Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye (1990)

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Author Grady Hendrix dropped in on The Record Player for what became one of our favorite chats to date. Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson is the album that Grady brought along to discuss with Jeff and Matt.

Released in 1990, Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye features an all-star cast including R.E.M., the Jesus and Mary Chain, Poi Dog Pondering, John Wesley Harding, Julian Cope, ZZ Top, Bongwater, Butthole Surfers and many others.

They all pooled their musical talents in support of Austin singer-songwriter Roky Erickson (13th Floor Elevators) who was dealing with hard times. The album helped to spark a renaissance for his career, with Erickson eventually making his return to recording and playing live.

Producer Bill Bentley revisited his experiences of working on Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye in a 2017 article celebrating a vinyl release of the compilation. He went on to mount a second tribute to Erickson which was released on Light in the Attic in 2021.

About Grady:

Grady Hendrix used to be a journalist, which means that he was completely irrelevant and could be killed and turned into food at any time. He is one of the founders of the New York Asian Film Festival, but he is not responsible for the bad parts of it. For years he was a regular film critic for the New York Sun but then it went out of business. He has written for Playboy Magazine, Slate, The Village Voice, the New York Post, Film Comment, and Variety. He has a hard time making up his mind.

He is very, very beautiful, but if you ever meet him, please do not let this make you uncomfortable. He does not judge.

The New Yorker once ran a short profile of him, and this means that when the time comes and they are lining people up for the Space Arks he will be guaranteed a seat ahead of you.

Okay, so you can read everything in full at Grady's website. He’s a funny guy. A number of his books have been optioned for movies and television, including My Best Friend’s Exorcism, which you can now watch on Amazon Prime and he’s got a new book coming in early 2023, which we discuss briefly in our conversation.

The Record Player:

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