F. Brett Cox - Lux Interior, 1947-2009

11:54 am - Lux Interior, 1947-2009

The lead singer of The Cramps has died. Obituaries here and here.

If you put a gun to my head and demanded, “What band do you love most of all,” and you had a magic machine that could indicate whether or not I was telling the truth, and I wanted to live, I would say, “The Cramps.” Lux Interior and his heart-stopping wife and guitarist Poison Ivy were the godparents of the rockabilly hoodoo aesthetic that has granted me more unequivocal joy than any other musical subgenre. I saw them three times, once in Chapel Hill in the late 80’s, and twice in Atlanta in the 90’s. The Chapel Hill performance—where Lux became what he remains, the only performer I’ve ever seen drink his own sweat onstage, shortly before ascending the stage-right bank of speakers to kick loose a couple of acoustical ceiling tiles with his spike-heel pumps—is still one of the best club shows I’ve ever seen. Here and here are two live clips, and here is their best video, all favorites.

And, for the truly adventurous, here is some of their infamous 1978 concert at the Napa State Mental Hospital.

R.I.P.