Erick Lee Purkhiser (October 21, 1946 - February 4, 2009; aged 62), better known as Lux Interior, was an American singer and the lead singer of the punk-rock band The Cramps. He was featured as a guest singer in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Party Pooper Pants," where he voiced the lead singer of the Bird Brains and performed the song "Underwater Sun."
Biography[]
Born in Akron, Ohio, he grew up in its nearby suburb of Stow and graduated from Stow High School.[1]
He met his wife Kristy Wallace, better known as Poison Ivy, a.k.a. Ivy Rorschach, in Sacramento in 1972, when he and a friend picked her up when she was hitchhiking.[2][3] The couple founded the band after they moved from California to Ohio in 1973, and then to New York in 1975, where they soon became part of the flourishing punk scene.[2]
Lux Interior died at 4:30 a.m. on February 4, 2009, at Glendale Memorial Hospital in California. The cause of death was aortic dissection. He was survived by his wife Ivy and two brothers, Michael Purkhiser[4] and Ronald "Skip" Purkhiser. The memorial service for Lux was held on February 21 at the Windmill Chapel of the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine. Lux's brother Michael also provided insight into his relationship with Lux in a newspaper article.[5][6]
References[]
- ^ Petkovic, John (February 5, 2009). "Appreciation: Akron-born garage rocker Lux Interior was the king of trash-culture". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
But the Stow High School grad came up with the idea for the band while watching late-night TV in Northeast Ohio.
- ^ a b Leibrock, Rachel (February 4, 2009). "Cramps singer Lux Interior dies at 60". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009.
- ^ Whiteside, Jonny (March 12, 2009). "Lux Interior's Astral Ascension". LA Weekly. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- ^ "1980s: A New Scene Takes Hold - Post-Punk". Cleveland.com. 2015. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- ^ Abram, Malcolm X (February 11, 2009). "Sibling recalls Lux Interior, punk icon". Ohio.com. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
- ^ "Lux Interior : In Memoriam". Trebuchet. 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2015.