Avid music fans will tell you what a fertile crescent the 1960s Texas music scene was. Strains of it endure today with ZZ Top still going strong and Roky Erickson playing some of the best shows of his career. There are a number of other less-talked about nuggets though. From the Red Krayola to Zachary Thaks to Shiva’s Headband to Josefus ... the list goes on. This primer is just a smattering of some of the essential acts to check out and dig up. And check this link for a great illustrated gallery of posters and handbills featuring most of the big name players from this era.
It’s safe to say that without the International Artists label psychedelic music and indeed a serious chapter of rock and roll history may never have taken off. Founded by Lelan Rodgers (Kenny’s older brother, pictured at right), the label was responsible for launching the careers of many of the giants of the ’60s Texas scene. Brother Kenny himself dabbled with fuzz-fried acid rock early on with the First Edition. Their “I Just Stopped In” is a garage nugget that wouldn’t be out of place on any Lenny Kaye-compiled collection. But while Kenny’s psychedelic period ebbed off, eventually giving way to mainstream country success as well as a chain of rotisserie chicken restaurants, older brother Lelan dug deeper into some of Texas’ odder psychedelic obscurities.
Moving Sidewalks/American Blues/ZZ Top
Essential Listening: Flash (Moving Sidewalks); The American Blues Do Their Thing (American Blues); Tres Hombres (ZZ Top)
The saga surrounding these three bands is a legend the size of Texas itself. Today ZZ Top are a marquee name as recognizable by their long beards as they are for their fuzzy Explorers and gut-busting riff rock. But long before Billy Gibbons strapped on a customized rotating axe, he got his start with an oft-forgotten band called the Moving Sidewalks. The band scored a minor hit with the song “99th Floor” (see clip below) and toured the Lone Star state in support of one fledgling guitarist by the name of Jimi Hendrix before dissolving. At the same time Dusty Hill and Frank Beard had their own band American Blues, which was working the barroom and road house circuit to limited success. With both bands’ careers on the rocks, music history was born when Gibbons recruited the others into what’s now known as ZZ Top.
Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators
Essential Listening: Easter Everywhere (13th Floor Elevators); The Evil One (Roky solo)
Psychedelic ’60s music begins and ends with the Elevators. Their biggest hit, “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” is recognizable from its first ringing chords and the electrified jug courtesy of guitarist Tom Hall. Time spent touring Texas and stints at the Fillmore West in the late ’60s were both a blessing and a curse. The band’s reputation was forever cemented but the psychedelic mind expansion took its toll on the group. Through a series of unfortunate events, Roky ended up institutionalized―more or less forcing the Elevators’ career to a halt. A third album was recorded with Erickson only appearing on a handful of the songs. After years of struggle, Roky is back on top of his game and playing some of the best shows of his life. For more on Erickson’s sad saga, check out the recently released documentary You’re Gonna Miss Me. And check out the clip below from a four part 1983 documentary of the same name. Available on YouTube, the doc chronicles the doomed career of the 13th Floor Elevators:
Red Krayola
Essential Listening: Parable of Arable Land; God Bless The Red Krayola And All Who Sail With It
Another cornerstone of the International Artists roster, Red Krayola are one of the most prolific Texas psychedelic bands. They’re still going strong today through numerous incarnations, lineup changes, and sounds and styles. A little less accessible than the aforementioned groups, the band experimented with noise collages and what would later come to be known as industrial music long before anyone had coined the term. Throughout the ’80s, Thompson kept the band going with numerous members moving through its ranks. Some big names have come and gone as frontman Mayo Thompson also made a respectable career as a producer of some of the underground’s biggest names―Pere Ubu, Primal Scream, the Fall, Raincoats, and Scritti Polliti to name a few.
Further explorations:
Golden Dawn were another group on the International label. They were both contemporaries and disciples of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators. The band’s sole full-length contribution, Power Plant, draws heavily from the psychedelic well the Elevators dug into. Not quite as prolific and not quite as well known, their record is nonetheless worth tracking down.
Bubble Puppy were perhaps the most commercially successful band on the International Artists roster. The band drew their name from the writing of Adolous Huxley. Their biggest hit, “Hot Smoke & Sassafras,” was named after a Beverly Hillbillies reference. The single charted for several weeks with its fuzzed out guitar leads that were indicative of the time period. Though today they are only a footnote, their LP for International Artists deserves exploration.
Josefus were a prototypical blues-driven power trio (sound familiar?) who managed to get a few records out. Their best and certainly one worth picking up is Dead Man. While their later work started to lag and lacked the spontaneous ingredient that made Dead Man an essential document, the band did lay the groundwork for Texas’ favorite sons―ZZ Top and their three-piece bluesy hard rock sound.