roky. After poking around on teh innerwebs, it looks like he has actually started performing again, which is pretty fantastic if you see how bad he is with teh crazee in the movie. Think Brian Wilson on a bad day. Anyway, worth a watch, and I will mos def be adding these guys (plus some of Roky's stuff from the seventies) to my playlist.
After watching it, I feel like I should be embarassed for not knowing about them.