HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
I am currently reading a great book on the legendary guitarist/singer Roky Erickson and his band the 13th Floor Elevators, called "The Saga of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators: The Pioneers of Psychedelic Sound" by Paul Drummond.
Growing up watching horror films at his local cinema, a love of horror crept into most of his music, with titles like I Walked With a Zombie, a tribute to the classic RKO film by Jacques Tourneur and Val Lewton (who also made Cat People and The Leopard Man) and Bloody Hammer. It all made a full circle for him when his song, Burn the Flames, was used in the soundtrack to the Dan O'Bannon 1985 horror comedy Return of the Living Dead.
The book also explores his family life growing up in Austin, Texas; the early music scene that lead to the fullblown psychedelic movement in San Francisco; and the band's experiments with LSD, and the problems that came with it.
A lot of his music has been re-issued and there is a couple of good compilations available. There was also a documentary made about his life in 2007 called "You're Gonna Miss Me".
