R.I.P. Lux Interior Founder and Frontman like no other of The Cramps- you'll be missed! Condolences to Poison Ivy, Lux's wife of many years. 96 tears from 96 eyes.

Lux passed on Feb. 4, 2009 of a congenital heart problem at age 62. I love The Cramps, even as a kid in 8th grade circa 1978. I was considered weird at school for liking Punk rock and Heavy Metal. Oh well! You love who you love, and I still love them! If you are among the unitiated and don't know who (or what) they are, you can check them out here:  http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/02/05/remembering-the-cramps-lux-interior-vintage-photos-and-classic-songs/  

My son loves the White Stripes but had never heard of The Cramps, now he loves them and also realizes a few of the current bands he likes (like: Southern Culture on The Skids and The Stray Cats) were most likely very much influenced by them and other early Punk bands. Here's a few quotesfrom one of many Cramps websites: 

In the spring of 1976, The CRAMPS began to fester in a NYC apartment. Without fresh air or natural light, the group developed its uniquely mutant strain of rock’n’roll aided only by the sickly blue rays of late night TV. While the jackhammer rhythms of punk were proliferating in NYC, The CRAMPS dove into the deepest recesses of the rock’n’roll psyche for the most primal of all rhythmic impulses — rockabilly — the sound of southern culture falling apart in a blaze of shudders and hiccups. As late night sci-fi reruns colored the room, The CRAMPS also picked and chose amongst the psychotic debris of previous rock eras - instrumental rock, surf, psychedelia, and sixties punk. And then they added the junkiest element of all — themselves.

— J. H. Sasfy, Professor of Rockology
from the liner notes of The Cramps 1979 release Gravest Hits

It would be almost impossible to have never heard of The CRAMPS. Their career has been the stuff of legend. Dangerously bizarre but most of all cool, The CRAMPS represent everything that is truly reprehensible about rock’n’roll. Founding members Lux Interior (the psycho-sexual Elvis/Werewolf hybrid from hell) and guitar-slinging soul-mate Poison Ivy (the ultimate bad girl vixen) are the architects of a wicked sound that distills a cross of swamp water, moonshine and nitro down to a dangerous and unstable musical substance. Their cultural impact has spawned a legion of devil cults and dance-floor catfights, and created in its wake a cavalcade of cave-stomping imitators. As punk rock pioneers in the late seventies, they cut their teeth on the stages of CBGB and Max’s Kansas City and recorded their first record at Sam Phillips legendary Sun Studios, funded mainly by Ivy’s income as a dominatrix in NYC. They coined the now popular term “psychobilly” on their 1976 gig posters. Their hair-raising live performances are still a total, no-holds-barred rock’n’roll assault. After a quarter century of mayhem, they’re too far gone to even consider any other course.

Interior and his wife Poison Ivy founded The Cramps in the early '70s. Having emerged from CBGB's New York punk scene, Interior was known for his wild on-stage antics, thrashing about and stripping down, reminiscent of Iggy Pop. 

The Cramps have been credited with pioneering a unique sound that pairs rockabilly and surf guitar. 

"Lux was a fearless frontman who transformed every stage he stepped on into a place of passion, abandon, and true freedom. He is a rare icon who will be missed dearly," The Cramps' publicist said in an official statement.

The Cramps have remained active throughout the past three decades, with Interior and Poison Ivy anchoring the line-up while other members changed.

Check out www.youtube.com and type in The Cramps to see videos of them in action. Some of my personal favorite songs: "Human Fly", "Garbageman", "Goo-Goo Muck", of course "Bikini Girls With Machine Guns", ok, well actually, I pretty much groove to ALL of their music!

You are one of a kind Garbageman! Rock on in the hereafter Mad Daddy!