tell me things about The Cramps (RIP Lux Interior)

I repeat...

The most beautiful and scary-looking man in all of rock 'n' roll! Ever!

― Arthur, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (6 years ago)

Also a lovely person. I'm so sad. Poor Ivy.

some friends of mine went to see them at the Jockey Club in Ohio back in 1986 and the club RAN OUT OF BEER halfway through their set.

yeah woah. so bummed i never saw them. he and ivy were such a valuable resource at the time for turning people onto stuff - playing charlie jackson on the radio, digging up wild old doo wop etc. i love the cramps covers, like on how to make a monster. hearing him sing i can't hardly stand it, he actually sounds like he looks.

This is terrible. The Cramps show I saw at the Warner Theater in DC in '79 was amazing as were some later gigs I saw. Ian M. and Guy from Fugazi and countless others in the DC scene were all so blown away by their live show. They also did gigs with DC rockabilly cats Tex Rubinowitz and the Bad Boys that impressed some other folks who might not have been considered their prime audience.

from the mtv news obit by James Montgomery and Jem Aswad http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1604336/20090204/story.jhtml

Born Erick Lee Purkhiser, Interior started the Cramps in 1972 with guitarist Poison Ivy (born Kristy Wallace, later his wife) — whom, as legend has it, he picked up as a hitchhiker in California. By 1975, they had moved to New York, where they became an integral part of the burgeoning punk scene surrounding CBGBs.

Their music differed from most of the scene's other acts in that it was heavily steeped in camp, with Interior's lyrics frequently drawing from schlocky B-movies, sexual kink and deceptively clever puns. (J.H. Sasfy's liner notes to their debut EP memorably noted: "The Cramps don't pummel and you won't pogo. They ooze; you'll throb.") Sonically, the band drew from blues and rockabilly, and a key element of their sound was the trashy, dueling guitars of Poison Ivy and Bryan Gregory (and later Kid Congo Powers), played with maximal scuzz and minimal drumming.

Because of that — not to mention Interior's deranged, Iggy Pop-inspired onstage antics and deep, sexualized singing voice (which one reviewer described as "the psychosexual werewolf/ Elvis hybrid from hell") — the Cramps are often cited as pioneers of "psychobilly" and "horror rock," and can count bands like the Black Lips, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, the Reverend Horton Heat, the Horrors and even the White Stripes as their musical progeny.

Everyone's already said it on this thread, but the Cramps were a band who transcended genre simply by opening so many doors. They were my first introduction to a lot of rockabilly, rare r&b etc. And they made everything their own, and in doing so let you know that if you wanted to check out the original, it would probably blow your little teenage mind.

The real fucking shit, the Cramps. Their original drummer, M1r1am, lives in my neighborhood, and I see her walking the dog sometimes. I know she left the band early on, but I can imagine how devasted someone who knew the man closely must be. If we casual fans can be so touched and upset, god only knows what magic the man wrought on his close friends. Not to over-romanticize what was undoubtedly a complicated and often painful life, but you know...

They did a lot of great covers -- great songs, great versions -- but originals like "What's Behind the Mask" and "Mystery Plane" deserve a lot of praise, too.

:(

Oh man. Another hero gone :-(

RIP

Ah, jeez fuck shit.

What a fun sweetheart. What a great.

RIP.

Maybe the best frontman I ever saw. RIP Lux.

RIP, Elvis Fuckin' Christ. "You gotta live it 'til you're dead . ." and Lux damn well did.

nooooooo

RIP

Really bummed at never having gotten to see 'em. RIP Garbageman.

Oh damn. Only ever saw them once when they played the Reading Festival (1990?). Didn't really quite work in the open air, but I do remember some sort of on-stage hijinks going on - didn't Lux eat his own vomit or something? Anyhow, the records really kick arse and I would gladly give my right nipple to have seen them play in some dank subterranean dungeon somewhere. RIP Lux.

the cramps changed my fucking life. so long lux. my thoughts are with ivy.

Jesus, not another one! RIP Lux, what a man, love to Ivy.

I don't think another band ever turned me on to so much other great stuff. The first time I saw them is still one of the 5 best live shows I ever saw... and it was at a House of Blues! R.I.P./Stay Sick!

I'll never forget the image of Lux scaling a wall of speakers while wearing bikini briefs and fishnet stockings. Even their roadie shook his head at the sight.
Last time I saw them was in October 2004 at the Avalon in Boston. Across the street, the Yankees were killing my Red Sox in Game 3 of the ALCS (but we know how that turned out - heh heh). They kicked off with "Mad Daddy," I believe. Incredible shows, all. RIP.

I've been listening to them loads over the last week or so and was pleased they were nearing the shortlist of invitees to May's UK ATP. Sad news. RIP Lux.

I remember first hearing Off The Bone when I was ~14. I confess my first reaction was "what in the fuck is this shit?" but it wasn't long before it was a mainstay on my turntable. I'll give it a wee play on the way home tonight.

Yes, I've still got the 3d specs!

I remember when the first cramps ep came in to the record store I was working in 1978. even in the wake of punk and no new york it was a shocker -- so crude and propulsive. like it was recorded by cavemen.

search: the re/search book on incredibly strange records, the interview w/lux & ivy nicely lays out their aesthetic. true believers in rock & roll.

RIP

Rest in peace, Lux. You were an idol since I got hold of that 3 hours long VHS-tape with Cramps on stage. Shame I'll never experince it live myself.

As (to paraphrase Billy Connelly) I've recently passed my 50th birthday, and will more recently pass my 53rd, 60 don't seem so old.

My introduction to their campiness was in '82-ish @ the on Broadway in SF (upstairs from the fab-Mab) topping a bill with Tav Falco, and the Gun Club. Goodness me.

I got to see Lux and Ivy @ a meet and greet @ The Vic in Chicago after a gig, maybe 10 years ago or so (time flies etc). I just wanted to see what they looked like up close, and was prepared for them to look old and scary under too much pancake makeup. Actually they both looked quite lovely, healthy, and normal (under the circumstances).

Although I thought they lost a step after Nick Knox left, Ivy blossomed into quite guitar player in the 10+ years between the 1st and last gigs I saw.

We all owe the man a huge debt.

search: the re/search book on incredibly strange records, the interview w/lux & ivy nicely lays out their aesthetic.

Yeah, I was thinking about that myself, I need to read that again.

Shit. I forgot to write something about crying 96 tears, from 96 eyes.

Aw shit, another one I would've liked to have seen, judging from the "Tear It Up" footage. Let me be the first to make a "this coffin contains a lux interior" joek. (Come on, the dude would've appreciated a little black humour.) Too bad for Poison Ivy - didn't know they were married until now.)

RIP

Let me be the first to make a "this coffin contains a lux interior" joek.(Come on, the dude would've appreciated a little black humour.)

OTM

man, i'd forgotten about elvis fucking christ. there should be a cramps song title poll, inc. bend over, i'll drive.

RIP Lux. I saw one Cramps show, late 90's, they were iconic.

Two of my friends got married in a drive-thru Vegas chapel while the New Zealand tape played in the car, exchanging vows to the tune of Can Your Pussy Do The Dog? Easily the coolest wedding music ever.

Came across this Lux DJ'd radio program last night while still hoping the rumor wasn't true:
http://salmagundisyncopation.blogspot.com/2009/01/purple-knif-show.html

I saw one Cramps show, late 90's, they were iconic.

same here, saw em on Valentine's Day of all days ... lux did the encore with a dildo strapped to his forehead o_0

great band

Loved them since hearing Bad Music for Bad People (what an awesome fucking title that is) in '86 or so, but didn't get to see them live until probably a decade later - the Flamejob tour. They fucking destroyed the place; one of the best shows I've ever seen, by anybody. Lux climbing the amps with his spandex pants creeping lower and lower, huffing and puffing into the mic he was deep-throating, while Ivy just cranked the riffs out impassively, never even bothering to check up on him. Wild as he was, she knew he knew exactly what he was doing. I still listen to them constantly. Everything through A Date with Elvis is essential, plus the live albums Smell of Female and Rockinnreelininaucklandnewzealand.

loved his intro to that clip at the mental hospital show pitchfork posted:

"Some people say you people are crazy...but I don't know about that. You seem alright to me."

<3

do you understand?

I'm going to tell you how / To get on board / You put one foot up / You put another foot up / Put another foot up / And you're on board ...

saw em (and his bare ass) once in the '80s. helluva spectacle.

shock.
saw them some years ago, Lux went wild over the mic and the speakers.
looked more like 40 than 60.
RIP. the cramps changed the way l listen to music while i was a teenage (werewolf).

I remember putting on "Human Fly" on the shared stereo in my highschool and another angry student turning it off and saying that it was "the worst music he'd ever heard". I remember being so puzzled by the solo in "TV Set" and the ghoulish way he would cackle into delay. What superheroes! Very sad . . .

RIP

I regret not being a total collector of the Cramps, because this was a great band for that. So many musicians, underground and overground, from all over the rock spectrum, especially throughout the 80s, nod immediately when The Cramps were brought as a life changing experience, from Ian MacKaye (in that Looking For A Thrill DVD) to Daniel Ash (in several Love & Rockets interviews.) to pretty much any rockabilly and/or punk band ever.

Ron Asheton + Lux R.I.P. within weeks is a really painful blow.

Not that many will care about the Looking For A Thrill DVD nor will this give anything away about it, but about a third of the bands mentioned The Cramps as their life-changing gateway in one form or another.

...and nick cave,iggy pop,jon spencer,calvin johnson,mark e. smith..(the list is endless)
xpost

Ivy just cranked the riffs out impassively, never even bothering to check up on him. Wild as he was, she knew he knew exactly what he was doing.

Man, how unusual was it to have a male/female partnership with the woman as instrumentalist and a male singer rather than the reverse? (esp 30 years ago?)

fuck, speechless

this is getting to me more than asheton's death... maybe cause the stooges always seemed like a previous generation's music (music they ignored, but still). this one hits close to home.

they don't make icons like lux anymore.

RIP zombie elvis

RIP. It's sad he went relatively early, but what a life he did lead.

Always thought one of the best pieces of Alex Chiltoniana was the story about him pistol whipping Lux during the sessions for Songs The Lord Taught Us, pointing the gun at Lux's head, telling him to "Sing it right!"

been reading other cramps threads and discovered I already said all I need to say

neither time nor experience can erase the bottomless sleazy splendor of the cramps and it is a beautiful mystery.

TS: The Cramps vs. Gun Club vs. X.............

Woah no way. Fuck's sakes.