By Judy Berman
Posted on February 04, 2009
lux interior.jpg
Whoa. Is it just me or have there been too many notable rock 'n' roll deaths in the past few months? Well, here's one I really wasn't expecting and am absolutely devastated to hear about. Lux Interior, front man of legendary punk band the Cramps, is dead.
Born Erick Lee Purkhiser on October 21, 1948 in Stow, Ohio, Lux Interior was one of the band's founding members. In 1972, Purkhiser picked up a hitchhiker named Kristy "Poison Ivy" Wallace in Sacramento, CA. They fell in love and moved to New York City, where they formed the Cramps in 1976, along with Bryan Gregory and his sister, Pam. Though the backing line up has changed over the years, Lux Interior and Poison Ivy helmed the band together for over 30 years.
The Cramps have had too many impressive albums and singles to name here. Suffice it to say that they were among the first bands to fuse punk with rockabilly and that their music, style and ferocious performances have had an enormous influence on subsequent generations.
I had the pleasure of seeing the Cramps only once, a few years back, at a horrible, oversold Motherfucker party. Though I could barely see, it seemed that Lux, Poison Ivy and co. were putting on a lively, energetic show. Though he was already 60, I think Lux had a lot more in him, which makes his untimely death even more depressing.
Here's hoping that wherever Lux is now, there are leather pants, tough girls with wild, red hair and killer rockabilly riffs. For the rest of us, The Daily Swarm has collected a few great Cramps videos. I, for one, will be watching with a glass of whiskey in my hand and a face full of tears.
No comments:
Post a Comment