Billy Gibbons

“Transcendence came with a price,” Brian T. Atkinson writes in his introduction to this collection of reflections by and about pioneer psychedelic rocker Roky Erickson (1947–2019). The singer and songwriter who fronted the 13th Floor Elevators burst onto the Texas music scene in 1966 with the release of “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” the band’s only charting single, which featured Erickson’s primal vocal stylings. The band attracted considerable regional attention, including interest from a young Janis Joplin, who considered joining the group before opting to go to San Francisco instead.Through his interviews with those who were there and presentation of Erickson’s own words, Atkinson chronicles how Erickson was haunted for most of his life by mental illness, likely compounded by his liberal usage of hallucinogenic and other drugs. Despite that, however, his influence on Texas musicians of various genres is vast. As Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top attests in his foreword, “He stands alone to this day and is revered as an artist because he had the gift of a wonderful voice.”As with his previous books on Townes Van Zandt, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Mickey Newbury, Atkinson has recorded hours of interviews with veteran and upcoming musicians who were impacted by Roky Erickson. Along with the insights of long-time music journalists like Joe Nick Patoski and the bittersweet recollections of friends and family members like Mikel Erickson, brother of the singer, this work includes poetry and lyrics written by Erickson during his confinement at Rusk State Hospital in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The picture that emerges is that of a brilliant, troubled mind and an artist whose influence extended far beyond the period of his greatest notoriety, continuing even beyond his death.

Learn how to build an affordable hot rod following the advice of the masters In How to Build Affordable Hot Rods, author and lifelong hot rod aficionado Tony Thacker takes you through the process of building a hot rod on a budget. Drawing on his own extensive experience of both buying and building rods, Thacker explores the good, the bad and the ugly. The good was setting a land speed record at Bonneville, the bad was buying a rod from which the previous owner had "swapped out" the good engine, and the ugly--well, let's just not go there. How to Build Affordable Hot Rods includes extensive how-to sections that cover step-by-step chassis builds for Model A, 1932, and 1936 Fords, including front- and rear-end setups. The in-depth chassis builds are complimented with sections on powertrain choices, bodywork and roof chops, wheels and tires, and wiring and paint. Also included are chapters on interiors and the all-important details that individualize any project to ensure that it stands out from the rest.When Henry Ford introduced his beloved Model T, he unwittingly gave the average person the means to go racing. Prior to the T, racing was mostly a sport of the rich, but that changed with the Model T. Stripped of fenders and hopped up with speed parts, T speedsters ruled, and it wasn't long before enthusiasm on the track translated to the street and the term hot rod entered the vernacular.Of course, it didn't need to be a Ford (and still doesn't), but the easiest and therefore cheapest route to Hot Rod Boulevard is down the Ford road. The journey accelerated after World War II, as hot rodding boomed with the growth of speed shops, car shows, drag racing, talented and trained GIs returning home, and the launch of Hot Rod magazine to spread the gospel far and wide. More than 100 years after the original Model T, hot rodding remains alive and well in the Australasia, Europe, and (of course) its birthplace the US.Learn from the best and get started building your affordable hot rod today