Roky Erickson: Bleib Alien
Austin Chronicle: What’s your favorite science-fiction film?
Roky Erickson: Oh, The Day The Earth Stood Still. I saw it at the Capitol Theatre, down there on Sixth Street, right next to Congress. And I liked War of the Worlds, all the color. It was in something called Fusion Color or Fantasy Color, and everything was red, like the Martians. Haven’t seen the new one. I had the War of the Worlds comic book. I had lots of comic books.
AC: Do you have a favorite science-fiction author?
RE: H.G. Wells. I liked Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, too.
AC: In the past you’ve been billed as Roky Erickson & the Bleib Alien. What’s “bleib”?
RE: “Bleib” is an anagram for Bible. It refers to when Jesus took a walk into the desert and heard someone whispering to him. It was the devil.
AC: What did you think of the episode of The X-Files with the reference to you in it? You were referred to as “Roky Crikenson” in the episode called “Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space.'”
RE: I’ve never seen it!
AC: What’s good about modern science fiction?
RE: I like the Sci Fi channel and Science Fiction Theatre. I’ve been doing a lot of television-watching and thinking about good songs to write.
This article appears in July 25 • 2008.