13th Floor Elevators

By Aliza Johns March 26, 2023 April 10, 2023

The 13th Floor Elevators started with Tommy Hall, Stacy Sutherland, Benny Thurman, John Ike Walton, and Roger Kynard “Roky” Erickson.

The band’s life started in 1965 and ended in 1969 because of drug possession. The band had several popular songs such as “You’re Gonna Miss Me” and had popular albums such as Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators and Easter Everywhere.

Interview with Roky Erickson during the Houston Record Fair on October 10^th, 1982 (Page 1 of 2)

Interview with Roky Erickson during the Houston Record Fair on October 10^th, 1982 (Page 2 of 2)

Here is the transcribed interview:

Interview
Roky Erickson: Weird Trips
The following interview was taped by Allan Vorda during the Houston Record Fair on October 10th, 1982. What was originally designated as a speaking engagement turned out to be a nostalgic seminar as Roky fielded a barage of questions from the audience for nearly an hour, gave away copies of his albums, and signed photographs. Roky was in fine form as he discussed a variety of subjects ranging from his psychedelic days with the 13th Floor Elevators up to the present and his plans for a new album. My thank to the anonymous members of the audience for the following questions.

What was that “funny little sound” in the background of the 13th Floor Elevator songs?
It’s an amplified jug. Have you ever heard of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band? They use a jug, but they don’t put a mike to it. We thought that since you con’t put an amplifier on it or a little pick-up, we thought about putting a microphone right next to it.
One of the International Artists (record label for the 13th Floor Elevator) said that the jug used to be full of something.
It might have been. It was a real hard to find antique pottery jug.
They said it was full of some kind of herb. At least that’s what they had written on the album.
What album was that?
It was a collection of International Artists hits called Epitaph of a Legend that came out in 1980.
Yes? (Roky points to a female with her hand raised to ask a question)
What have you been doing the last couple of months?
Oh, I’ve just been relaxing, listening to lots of music and mostly watching lots of horror movies. (Lots of laughter)
What are you going to do next?
I have a new album coming out. Right now we’re looking for American distribution. It will first be released as a CBS-London import.
Is there a reason why CBS in the United States doesn’t distribute it?
No. The reason is that the original contract was signed in England.
Has it been printed?
It has been mastered, but it hasn’t been completed as yet.
Has the album been given a title?
We haven’t decided on the name. My name (i.e., LP title) was turned down by CBS because it was too horrific. (Laughter)
Are the Aliens the backing group?
The only Alien is Duane Aslaksen who is the lead guitar player. Jack Casady, who’s from Jefferson Airplane and now with S.V.T., plays bass. Paul Zoff (from S.V.T.) is drumming for us.
Are the Resurrectionists the band who will back you if you go on tour?
There are thoughts in that direction. Do you know what Resurrectionists means?
What?
Body snatchers. (Lots of laughter)
What got you onto the theme of your last album (The Evil One)?
I’ll tell you a little story. All my life I’ve loved horror. When I was in school I had a teacher who asked to write a story. So I wrote a story about a doctor who had done experiments on young kids with their organs hanging out on meat racks. My teacher said, “I love your story, but my God does it have to be so gory.” (More laughter)
It’s like that Shelly Bermann record talking about buttermilk. If you’ve ever watched someone drink buttermilk, you feel like you shouldn’t be watching. (Laughter)
I just love horror. Horror is my religion.
How much does your album sell for now?
You mean The Psychedic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators? I don’t know
It’s going for $30.00 (A ten year old blonde girl abruptly comes up to him with the album to have it autographed.)
Yes? (Roky points to a raised hand).
When were you born?
July 15th (1947) on St. Swithin’s Day which is tied into the vampire. If it rains on St. Swithin’s Days it is suppose to rain for the next thirty days and have bad luck.
Did the Elevators and Bubble Puppy (probably the tightest group ever to come out of Houston) have a commune house?
People come up to me and ask where I lived in Houston, but I never really lived there except to hang out.
Who were the musicians who influenced you?
Little Richard and James Brown. Now James Brown once played in Austin where I was the only white person there. He started playing organ – take this as a compliment – it just horrified me. I was scared to death listening to him because he was so involved with his organ playing. The way he screamed I couldn’t believe it.
I’ve also been influenced by Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and also John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. If you get the change listen to Mayall because it has the hardest blues.
Does it bother you to get good reviews and not get very much airplay?
It’s like I told you that ever since I was little everybody says you listen to too much horror. It’s unsafe, it’s going to come and get you. As I grow older, people can scream the devil and they can scream evil, but when I mention it they say here’s what’s happening. Apparently they think I’m the real thing. It’s like Proctor and Gamble had a lot of trouble because people thought their symbol was involved with Satanism.
Somebody said that the reason why my albums aren’t played that much is because God will look down and say it’s because he’s done an evil deed. The way I look at it is that God is my friend. I have a song called the “The Interpreter” which says the real interpretation is God and then there is man’s interpretation which accounts for quite a bit of difference. When you hear the real interpretation a light just shines.
For instance, the devil punishes people for being bad. He’s the evil one, but he has a good side too. In other words, if someone kills somebody then the devil would take him to Hell and punish him with a pitchfork and burn him in eternal hellfire. He also keeps records. If you’re a little shady he watched you like an alien. That’s what the interpreter is.
Do you have plans for a video?
What happened is Warner Brothers collaboratored with HBO to do a video, but we didn’t get a very good tape. I sang “Heroin” by Loy Reed and that may have been it. (Laugher) I’d like to do a video, but I wasn’t that please with it.
Thank you, Roky.
(P.S.: There will be an exclusive interview with Roky Erickson that was conducted by phone on 11/22/81 and in person on 10/10/82. This forthcoming interview will be printed to coincide with the release of Roky’s new album scheduled tentatively for late 1982. ---A.V.)

The University Daily newspaper on April 9th, 1980

Here is the transcribed newspaper article:

A psychedelic classic from the Elevators
This is one review I don’t want to write. Instead I’d rather just sit and listen to this album a few more times. In fact, the more I listen to it, the more I love it.
The album, “Easter Everywhere,” was released in 1968 by a Texas group called the 13th Floor Elevators. You might think that they are a country and western or swing band coming from Texas, but don’t let that fool you. This is one of the greatest psychedelic albums of all time.
This is true in spite of the fact that it was recorded on a small, independent label and the mix and fidelity of the record are substandard in many ways. Original copies of the album are rare, and fortunately, the album has been re-released on import.
“Easter Everywhere” is the second album of four by the Elevators. The preceding album “(Psychedelic Sounds of the) 13th Floor Elevators” was only a minor success and contained the band’s best-known hit to date, “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” which might be considered punk by today’s standards.
The group consists of Roky Erickson, lead vocalist of the group, accompanied by Stacy Sutherland, Tommy Hall, Danny Thomas, and Dan Galindo.
If Dylan had gone to psychedelic extremes in the ‘60s, he might have sounded something like this group. The material reflects the search (as well as the search of countless others) for perfect knowledge, truth and understanding.
The Bible and self-revealed understanding are the two main sources for this album. Even if you disagree with some of the lyrics, they are satisfyingly thought-provoking.
“Slip Inside This House” is the most evident song on the album using references from the Bible. The song’s lyrics are intriguing and are far from obvious. The listener has to take time to figure out the meaning.
“…If your limbs begin dissolving in the water that you tread all surroundings are evolving in the stream that clears your head, find yourself a caravan like Noah must have lead and slip inside this house as you pass by… in this dark we call creation we can be and feel and know from the every confirmation that’s surviving on the go there’s infinite survival in the high Baptismal glow just slip inside this house as you pass by… there is no season when you are grown you are always risen from the seed you’ve sown… live where your heart can be given and your life starts to unfold in the forms you invision in this dream that ages old on the river layer is the only sayer you receive all you can hold like you’ve been told…
Psalms 36:8-9 “They feast on the abundance of thy house and thou givest them drink from the river of they delights for with thee is the fountain of life…” “This house” is not a physical house, but rather a place of contentment, refuge, and security. Water is symbolic in the Bible for its washing and cleansing properties (Baptism).
Revelations, the last book of the Bible, in which the vision of the end times are revealed through the servant John, also is referred to in the song in additional lyrics.
The other songs on the album are also mesmerizing, if not mind-expanding. Unlike many of the psychedelic groups of that era, the Elevators’ music was not repetitive and sound-alike-ish.
The songs range in pace from slow (“I Had to Tell You” and Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue”) to the fast-paced rockers (“Earthquake” and “Levitation”). There isn’t even a bad song on the album. The guitars in-nerweave and blend with the vocals and flow in a nice unexplicable way.
Psychedelic is not a state of music, but of mind. “easter Everywhere” is a classic, deserving every word of critical praise presented here.
Good. I’ve finished writing this thing. I can get back to listening to the record.
“Easter Everywhere” will be presented in its entirety on “The Late Great Lost Rexord Review” today on KTXT-FM from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

The entire publication for the interview and the newspaper are below the videos of their popular songs.