n combination with stuff I've been listening to lately like Richard Thompson, The Mothers of Invention, etc. inevitably made me look for some
13th Floor Elevators to post. Founded by
Roky Erickson in 1965, the Elevators were a seminal psychedelic band. One Joplin considered joining.
Erickson and the Elevators were definitely committed to the music and lifestyle:
"In 1968, while doing a stint at HemisFair, Erickson started speaking nonsense. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sent to a Houston psychiatric hospital, where he involuntarily received electroconvulsive therapy.[2]
The Elevators were vocal proponents of LSD, mescaline (peyote), DMT and marijuana use, and were subject to extra attention from police. In 1969, Erickson was arrested for possession of one marijuana joint in Austin. Facing a ten-year prison term, Erickson pled not guilty by reason of insanity. He was first sent to the Austin State Hospital. After several escapes, he was sent to the Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he was subjected to more electroconvulsive therapy and Thorazine treatments, ultimately remaining in custody until 1972." After Erikson's release, his life got
really bad for many years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYh5o...om=PL&index=14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwSA0...om=PL&index=15