Sumner Erickson's press release for Roky Erickson booth at next weekend's Old Pecan Street fair

[Michael Eisenstadt]

Dear All,

I hope all are well.

Here's the Press Release for the Old Pecan Street Festival.  As you will
see, the Festival has agreed to officially link fundraising for the Roger
Kynard Erickson Trust to the Festival.  They have given us a booth where we
will be selling merchandise and there will be announcements being made from
the 6 stages throughout each day.  Please consider becoming a volunteer as
we would like to have at least 2 people per stage at all times, so that
when the announcements are made you can walk through the crowd with your
bucket.  We will have t shirts with a wonderful Roky image on the front and
Volunteer printed on the back for y'all.  With 250,000 people attending the
Festival over the two days the potential for raising money for Roky's Trust
is enormous.  We will have 25,000 bookmarks to give to people who donate
$2.00.  

Please reply to Roky's son Jegar as he has agreed to coordinate the
volunteers.  He is at: orionrj3@yahoo.com

Thanks very much for your consideration and please spread the word and
forward the Press Release to all who might be interested.

Peace and love,

Sumner


____________________________________________________________________________

THE ROGER KYNARD ERICKSON TRUST
Sumner Erickson, Trustee . 342 Bigbee Street . Pittsburgh, PA  15211 .
(412) 481-1311

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THROUGH MAY 3, 2003
Press Contact:  Luis Zapata at Roadstar Productions, 512) 441-9015

A TRIBUTE TO ROKY ERICKSON AND THE 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS at the OLD PECAN
STREET FESTIVAL, SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2003 7:00 PM

On May 3, 2003 at 7:00 PM, a Tribute Concert celebrating the continued
improving health of Austin psychedelic music  pioneer Roky Erickson and the
artistic legacy of the band The 13th Floor Elevators will take place at the
Old Pecan Street Festival in Austin, Texas.  Further, in honor of this
occasion the Old Pecan Street Festival has officially affiliated itself
this year with raising money for the Roger Kynard Erickson Trust.  Rokyıs
youngest brother Sumner will be on vocals with an all star band including
13th Floor Elevatorsı member Ronnie Leatherman on bass. The rest of the
band are Cam King,  lead guitar and Freddie Krc, drums, both formerly of
the Explosives who backed Roky in the early 1980ıs and jug player Greg
Forest, who was the jug player at the 1984 13th Floor Elevatorsı Reunion
concerts.  Admission is free and open to all ages.  Donations will be
accepted and proceeds from the sale of t-shirts and memorabilia at the
rokyerickson.net booth will benefit The Roger Kynard Erickson Trust.
Additionally, Sumner Erickson will be performing several short Solo Tuba
concerts on Sunday, May 4, at the rokyerickson.net booth as well as on the
various stages.

The 13th Floor Elevators were formed in Central Texas in 1965, and in three
short years, not only created psychedelic music but also opened the door
for original rock & roll in Austin, Texas, which has gone on to be called
"the live music capital of the world." Formed around vocalist-guitarist
Roky Erickson, the band also featured Stacy Sutherland on lead guitar,
Benny Thurman on bass, John Ike Walton on drums and Tommy Hall on jug.
Their first hit single, released in 1966, was "You're Gonna Miss Me,"
written by Erickson. Many of their following songs featured lyrics by Hall,
and music by both Erickson and Sutherland. Noted for their vision of rock
to help elevate  the consciousness of listeners, they were the first band
to take their experiences with psychedelics and use them as a catalyst for
their music. Shortly after the 13th Floor Elevators earliest shows, bands
in San Francisco like Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and Quicksilver
Messenger Service began extending the boundaries of popular music into new
territories. As the Elevators' personnel changed (later members included
Ronnie Leatherman, Danny Thomas and Danny Galindo), their sound evolved as
well into a powerful statement of purpose: that man could achieve a more
evolved state through hallucinogenic experiments. Their second album,
Easter Everywhere, is still seen as the pinnacle of this journey. Sadly,
the band was continually victimized by law enforcement agencies in Texas,
and by their last album's release, Bull of the Woods, the band was only a
semblance of its former self. When they disbanded near the end of the '60s,
the 13th Floor Elevators had not only written some of the more enduring
songs in rock &roll, they had set the stage for the Woodstock Generation to
totally revolutionize modern society.   

Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson is, in the words of music writer Richie
Unterberger, one of "the unknown heroes of rock and roll." His influence is
far reaching.  R.E.M., ZZ Top, Poi Dog Pondering, The Judybats, T-Bone
Burnett, Julian Cope, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cramps, The Minutemen,
Television, The Cynics, The Lyres, Teisco Del Rey, The Fuzztones and Radio
Birdman have all either recorded or played live versions of Roky's songs.
In addition to these performers, Roky is an acknowledged influence on such
diverse musicians as Robert Plant, Janis Joplin, Patti Smith, Henry
Rollins, Mike Watt, Sonic Youth, The Butthole Surfers, Jon Spencer, The
Damned, The Red Krayola, Pere Ubu, and current indie hit-makers The White
Stripes.  His songs have appeared on the soundtracks to the movies High
Fidelity, Drugstore Cowboy, Boys Don't Cry, Hamlet (2000), and Return
of the Living Dead.  While he may not be a household name, Roky has enjoyed
the support of a small but fiercely loyal following throughout his career.

Unfortunately, Roky's struggles with drug abuse and mental illness took a
serious toll.  His 1969 arrest in Austin for possession of a single joint
led to his being committed for three years to Rusk State Hospital for the
Criminally Insane, where he was reportedly subjected to Thorazine,
electro-convulsive ³shock² therapy, and other experimental treatments.
Most agree he was never the same after his release.  

Roky has had prolific periods of creativity in the intervening years,
including solo efforts that are now regarded as early Punk and the
forerunner of Grunge.  Notable in this output is his 1980 CBS UK release
OThe Evil Oneı with his band The Aliens. But unscrupulous managers and
record label executives often took advantage of his condition, leaving Roky
to live in poverty while others profited from his music.

The period from 1984 until 2001 was  a particularly bad period for Roky.
Fortunately, his youngest brother, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Principal
Tubaist Sumner Erickson, was appointed Roky's legal guardian in June 2001.
Sumner has established The Roger Kynard Erickson Trust to address Roky's
living expenses, medical bills, and other financial needs.  From June, 2001
until July, 2002, Roky lived with his brother in Pittsburgh,
where he finally began to receive the treatment and care he needs.  Roky is
now back in Austin, where his health continues to improve.  More information
is available at the Trust's official web site:  http://www.rokyerickson.net.

For more information please call: 512) 441-9015